LUDOVIC BALLOUARD, A RARE PLATINUM WRISTWATCH WITH “UPSIDE DOWN” JUMPING HOURS AND EASTERN ARABIC DIAL

The Upside Down collection was first introduced in 2009 and Ludovic Ballouard and incorporates Ballouard's experience accumulated from working at prestigious brands before he devoted himself to his own independent workshop.

He worked with Franck Muller for 3 years before then joining Francois-Paul Journe for 7 years. At F.P. Journe, Ballouard focused on the assembly and regulation of Sonnerie Souveraine, which is one of the most exquisite watches ever created by the brand.

With the Upside Down, Ludovic created a unique complication to display time. Only the numeral for the current hour flips from its upside down position, to upright, the end of the 59th minute of each hour. The other 11 numerals on the dial remain in their upside down position. The current timepiece has the added novelty of being presented with Eastern Arabic numerals.

The present timepiece has two peculiarities - the font of the Eastern Arabic numerals is slimmer and quite different to the ones that came later. It is believed that Ludovic Ballouard changed the font on later versions. Also, the white dial is extremely rare because the Ballouard rarely uses this colour on the dial. We have enough reason to believe that this is a possibly unique piece from the indie watchmaker.