Interview With Ludovic Ballouard: Creator Of The Upside Down Watch
Puzzling. Ludovic Ballouard is a puzzling man. Everything that this young and brilliant watchmaker does systematically goes against conventional wisdom. While most talented entrepreneurs dream about the development and expansion of their business, he just wants to work alone and not create more than 100 pieces per year. When they buy a new Porsche, he prefers… model aircraft. When others organize prestigious exhibitions to show-case their creations, Ludovic takes his clients out…for a beer at the local bar in his village.
And despite the allure of state-of-the-art Ateliers and luxury houses, Ludovic maintains that he wouldn’t leave his village and his dozen or so dogs and cats for anything.
Welcoming, authentic and modest, Ludovic’s unassuming attitude belies the exceptional career he has carved out in the luxury watch industry, masking the truly outstanding wealth of knowledge and expertise he possesses.
As a former employee of Franck Muller and then F.P. Journe, he admits, albeit with a hint of embarrassment, that he has almost “done it all”. Realizing the depth and breadth of his exceptional talent, clients of these two prestigious companies urged him to develop his own range of pieces.
And so, in 2009, Ludovic launched his business. His first idea took just 15 minutes to crystallize. He took a few more to scribble it down on a post-it note and so the soon-to-be legendary Upside Down watch was born.
©Wai Shan Lam
We recently had the great pleasure to spend a few moments speaking with Ludovic, an experience that stays with you long after you have left this charming, thoughtful man.
Even still, charismatic as he is, conducting a traditional style interview with him is quite a challenge. A business plan? He never gave it a second thought. Future projects planned? Sure, about thirty. Examples of specific sources of inspiration? Not really; it can be a tree, a road, or a dream had in the night.
Still, at least we can tell you what motivates Ludovic Ballouard. Passion and instinct. Nothing more, and nothing less.
So, let us meet with an ordinary man who makes extraordinary things.
TWL: Hello Ludovic. So, how was the experience of your very first creation, the Upside-Down?
LB: Very good, thanks! I am very happy to say that in the last few weeks, all 12 units have been delivered. Each of them is unique, as every model from 1 to 12 is identified with its figure in red directly on the dial of the watch.
TWL: How was the watch received by the very first, specially selected, 12 new owners?
It was a very warm welcome. And even an anticipated welcome you might say, as the Number 1 was acquired even before his owner saw any plans or sketches!
Now they have all been delivered to the right hands. This is very important to me. My watches are the extension of my own personality, and so my clients want to know who is really behind the brand Ludovic Ballouard. It’s important to them, and it’s important to me.
©Ian Skellern
TWL: Why did not you create a brand? Today, Ludovic Ballouard is simultaneously a man, a brand, and a product. It must be hard to manage…
LB: For the same reasons as before. For me, there always has to be a link between the watchmaker and his creation. A brand created from scratch has something very impersonal that does not reflect me as a person. Today, my business associate and I know personally each of the 12 owners. It’s like a club, there is a connection that unite us.
TWL: Talking about this, what’s the typical profile of a Ludovic Ballouard watch owner?
LB: It’s hard to define a unique profile. The amateur of something very unique indeed. Someone looking for authenticity, also, as well as a watch proposed at its real value.
TWL: What do you mean?
LB: I create high end watches, yes, but I don’t add a zero to their price to have them figure artificially on the list of super exclusive brands. I don’t understand these brands that create watches with a steel bezel and a movement produced in the millions and then they sell them for over 100.000 CHF. It’s stupefying, it exasperates me.
TWL: Is the same then for high mass events such as BaselWorld?
LB: Not quite but let’s just say simply that I’m not interested in them. Moreover, I’m always afraid to see other watchmaker’s creations, I’m afraid it has an unconscious influence on me! Other people’s ideas might slow down my creativity.
Sometimes I participate in professional trade shows, but I only work with independent artisans, who are all friends of mine, and it works perfectly like this. As for the opportunity to meet new clients? Well, let’s just say it’s not a great necessity for me at the moment! As I had the privilege to work on the Grande Sonnerie for FP Journe, I acquired a kind of a legitimacy in the industry as well as somewhat of a profile that gave me access to contacts and orders from Paris, London, Sydney or Singapore.
TWL: Consequently, you can remain independent?
LB: Yes, and it’s essential for me. I like total independence, I don’t owe anything to anyone, and I’m financially self-sufficient.
©Wai Shan Lam
TWL: What are your projects for the future?
LB: My plans are to deliver one new model every two years. Thus, in 2012, the Upside-Down will be joined by a new watch, for which I already have about thirty ideas! I have to refine the project, but so it is going well. In principle, I’ll stay quite close to the Upside-Down, but key evolutions are not defined yet. Each new model will have a pre-production of 12 units, which will be first and foremost proposed to the 12 owners of the Upside-Down.
To introduce this model to them, I’d like to organize a weekend get-together somewhere in the world, although I don’t know where yet at this stage. I don’t like traveling though, so I’ll have to make a great effort as I don’t feel comfortable with long distances!
TWL: What can we expect from this new model?
LB: I don’t know yet, but, however, nothing to do with a tourbillon or a chronograph!
TWL: Why?
LB: I don’t know, I’m just not interested in them, it’s not in the spirit of my creations. It doesn’t match with the way I see things. To be honest though, I don’t have any creative plans or even a business plan, I work purely on instinct…
Category: Interviews
[...] something different about independent watch-maker Ludovic Ballouard. Not different in a bad by any means, just different. I can’t quite put my finger on it but [...]