Posts Tagged ‘Interview’
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…
What do you think? Leave a comment. | Filed under Interviews, New This Week
Interview With Jérôme Pineau; Community Manager, Marvin Watches
Some of you may already be familiar with Jérôme Pineau, the internet savvy Community Manager for Marvin Watches who has been single-handedly building the brand’s presence on-line. We have been quietly observing this exceptional upward trend since the beginning of the year and so we decided to approach Jérôme to find out more.
We had already discovered with great pleasure that he was a faithful reader of The Watch Lounge, always happy to share his views and engage with other readers. So to find out more we also followed his personal Twitter account, as well as the Marvin account and discovered pretty quickly just why he has been so successful.
Not only is Jérôme (and by extension Marvin) extremely accessible, his activity on-line is also exceptionally relevant and geared towards creating meaningful relationships with customers and enthusiasts alike, not just reeling off corporate spiel about the brand like so many others do. He’s also exceedingly kind and always willing to go the extra mile for Marvin customers, building invaluable goodwill for the brand.
So, without further ado we give you Marvin Watch’s community manager, Jérôme Pineau!
Please note this interview is also available in French here.
BIO:
Name : Pineau, Jérôme.
Age : 45.
Employer: Marvin Watches.
Distinguishing characteristic: The only, or almost, the only Community Manager in the watch-making world.
Main activity: To create, develop and manage the reputation of the brand over the web, in relation to all its stakeholders – journalists, bloggers, clients, prospects, etc.
Limitations: None!
The highly desirable Malton M160 by Marvin
TWL: So, Jérôme tell us, how did you become a Community Manager?
JP: By pure chance! I spent the better part of my career in the US, mainly in the software industry as a sales engineer and an evangelist. I was always very up to date about new technologies, and especially about the web. One day, Sandrine Szabo, the head of Marvin’s communication agency, NetInfluence, contacted me on LinkedIn. One thing lead to another, and before I knew it I was offered a job to join Marvin.
TWL: So I guess that you were already a big watch-making fan, right?
JP: Not at all, I didn’t know anything about the industry! And I think that’s what attracted Marvin on my CV. They have a great expertise in watch-making, but communication (especially online) is not their business. I had the opposite position. So, we joined forces, and now we can have an objective outlook on each others work.
TWL: What is it like to work for Marvin?
JP: The company’s state of mind is all about being open-minded and daring and as such I have been given free reign. While here, in Switzerland, all the decisions are the result of a long thoughtful process designed to eliminate all potential risks, in the country where I come from, the United States, we tend to try new things, new approaches, new tactics, with sometimes completely new and unexpected results.
Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Then we work backwards, we publicly acknowledge our mistakes, and then try something else. There is not a good way, and a bad way. The whole challenge was to transpose one country’s methods into the context of the other one.
TWL: And so, what are the results?
JP: Well, I’ve already noticed that some well-known brands are watching us closely! Almost as though we were some kind of lab experiment in fact. Although it’s still early days some of the results can already be seen: the average time spent on the site by visitors has multiplied by 4, on more than 300.000 pages viewed ; Facebook fans have multiplied by a factor of 100 in just two weeks (currently sitting at an impressive 937 at the time of publication), and we have more than 500 followers on Twitter. All these figures grow on a daily basis, but I’ve only been here since January.
If you prefer something a little sportier than try the Malton 160 Cushion by Marvin
TWL: These are very promising results indeed! Why then don’t other brands follow the trend?
JP: It’s not my job to judge the strategy of my colleagues, but I have noticed that many decisions are made according to the brand’s positioning, and not according to market expectations.
At Marvin, our first priority is to listen to the market. We listen carefully to what our customers want – that’s why we have created all these communities and opened channels for direct conversation with them. How can you learn what are your customer’s wishes if they have no way to express them?
This is why we have opened so many channels of communication: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, a blog, on-line chat, etc. We listen to our clients and try to answer them in the fastest and most satisfying way.
TWL: Could you give us an example?
JP: Take the e-shop case. Many brands, as a matter of principle, don’t open an e-shop. But in our case, our customers requested it. Consequently, we are going to open one.
TWL: A great challenge!
JP: Yes! We’ll have to have a close look at the supply chain, provisioning, and above all, the customer service. Some brands focus above all on the brand reputation. At Marvin, our obsession is customer service!
Some cheeky advertising from the brand dedicated to doing things differently!
TWL: Still, all these initiatives are, after all, mainly virtual. Surely there will be a time when you’ll have to actually meet your audience…
JP: Yes, and the web is a great meeting tool! Recently, we had a negative comment posted on our blog from a client who had troubles with his watches and was disappointed by the follow-up he was offered. First of all, I left the comment on the blog and answered it within the minute, because in my opinion we have to be completely transparent with our clients. Mistakes happen, of course, this is part of the daily job of any brand. What’s important is not to hide them, but how you correct them.
In this case, I offered to send this client a new watch immediately. He refused: he wanted to come down to our office and get it personally! We had a very pleasant moment together.
TWL: Are you concerned that with such strong, open communication you might eventually lose control of what is said about your brand on-line?
JP: Not at all! The content, once published, is no longer ours any more, it belongs to the community of people who follow us! In my opinion, this desire to control everything is a mistake. Let’s be honest: it’s the Holy Grail when someone starts talking about your brand publicly without you asking them too!
TWL: The Final Word?
JP: There’s still a lot to do, this is only the beginning. Marvin is a wonderful brand. It has the story, the legitimacy, 160 years of watch-making, high quality, and a true market vision. My job, as the community manager, is to let the whole world know about it!
Exclusive: Max Büsser of MB&F Talks Us Through The All New HM3 Frog!
HM3 Black Frog (black Titanium) – limited edition of 12 pieces ©MB&F
You may recall that a few weeks ago we published a photo of the first and only hint presented by MB&F in relation to their latest creation, known simply as the Frog. Now we are proud to be able to bring you the official photos of this breathtaking new piece, unveiled only a short while ago!
Modeled on the HM No.3 the hour and minute gears as well as date system within the 304 part engine have been entirely modified. The trademark sapphire domes have been perfectly machined on both sides (no mean feat!) so as not deform the numbers and even more amazingly the aluminium domes within weigh just a meager 0.58g which was achieved by machining them down to a thickness of 0.28mm. Only 32 of these special movements will be crafted this year: a limited edition of 12 pieces in black titanium (with green gold rotor) and 20 pieces of a non-limited titanium version (with blue gold rotor).
Although we could go on about this amazing new piece all day we thought you would probably prefer to hear it straight from the man himself, Mr Maximilian Büsser. So we asked him.
Here’s what he had to say.
TWL: What made you choose a Frog as the inspiration for this latest piece? Why not a Tiger or a Cobra, or some other member of the Animal Kingdom?
MB: The creative process did not in fact start with a frog. Like most of our creations, I imagined the piece in my mind first as a “concept piece”, in this case based on the HM3 movement. The idea was, and I know this will seem more than a little surprising, to create a “whacky” version of the HM3. Many will think “isn’t the HM3 crazy enough?”. In my mind, the HM3 is in fact a very elegant piece, and I wanted to push it into another territory.
It is only when we finished the design with Eric (Giroud) that when I looked at it, it was clear that it looked like a frog’s head coming out of water with its two big eyes. Now over a year later, when I look at it, it makes me think of the Martian heads in “Mars Attacks”!
HM3 Frog (Titanium) ©MB&F
TWL: How many different design concepts did you come up with in conjunction with the ‘Friends’ before you settled on the final one we see today? How did you decide?
MB: This was pretty straight forward. The HM3 existed. I wanted a rotating dome version, and we nailed the design very quickly – but to get the proportions of the aluminium and sapphire domes right we did many prototypes…
TWL: Does the final piece look anything like what you first envisioned in your mind when you set out to create this unique model?
MB: That is it. As it was in my head.
TWL: What is your favorite aspect of this new piece and why?
MB: It makes me smile each time I look at it. The Frog has a very mischievous attitude to it. Also it is super light thanks to the intensive use of aluminium. You practically do not feel it on your wrist.
TWL: What do you think MB&F enthusiasts will like most about this newest addition?
MB: I honestly don’t know. As we create foremost for ourselves, our public’s reaction is always a mystery and a surprise!
The HM3 Frog Engine – 304 components ©MB&F
TWL: Are there any little intricacies you can point out for us that may not be immediately apparent just from looking at the still photographs?
MB: Well, first of all, more than 30% of the movement is different from the original HM3! The Hours run in 12 hours instead of 24, the minutes in 60 minutes instead of 120 minutes, which therefore required us to change all those gear trains. Also the changing of the date which was direct (as the hours turned previously in 24hours on the HM3) is now much more complicated to achieve. All this for only 32 movements this year… (13 Black and 20 Titanium)
The aluminium domes needed to be as light as possible, which meant we had to machine them down to 0,28mm thick and therefore to 0,58 grams a piece! And the sapphire domes were a headache. How do you machine a perfectly concentric dome from a block of sapphire, especially as there is no way to hold that block in the machine when you are cutting it…?
TWL: Are there any plans to release any further special editions prior to the introduction of the highly anticipated HM No.4 in July 2010?
MB: The HM4 will theoretically be unveiled on July 8th (with deliveries anticipated for last quarter of the year), so in the two months from now to beginning of July, we have not planned a new launch!
TWL: As always, thank you for your time Maximilian.
MB: As always a pleasure. Thanks Tom!
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