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Lot Essay
The present Upside Down is a remarkable and imaginative engineering feat, characterized by hour numerals appearing 'upside down' until their designated time, at which point they flip 'right side up' to show the current hour. This unique complexity, along with the watch's well-balanced design, has solidified Ludovic Ballouard's place as one of the most respected independent watchmakers of our time.
With its platinum case and eye-catching blue-green dial made from Henbury meteorite, the watch is an incredibly rare creation. No two examples are ever the same thanks to the natural crystalline pattern of the dial, which shimmers with distinctive textures. The caseback engraving meant to honor the meteorite has a rare mistake: it reads 'Heneury' rather than 'Henbury', a charming and unusual detail that highlights how unique this piece is. Elegant white Hindu-Arabic numerals add to the watch's exotic charm, enhancing its overall appearance and producing a dramatic contrast. Produced in an extremely limited edition of just seven examples, the present timepiece is even more desirable as it is the first in the series, making it a genuine prize for the discerning collector.
Ballouard chose to follow his lifelong dream of making his own eccentric complications born from a head full of ideas, after many years of success as a watchmaker. He started his journey in May 2009, and the Upside Down, his first watch, was released later that year. In addition to showcasing his technical mastery, Ballouard incorporated a deep philosophical message into the Upside Down. By literally flipping the past and future, the display serves as a poetic reminder that the past cannot be altered, and the future is still uncertain, encouraging the wearer to live in the present.
Henbury Meteorite
Henbury is one of the most well-known meteorite showers in history, having formed from a broken asteroid some 650 million years ago. About 4'200 years ago, the massive iron mass that had traveled through interplanetary space for millions of years fell upon Australia's Northern Territory, forming a striking field of 13 craters that were up to 130 meters across and 15 meters deep. The elders of the Arrernte Aborigines, who refused to camp there or drink the rainwater that collected inside the craters, consider this crater field to be sacred. Their name, 'Chindu China Waru Chingi Yabu', which roughly translates to 'Sun Walk Fire Devil Rock', may indicate that their ancestors saw the flaming descent in person. Despite the fact that the craters were discovered in 1899, the meteorites themselves were not identified scientifically until 1931, following reports of the local Aboriginal people using metallic fragments.
With its platinum case and eye-catching blue-green dial made from Henbury meteorite, the watch is an incredibly rare creation. No two examples are ever the same thanks to the natural crystalline pattern of the dial, which shimmers with distinctive textures. The caseback engraving meant to honor the meteorite has a rare mistake: it reads 'Heneury' rather than 'Henbury', a charming and unusual detail that highlights how unique this piece is. Elegant white Hindu-Arabic numerals add to the watch's exotic charm, enhancing its overall appearance and producing a dramatic contrast. Produced in an extremely limited edition of just seven examples, the present timepiece is even more desirable as it is the first in the series, making it a genuine prize for the discerning collector.
Ballouard chose to follow his lifelong dream of making his own eccentric complications born from a head full of ideas, after many years of success as a watchmaker. He started his journey in May 2009, and the Upside Down, his first watch, was released later that year. In addition to showcasing his technical mastery, Ballouard incorporated a deep philosophical message into the Upside Down. By literally flipping the past and future, the display serves as a poetic reminder that the past cannot be altered, and the future is still uncertain, encouraging the wearer to live in the present.
Henbury Meteorite
Henbury is one of the most well-known meteorite showers in history, having formed from a broken asteroid some 650 million years ago. About 4'200 years ago, the massive iron mass that had traveled through interplanetary space for millions of years fell upon Australia's Northern Territory, forming a striking field of 13 craters that were up to 130 meters across and 15 meters deep. The elders of the Arrernte Aborigines, who refused to camp there or drink the rainwater that collected inside the craters, consider this crater field to be sacred. Their name, 'Chindu China Waru Chingi Yabu', which roughly translates to 'Sun Walk Fire Devil Rock', may indicate that their ancestors saw the flaming descent in person. Despite the fact that the craters were discovered in 1899, the meteorites themselves were not identified scientifically until 1931, following reports of the local Aboriginal people using metallic fragments.