Ludovic Ballouard unleashes his creativity by creating highly complex, and unusual methods of indicating time. His philosophy of placing an emphasis on the importance of living in the present moment has engendered a collection of thought-provoking timepieces for the discerning collector who values exclusivity and uniqueness.

On an elegant black dial, with a carbon centre element, one graceful hand reaches out from the center. It serves to indicate the minutes, in the traditional manner. However, at the dial edge, there is a conundrum. Here all twelve numerals have been placed on individual discs but only one of them is readable.

As if to encourage its wearer to ignore all but the current moment, Ludovic has created a complication which enables the numeral for the current hour to flip from its upside down position, to upright, instantaneously at the end of the 59th second of each hour. As it does so, the remaining eleven applied numerals remain in exquisite, illegible disarray. At a glance, the current hour can be easily read thanks to the use of a small dot placed on the disc of the active hour.

Turn the piece over and a panorama to equal the poetic dial-side aesthetic is revealed through a sapphire crystal case back. Here, beating at a frequency of 21,600 vph the meticulously hand-finished manual winding in-house Calibre B01 has an alluring architecture which demonstrates the ingenuity of its maker.

Encircling its perimeter are twelve beautiful “Maltese Cross” mechanisms, each connected to a heart-shaped cam. This system is designed to turn once each hour in order to turn the relevant hour plate, thus sending it to its immediate upright position on the dial. Although ultimately functional, the beautiful composition of this patented complication ensures that from every angle this Upside Down model is a showcase for masterful watchmaking.

Housed within a Platinum 41mm case with splendid curved lugs, the watch is finished off with an off-centre crown. It comes presented on a black hand-stitched alligator leather strap with Platinum buckle. With an availability of just 12 pieces, the exclusive status of the Ludovic Ballouard Upside Down Black Carbon watch is assured.