You can always learn new things, even about subjects you believe you have mastered perfectly. Such as watchmaking or football, passionate subjects with billions of pages, forums, posts, videos and heated comments devoted to them. And yet.
It is by discovering L’Épée 1839’s “The Football” that the less knowledgeable will know how to distinguish themselves in society. For example, by pointing out that a soccer ball is made up of two shapes: the pentagon and the hexagon. That there are 12 of the former and 20 of the latter. That this ingenious structure is inspired by the geometry of a satellite bristling with solar panels, Telstar, short for Television Star, launched by the United States in 1962. Or that the ball’s original color, as produced by Adidas, was black and white so that it could be seen more clearly on television, which at the time was not always in color.
Simple fun facts to impress during halftime? Not only. By drawing on this rich history of the beautiful game, L’Épée 1839 has created a kinetic sculpture that combines watchmaking artistry with the evocative power of soccer. The piece comprises 882 components divided into two interlocking modules.
C’est en découvrant « The Football » de L’Épée 1839 que les moins cultivés sauront se distinguer en société. Par exemple, en soulignant que le ballon de football est composé de deux figures que sont le pentagone et l’hexagone. Qu’il y en a 12 des premiers, 20 des seconds. Que cette savante structure est inspirée de la géométrie d’un satellite hérissé de panneaux solaires, le Telstar, abréviation de Television Star, lancé par les États-Unis en 1962. Ou encore que la teinte originale du ballon, tel que propulsé par Adidas, était en noir et blanc pour être mieux vue à la télévision qui, à l’époque, n’était pas toujours en couleur.
Simple fun facts pour briller à la mi-temps ? Pas seulement. Car c’est en exploitant cette riche histoire du ballon rond que la manufacture L’Épée 1839 a conçu une sculpture cinétique qui unit art horloger et puissance évocatrice du football. La pièce comporte 882 composants répartis en deux modules intriqués.
Mechanical Heart and Watchmaking Exoskeleton
At the heart of the object is a mechanical movement with an 8-day power reserve. The gears and escapement are clearly visible at the base of the ball. Winding, meanwhile, is done from the top using a key. Each component is finished by hand and features either polished or satin-finished surfaces.
Around the movement, L’Épée 1839 has built an exoskeleton to protect it. It exactly reproduces the patterns of a genuine soccer ball, with the same alternating pentagons and hexagons in the same locations. But L’Épée 1839 went even further: “The Football” is made to a 1:1 scale of an authentic full-size soccer ball. As for the watchmaking dimension of the work, it is expressed unambiguously through the screws that join the faces of the ball together: they are essentially the same (allowing for differences in scale) as those traditionally seen around the balance rim to balance it.
“The Football” is a limited edition of 99 pieces per version, available in four finishes: gold-plated, palladium-plated, two-tone with black numerals, and two-tone with gold numerals.
