L’Epée 1839: The Football Turns Timekeeping Into a Ball Game

L’Epée 1839 takes its interpretation of time to the pitch with The Football, a full-scale spherical timepiece inspired by one of the world’s most recognizable sporting objects. Measuring 220 millimeters in diameter, the mechanical sculpture combines 882 components with an open-worked architecture that reinterprets the familiar geometry of pentagons and hexagons. At its center is an eight-day hand-wound movement, while hours and minutes are displayed on rotating discs integrated into the mechanism. And with its golden, floating-sphere appearance, it could almost pass for a rather oversized Golden Snitch – were it not for the fact that this one tells the time instead of helping Harry Potter win a Quidditch match. The design rather draws on the classic 32-panel football associated with the Telstar introduced at the 1970 World Cup. Its combination of 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons became an enduring visual symbol of the sport. L’Epée 1839 translates this geometry into a mechanical exoskeleton, turning the ball itself into a three-dimensional framework for the in-house crafted movement.

A Football Built as a Mechanical Sculpture

The individual panels are arranged around the central movement and secured with visible screws. The open construction allows light to pass through the spherical structure, revealing the gears, plates and escapement from different angles. Polished surfaces contrast with satin-finished elements, while sandblasted components add further variation to the finishing. The movement is therefore not hidden behind a dial or caseback but forms an integral part of the sculpture. Its visible escapement provides a continuously moving focal point, acting as the mechanical Playmaker of The Football. The hours and minutes are integrated directly into the spherical architecture. Two satin-finished rotating discs form the time display and follow the curvature of The Football. The indications appear through two hexagonal apertures, making the geometric structure of the ball part of the reading of the time.

A Power Reserve of Eight Days 

At the center of the sculpture is an in-house mechanical movement developed by L’Epée. The manually-wound caliber operates at a frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour, or 2.5 Hz, and provides an eight-day power reserve. It comprises 882 components and is finished with a combination of satin-finishing, polished gears and plates. Depending on the version, the surrounding construction is made of stainless steel, brass, palladium or gold-plated components, with polishing, satin-finishing and sandblasting used across the various surfaces.

Four versions, 99 Pieces Each

The Football is offered in four configurations: Full Gold-Plated, Full Palladium-Plated, Two-Tone with Black Numerals and Two-Tone with Gold Numerals. Each version is limited to 99 pieces. Prices range from $41,900 to $48,500 before taxes.