Ludwig Oechslin

Ludwig always wanted to be a watchmaker. He already had a Master’s in Theoretical Physics and had studied modern Greek and archaeology when he went looking for a pocket watch at Basel’s antiques trade fair. Finding himself drawn to a quarter-hour repeater in a simple silver case, he found to his chagrin that the monetary contents of his waistcoat pockets failed to match the expectations of the vendor. Oechslin therefore resolved to make himself a watch – one that would give him exactly what he wanted in terms of functionality.

During his apprenticeship with master watchmaker Jörg Spöring in Lucerne, Ludwig was able to make good use both of his background as a scientist and of his photographic memory to restore the Farnese Clock in the Vatican Library, which he followed with a three-part written report on this important monumental astronomical clock.

His experience with astronomical movements stood him in good stead when he came to work on Ulysse Nardin’s ‘Trilogy of Time’ series: the Planetarium Copernicus, Tellurium Johannes Keppler and Astrolabium Galileo Galilei. One of Oechslin’s favourite fields of research is the function of the date in all its various time horizons. What he came up with for the revered watchmaker based in Le Locle in Switzerland’s Jura mountains is the world’s only eternal calendar with a 100-year time horizon. Its owner in 2100 will simply need to turn the crown to set it for the next century. As for the Oechslin-designed Ulysse Nardin Sonata, it can display two time zones, whereby the current local time is adjusted in hourly steps simply by actuating a push-piece. Its alarm function can be set to the nearest minute to ring at, say, six in the morning in Switzerland, and the next morning it will ring at six in the morning of whatever has been set as the other local time. All the owner has to do is set the time zones!

Ludwig was appointed Director of the Musée International d’Horlogerie (MIH) in 2003, a post he holds part-time. He spends the rest of his time – and more – working on his ochs und junior venture.

“95 per cent has to be perfect – and by that I mean those 95 per cent that are important to me. The rest is down to human nature.”

Oechslin declared this while discussing the prototype of an astronomical table clock that was sitting in his workshop alongside a host of other unique pieces. The newly conceived perpetual calendar function, which might one day also find a home in a wristwatch, displayed the weekdays in linear fashion. The abbreviations of the days were in English (Mo, Tu, We, Th, Fr, Sa)… apart from the Sunday, the abbreviation of which was in German (So)! Ludwig loves these kinds of details, as they show why the quest for absolute perfection is always a matter of perspective and focus – and that surprises sometimes await just around the corner.

Whenever Vico places the pince-nez he has worn since he was sixteen slightly lower down his nose, pulls his tailor-made cap straight and sets about explaining one of his prototypes, it is always an emotional moment. The potency of his ideas and the lucidity and logic with which he imbues his designs are clear and puristic.

Ludwig designs in his head. Once the concept has crystallised, he draws it on the computer, mills the prototypes on his CNC machine and explains the functions to those working alongside him. Essentially, he is fascinated by what he can use in his life, and which remains to be invented in this form and function. Although century-old techniques are of professional interest to him in his role as MIH Director, he himself prefers conceiving new approaches.

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