Taking Flight: L’Epée’s New Imperial Hot Air Balloon Clock Offers a Métiers d’Art Twist

By 2018, L’Epée 1839 had regained enough steam in the world of horology to be once again churning out its own clocks outside of its successful collaborations. It was also in 2018 that the brand departed from its typically futuristic and sci-fi-inspired designs with something a bit more whimsical: a hot air balloon.

Called the Hot Balloon, this desk clock (which can also be fittingly suspended from the ceiling, floating just like a real hot air balloon) was designed by a student at the Swiss design academy l’Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL), which runs a master’s program supported by L’Epée.

Over the past several years, L’Epée has continued to iterate on this motif, and today we get the brand’s latest interpretation with the Imperial Hot Air Balloon.

L’Epée has its roots deep in the horological community, producing clocks for nearly 200 years. However, as the popularity of clocks faded in the 19th century, so did the Maison, leaving behind the heyday leading up to the Industrial Revolution. Still, L’Epée has kept its foot in the door in the modern era through collaborations with brands like MB&F, Bucherer, Fiona Kruger, and many more.

With this momentum, L’Epée returned to making its own clocks and eventually caught the attention of LVMH, which acquired L’Epée in the spring of 2024 and continued to fuel its growth over the past year. Only a few months later, in the fall of 2024, L’Epée released its first clock, the Montgolfière Aéro, in collaboration with Louis Vuitton, which offered yet another riff on the hot air balloon concept.
 

Incorporating Louis Vuitton’s connection to travel and its signature trunks, the stylized four-leaf clover used in the luxury French fashion house’s instantly recognizable floral motif takes center stage at the heart of the Montgolfière Aéro’s “balloon.” Meanwhile, the basket is reminiscent of the Maison’s iconic trunks.

Now, we get the next evolution of L’Epée’s signature hot air balloon clock with a métiers d’art twist.

The new Imperial Hot Air Balloon offers a more traditional aesthetic inspired by the first hot air balloon ever to take flight. This monumental event occurred on September 19, 1783, in the Chateau de Versailles gardens before King Louis XVI and the royal court.
 

L’Epée’s design offers a bold use of color thanks to intricate enamelwork decorating the balloon. As an enamel apprentice who has attempted to apply grand feu to a hemisphere-shaped dish, I can attest to the massive undertaking of enameling a curved surface. Enamel doesn’t play nicely under the simplest circumstances, let alone adding the challenge of a round base for application.

The bright and regal blue enamel perfectly pops against the gold decorations circling the balloon. These delicate imperial engravings and zodiac-inspired motifs reflect the timeless link between horology, astronomy, and humankind’s eternal pursuit of discovery and power.
 

With an eight-day calibre movement developed specifically to resemble a hot air balloon, a flame-shaped double-ended hand glides over two rotating discs to indicate the hours and minutes.

Meanwhile, the crown for setting the time sits under the vertical escapement, and its gear train is located between the basket and burner, in place of the balloon’s burner blast valve. Just as the flow of gas inflating the hot air balloon is adjusted with the blast valve, the clock’s time is adjusted with this crown.
 

Alternatively, winding the clock involves the whole basket. You need only turn the base several times (about six turns) to provide enough power for eight days of flight. To avoid having to lift the clock when the timepiece is placed on a table, L’Epée has also made it possible to wind the clock by turning the basket’s upper ring.

Like the earlier hot air balloon clocks from the Maison, the new Imperial Hot Air Balloon looks gorgeous as a desk clock or makes for a whimsical conversation piece hung directly from the ceiling, floating in the air, above it all. The model is supplied with a suspension kit, including a very thin cable that attaches to the balloon, allowing it to take flight.

The Imperial Hot Air Balloon is a pièce unique clock manufactured on demand. Additional customizations are available for this bespoke timepiece, with pricing available on request. For more information, head over to the L’Epée website.