A rare synergy of watchmaking and architectural art.
The company Ebel is a prime example of genuine modesty veiled by a "façade" of groundbreaking achievements that took real hard work. The brand was founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the very heart of the Swiss canton of Jura, in 1911, and like many at the time, it started purely as a family business. At the root of this family business are husband and wife Eugène Blum and Alice Lévy.
The actual name of the company still reminds us of that, formed by combining their initials: "Eugène Blum et Lévy." In the early 1930s, the brand began manufacturing watches for Cartier and later became an official supplier of reliable chronometric instruments to the British Royal Air Force in the same decade.
The Blum dynasty ruled the company for three generations, and the founders' grandson, Pierre-Alain Blum, made Ebel a market leader despite the quartz crisis ruining the Swiss watch industry.
It was thanks to him that the iconic Sport Classic collection, with the classic "wave" bracelets, saw the light of day in 1977. These were the first watches launched in the recognizable sporty chic style, which would go on to determine Ebel's aesthetic code for decades to come.
The model stood out for its bezel with five screws and a rounded hexagonal case without any sharp lines. This design was absolutely groundbreaking at the time and incredibly attractive to potential clients. In 1986, when the company marked its 75th anniversary, the brand made Ebel's then slogan, "The Architects of Time," even more salient by adopting one of the most innovative architectural constructions.
The French architect of Swiss descent, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (1887–1965), better known by his pseudonym Le Corbusier, was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. He created unique projects and standardized low-cost housing in urban planning that impacted everyday life in different corners of the world.
A contemporary of Eugène Blum and Alice Lévy, Le Corbusier worked on Villa Schwob in his native La Chaux-de-Fonds, also known as Villa Turque, between 1916 and 1917. The heart of the villa is built in Byzantine style, initially designed for a wealthy local watchmaker named Anatole Schwob.
It features 16 supporting pilotis (posts) on two blocks, so exterior walls don't need to perform a supporting function. Combining strict straight lines with exquisite curves reinforces the building's stunning structural harmony, emphasized by a groundbreaking combination of bricks and concrete.
The ocher brickwork combined with concrete accentuates the house's oriental character. The villa's most defining feature is probably the way it lets light flood in from the south, east, and west, bathing the interior in a magical glow and creating a delicate play of light and shadow. This is made possible by huge bay windows and the building's octagonal structure.
The simplicity of its appearance conceals the technical complexity of the architectural design behind it. The villa has been carefully restored by subsequent owners to keep its unique atmospheric appearance perfectly preserved. "Space, light, and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep," said the pioneering Modernist Le Corbusier.
These fundamental principles took shape in early childhood, and his views remained unchanged for decades. Alas, Ebel's family history came to an end at the beginning of the 21st century. As a result of a series of unsuccessful investments outside the watch industry, Pierre-Alain Blum was forced to sell the family business that had once flourished while he was at the helm.
The brand initially came into the possession of the global investment manager Investcorp, then it was acquired by the LVMH Group in the 1990s, and it changed hands one last time in 2003 when it was bought by Movado Group. Three successive corporate acquisitions in less than ten years would be a considerable amount of upheaval for any company.
Yet just two years later, Ebel clearly demonstrated that the company wasn't intent on losing ground to other watchmakers by participating in the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG). In 2005, they entered no less than five models for the prestigious contest, and the most spectacular of them was the first tourbillon in the company's history — symbolic in every sense of the word.
In the history of haute horlogerie, models appear from time to time that are dedicated to different countries, cities, and even specific architectural objects. But the Ebel Villa Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie definitely stands out. This model is the definition of functionalism — a style of architecture Le Corbusier considered to have refined in Villa Schwob.
The timepiece is considered a massive collector's rarity — unlike Ebel's numerous chronographs and perpetual calendars, it hasn't resurfaced at any of the big auction houses' sales. You can understand why; only ten such pieces were manufactured. The Villa's appearance has been transposed onto the watch and blended with the recognizable look of watches in the brand's most popular collections.
For instance, the model borrowed from the distinctive hexagonal case of the 1911 line, which is made of 18-carat gold. The five distinctive screws on the bezel are a visual cue that takes the beholder back to the 1970s when the Sports Classic family came into the spotlight as a roaring success.
The dial traces the building's façade — its periphery is encrusted with baguette-cut reddish-orange citrines that echo the ocher bricks. The center of the dial offers an aerial view of the building's outline — the one-minute tourbillon appears in this large round aperture as the foundation of the house, positioned at 6 o'clock. The partially skeletonized insert above it is decorated in "Côtes de Genève" stripes.
The outline is framed with smooth metal punctuated by twelve blued screws as exotic hour markers. The upper half has a window through which you can see a roofless mainspring barrel — the beholder can see the spring's tightly wound spiral. You can see a little more from the caseback side.
The transparent caseback reveals a view of the bottom of the plate, engraved with a miniature brickwork pattern. Not only do the transparent apertures allow you to see the tourbillon and the engine of the hand-wound movement, but they also reveal the gearing and perlage on the bridges. The color of the brickwork is carried onto the stitched alligator strap.
Technical data Ebel Villa Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie
• Mechanical movement: hour, minute, tourbillon; back decorated with a Villa Turque brick pattern
• Water resistance to 3 atm
• Dial paved with baguette-cut citrines (2.06 ct)
• 18C white gold case polished with satin-brushed bezel
• 18C white gold crown
• 18C white gold back with sapphire crystal
• Ocher alligator strap and 18C white gold folding clasp
Credits taken from: www.fondationlecorbusier.fr, www.europastar.com, www.ebel.com, www.gphg.org