BA111OD puts a fragment of the universe on your wrist with its new watch

11 April 2024

For tourbillonenthusiasts , the BA111OD Chapter 4 is a watch worth discovering. Not least because, at its current price of around €6,500, it remains more 'affordable' (or less 'inaccessible') than many prestigious timepieces. In conjunction with the Geneva Watchmaking Week, it is available in a new, more desirable variant than ever, with a meteorite dial.

Veblen's dilemma embodied in a watch

The first time we talked about Thomas Baillod on Masculin.com was back in 2020. Back then, he was showing us more than just a watch, a watchmaking concept inspired by his surname, BA111OD.

In the space of a few months, the man who wants to "shake up the tree" and, more concretely, traditional Swiss watchmaking, has unveiled several new watches that have had the merit of breaking codes. Chapter 4 arrived in autumn 2021 in the form of a Swiss-made tourbillon priced at less than 4,000 euros. While the price has unfortunately risen since then, the various iterations on offer all have a certain charm, whether it's the 40 mm 4.3 Eclipse Tour in black and gold, the limited edition 4.6 GMT 1920 or the 4.7 with its onyx dial that's more black than black.

Since its launch, this tourbillon watch has been associated with another concept that might seem far removed from the world of watchmaking: the Veblen dilemma. Named after the economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen, this theory is more commonly known as the 'snob effect'. More concretely, it refers to the behaviour whereby a luxury product is all the more desirable the more expensive it is. Conversely, an accessible product can only be of inferior quality. Hence the dilemma raised by Thomas Baillod: are his affordable luxury watches just junk?

Given the brand's success since its launch and the (glowing) reviews of most of its models, one would be tempted to say no. And this new Chapter 4.9 Tourbillon Meteor only reinforces our impressions. And this new Chapter 4.9 Tourbillon Meteor only reinforces our impressions.