You definitely cannot kick this $40,000 football, as Louis Vuitton has turned it into an ingenious mechanical clock, packing 882 components, an eight-day movement, and rotating time displays into a stunning sculpture

You may despise mathematics and dislike sports, but even so, you will fall head over heels, in love with the latest creation from L’Épée 1839. The Football fuses the worlds of craftsmanship, sports, and luxury with a sense of fun, a language typical of the LVMH-owned clockmaker. The sculpture, as it can rightfully be called, is an exact, true-to-size replica of a regulation soccer ball. What meets the eye first is an intricate exoskeleton featuring a 12-pentagon and 20-hexagon geometry, a structural design originally inspired by the 1962 Telstar satellite. L’Épée 1839’s larger-than-life version of a soccer ball beautifully amalgamates watchmaking artistry with the evocative power of the beautiful game.

In order to achieve this feat, this imposing desk trophy is made up of no less than 882 components. Divided into two interlocking modules and measuring a true-to-life 8.6 inches in diameter, the solid metal sculpture weighing 4.2kg carries a serious, undeniable heft. Time itself is seamlessly integrated into the sphere’s architecture, with the hours and minutes elegantly indicated via rotating discs.

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For those who find the mechanics of horology fascinating, the in-house movement, beating at a mesmerizing, slow rate of 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz), is left proudly unveiled at the base. While the practical purpose of winding its massive 8-day power reserve is done from the top using a custom key, observing the gears and escapement in the lower half offers a baffling, behind-the-scenes mechanical ballet that is incredibly inspiring.

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An ingenious object, The Football is limited to only 99 pieces per version, available in four finishes, gold-plated, palladium-plated, two-tone with black numerals, and two-tone with gold numerals. With a price tag of roughly $40,000, The Football comes rolling on the heels of the “Unity Time Object”. That piece was a one-of-one, diamond-studded football clock created in collaboration with La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, housed in a bespoke Monogram trunk, and auctioned by Sotheby’s for UNICEF.