Ulysse Nardin represents a dying breed of historic watch producers — the type that’s in contact with its remarkably wealthy heritage with out ceasing to innovate within the fields of know-how and design. And since it hasn’t stopped refining its collections and as a result of there’s a lot to be realized about its historical past, Ulysse Nardin has not turn into absorbed by one or two iconic watches. As an alternative, it continues to supply some cool new watches with respectable tales and particulars connected. The flip aspect is the truth that these do take a bit of additional effort to find for oneself. A working example is the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur 175 Years watch assortment.
On a private word, the extra time I spend with Ulysse Nardin watches, and the extra I get to speak with a few of the of us behind the precise watches & actions, the extra fond I develop of this oddball model. Though rapidly recognizable, in my expertise, UN goes in opposition to the stream by together with what’s a not often matched variety of little particulars that may completely be appreciated in particular person and, usually, solely over prolonged intervals of wear and tear. Once more, working example is the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur 175 Years watch assortment that, though I didn’t like in any respect judging from official pictures alone, grew on me the second I put them on.
The supply of each that professional and con is sarcastically the identical factor: proportions. In pictures, the brand new 175-year anniversary Marine Torpilleur – extra on that title and the story behind it in a second – regarded reasonably bloated, case-wise, with some petite dial parts added to the combo. Within the metallic and on the wrist, these nuances fell proper into place on these new, smaller, and extra refined iterations inside the Marine assortment, now offered in 42mm- and 44mm-wide circumstances, relying on the precise model.
Coming in at 42mm-wide are the Marine Torpilleur Blue Enamel, the Marine Torpilleur Panda, the Marine Torpilleur Moonphase, and the striking-looking Marine Torpilleur Tourbillon Grand Feu. The 44mm-wide watch is the Marine Torpilleur Annual Chronograph. The case thickness is impressively low at proper round 11mm, save for the annual calendar chronograph that pairs a 13.66mm thickness to its 44mm diameter. All of those are powered by Ulysse Nardin manufacture actions, using a mixture of in-house-developed and -produced silicium and DiamonSIL elements for the escape wheels, stability springs, and anchors – no shock, actually, given Ulysse Nardin’s function within the improvement of those high-tech new parts again within the day.
If you happen to see a few of the dials of the Marine Torpilleur (spoiler alert) Blue Enamel or the Marine Torpilleur Tourbillon glow in a constant, comfortable gentle, that’s as a result of they’re, the truth is, grand feu enamel, produced by Donzé Cadrans, the specialised enamel dial maker that for just a few years now has been owned by Ulysse Nardin. Most likely the strongest providing of the lot is the $11,500 Marine Torpilleur Blue Enamel in 42mm-wide chrome steel with a COSC-certified self-winding manufacture caliber with silicium and DiamonSIL parts, 4Hz and 60 hours of energy reserve, and a numbered restricted version of 175 items. Nonetheless expensive, however a “horologically sturdy” package deal inside and outside. The dials on the Annual Chronograph, Panda, and Moonphase are both blue PVD or white varnish.
Now, a little bit of historical past. The Torpilleur assortment is called for the small, quick torpedo boats whose agility ensured that they might simply outmaneuver greater ships. As such, the Torpilleur is a lighter, thinner model of the Ulysse Nardin Marine Chronometer. What’s with all this marine connection? It’s based mostly on Ulysse Nardin’s historical past as a profitable and closely relied-upon provider of marine chronometers for over 50 Navys, geodesic institutes, and astronomical observatories.
In a while, Ulysse Nardin’s pocket chronometers grew to become a prized extension to the deck chronometers – these have been smaller, compact, but extremely correct pocket watches of which there can be one on board, carried by the captain or his reserve. It additionally opened up the avenue of the miniaturization of onboard chronometers, an avenue that has prolonged into the world of wristwatches, neatly resulting in the Marine assortment of right now.
As we speak’s Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur is a superbly made and intelligently designed tribute based mostly on a respectable, wealthy, and in depth historical past – and that connection between previous and current lives within the quietly perfected particulars such because the odd subdial format, the assorted stylistic parts of the dial markings and fingers, and on the corporate utilizing the newest tech it developed in pursuit of higher chronometric efficiency. It’s a troublesome stability to be discovered between the strain that stems from staying true to 100-150 years previous designs and making a product that feels contemporary and purposeful within the twenty first century. Whether or not or not the Marine Torpilleur succeeded at that’s for everybody to guage.
Costs for the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur watch assortment are as follows: Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Panda is priced at $8,200, the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Blue Enamel is $11,500, the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Moonphase prices $9,900, the Annual Calendar Chronograph is $12,100, and the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Flying Tourbillon is priced at $48,400. You’ll be able to study extra on the model’s web site.
English 