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[ The WATCH ]
A sophisticated furnishing item, mechanical sculpture and futuristic instrument for measuring time. The three facets of the UFO, Ulysse Nardin’s reinterpretation of the marine chronometer
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Spaceship It’s written UFO but the initials stand for Unidentified Floating Object. This contemporary table clock has been created by Ulysse Nardin to relive its past, evoking the marine chronometers that have helped write history by Diego Tamone
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ith a semi-circular base concealing a tungsten mass that gives it an extremely low centre of gravity, this clock will wobble but not fall over. If pushed it will rock from side to side, eventually
settling in an upright position again like a Weeble toy. In looks it resembles a cardinal marker buoy but technically and conceptually it was inspired by – and celebrates - marine chronometers, the instruments that in the 18th century revolutionised watchmaking and sailing, finally enabling ships’ navigators to determine longitude. As it was already possible to identify latitude this meant a vessel’s position and its course could be calculated with a high degree of precision. These precious instruments were kept in sturdy wooden cabinets mounted on gimbals to counteract the ship’s roll and pitch movement. The spirit of these extraordinary objects is now reincarnated by the UFO by Ulysse Nardin. The past projected into the future, the cutting edge imbued with tradition. A contemporary table clock was developed in 2021 and offered in 75 examples for the brand’s 175th anniversary. It proved a great success, selling out quickly, and returns today in three final editions of
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[ The WATCH ] From top, clockwise, the mechanism is protected by a glass bell, hand blown by VQT of Neuchâtel. The hand-wound movement features a 49 mm low-frequency balance wheel. The dials have hour and minute hands but the UFO also includes a deadbeat seconds function
thirty examples each, in three colours – ice blue, green and champagne. Created as both a design object and furnishing item, within its blown glass bell the UFO, or Unidentified Floating Object, features a hand-wound mechanical movement that beats at low frequency and six oversized barrels, enabling the clock to operate for a record-setting year between windings. ulysse-nardin.com
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