ULYSSE NARDIN

WATCHMAKING OXYGEN THERAPY

Sharmila Bertin

Oxygenate. Get some fresh air. Change your atmosphere, your ambiance, escape from a troublesome situation or simply seek the lightness of the world, of your world. Create an environment open to nature, a house full of bay windows to let the wind dance through the rooms and the sun shine in. Dive into an ocean, a lake, let yourself be enveloped by its muchdesired freshness after the long months of heatwave, let your body be embraced by the softness of the water, float with your eyes closed, your face turned towards the sky. Climb a mountain or a hill, it doesn't matter as long as you have a good view. Stretch out your arms in a cross, breathe in deeply, feel the life in your lungs, your belly inflates, and exhale slowly with a sigh. An essential oxygen therapy to feel good about yourself and others, by creating air bubbles, rainbows. An aerial architecture freeing up movements as much as it seduces the eye, a liberated structure that goes

straight to the point while providing an impeccable mechanism. This is a description of the watches imagined and produced by Ulysse Nardin, whose inspiration lies in the marine and underwater world, the beauty of the Earth, since its inception over AIRY ARCHITECTURE 175 years ago. These sophisticated, THAT LIBERATES MOVEMENT: miniature landscapes to be worn on the wrist appear mainly in the Freak,

THIS IS WHAT DEFINES Diver, and Blast collections. ULYSSE NARDIN WATCHES. After the success of the first blue reference in 2021, the Diver X Skeleton returns this year in a Black version adorned with touches of ultravivid yellow. As aggressive as a frenzied

A COMBINATION OF YELLOW AND BLACK OR A RAINBOW OF COLOURS MAKES A STATEMENT ON THE WRIST.

wasp, this limited edition of 175 units combines the design of the Diver and the Blast Skeleton. It actually takes its inspiration from the two-tone colour of the diving tanks found on the backs of divers. These long tubular tanks of between 4 and 20 litres contain a mixture of compressed air and gas that, fitted with a connection system linked to a regulator, enable them to breathe autonomously underwater. The connection with this essential deep-sea tool is accentuated when the watch is worn on the textured yellow rubber wristband. This is as soft as it is comfortable, finished with a ceramic and titanium folding clasp, while the allure conferred by the black polyamide R-Strap made from recycled fishing nets and fastened with a Velcro®-type patch brings out the various flashy elements on the case and dial. The dial, in fact, is an abstract painting in itself, with its superimposed design creating a relief-like effect. The blackened hour-markers generously coated with white Super-LumiNova® recall the sensation one experiences when floating on the surface of the water and letting yourself be rocked by its undulations. They seem to be suspended along the rim, which houses a fine yellow minute track, above the visible workings of the manufacturer's automatic UN-372 calibre. This redesigned openworked version of the UN-371 movement, made up of 171 components, carries a balance spring, an anchor, an escape wheel, and a large silicon oscillator. It is tuned to a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour, or 3hz, providing an energy reserve of approximately three days once fully wound via its cruciform oscillating weight.

This watch face revealing a powerful movement integrates a large central X coated with black PVD, symbolising the disruptive values of Ulysse Nardin, architect of its own destiny, developing its own trends and following its own codes. A rare personality within a field where the various players are often lacking in imagination, evolving creatively in a closed circuit. This large consonance, trimmed in yellow like a silhouette against the light, is overlaid by the dance of the hour and minute hands. This aesthetic echoes the hourmarkers and the second hand, which are punctuated by an equally yellow rectangle. This combination of colours appears on the diving scale displayed on the rotating bezel. Crafted in black Carbonium®, this light and resistant material is made from the compression of carbon fibre residues used in aeronautics. The latter has a hollow shape that contrasts with the curvature of the domed sapphire crystal protecting the dial. The case is water-resistant to a depth of 200 metres and is machined from black diamond light coating (DLC) titanium. The perfect ergonomics enable its 44mm diameter to be easily adopted by all wrists, even the thinnest.

Another moment of freedom inspired by the X, again in colour, but with a very different palette for the Blast Rainbow, available on an alligator and rubber wristband. A rainbow, of course, albeit one interpreted by Ulysse Nardin, hence no unicorns or magic cauldrons here, but a furiously rocking, unbridled design enhanced by gems levitating on the dial marked with the Locle watchmaker's favourite letter and on the fixed bezel in black DLC treated steel. To create this precious explosion, 38 rubies and sapphires in

MYSTERIOUS AND OMNIPRESENT AT THE SAME TIME, THE X SYMBOLISES THE BRAND'S DISRUPTIVE VALUES.

THE LOCLE-BASED MANUFACTURER IS THE ARCHITECT OF ITS OWN DESTINY, FOLLOWING ITS OWN CODES.

WATCHES-NEWS.COM X ULYSSE NARDIN orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and pink were used, totalling 3.65 carats. To these are added 12 hour markers. The dazzling crown caps a 45mm-diameter case, water-resistant to 50m, whose black bipartite case middle combines titanium and ceramic. A combination of technical material resulting in a piece as light as a fluffy cloud.

Entirely transparent, the face of this limited edition of 50 pieces seems like a kinetic work, between geometric forms and moving elements. The backdrop shows an oversized X emerging from its rectangular frame in the centre. At 12 o'clock, a platinum micro-rotor powers the 2.5hz automatic calibre UN-172 with a 72-hour power reserve. At 6 o'clock, a flying tourbillon sets the pace for the hour and minute hands.

The power of watchmaking oxygen therapy empowered by Ulysse Nardin is much more than a breath of fresh air. It is a philosophy of life.