 A
GREAT START...
Named after its founder, Ulysse Nardin, the watch label was born
in 1846. Its founder Ulysse Nardin trained in horology under his
father and further honed his skills under Swiss master watchmakers.
Ulysse was only 23 years old when he settled in Le Locle to develop
complex pocket watches and chronometers.
It’s current President, Rolf W Schnyder bought the label in 1983
and around the same time found a friend and watchmaker par excellence
in scientist, inventor and historian
Dr. Ludwig Oechslin. Together the two have been busy creating inimitable
timepieces.
The power of three...
In 1985, UN launched it’s Trilogy of astronomical watches - The
Astrolabium Galeleo Galilei, the Planetarium Copernicus and the
Tellurium Johannes Kepler. The trilogy is a unique three-of-a-kind
technical marvel that redefines timekeeping by going beyond time
division into hours, minutes and seconds. It establishes a relationship
between time and the bodies in space that determine Earth time.
It represents the entire solar system in a wristwatch.
 The
ulysse nardin philosophy...
‘At the beginning of all action is a belief’.
This philosophy is born and inspired by the miracle of mechanical
watches. Hundreds of tiny pieces that are combined in gears and
wheels create the precision that separates a mechanical watch movement
from that of quartz. Mechanical timepieces remain the quintessence
of traditional craftsmanship with a long lasting value.
Un and enamel...
Alongside perpetuating great mechanical achievements, in a parallel
mode, it restored the almost lost art of enamelling. It is a refined
and decorative technique that gives a strong individuality to the
dials.
As a process, enamelling dates back to Gallo-Roman times. It is
a glass comprising silica, red lead and potash. In the glazing process
elements like lime or magnesium are combined with silica and to
which potassium and sodium are added to lower the melting point.
As a result, different colours are obtained from different metallic
oxides.
Through the ages this technique has been used in watch making, but
enamel watches sunk in the fifties, due to production difficulties.
UN revived it and their San Marco chronometers with the special
blue on the dials with limited editions of boats, sea battles and
historical places on the map of the world. They have opted for the
hardest path to achieve perfection in enamelling. In order to do
so, they have used the cloisonné technique that consists
of the elaboration of a drawing and the matching of the colours
on each segment. Each segment, even the smallest one is divided
by the other by gold wires. This encloses the liquid filled with
powdered enamel. This work of art is performed on a surface only
two centimetres in diameter.
To create each dial for a limited edition more than 50 preliminary
operations are required, 12-24 kiln steps and at least 50 working
hours by the enameller. It’s no wonder then, that at the end of
this long process each watch becomes a stamp of the company’s pride.
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In
its 150 years of existence, Ulysse Nardin has earned high repute
for being specialists in marine chronometry. Not only are they objects
of desire for avid watch lovers and collectors but have also serviced
the navies of over 50 countries.