Of a Rare Calibre
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Art and innovation go hand in hand in Ulysse Nardin’s Marine Chronomter
Ulysse Nardin has been crafting marine chronometers, keeping captains and their valued cargo precisely on course since the spark of international trade in the late 19th century.
The Manufacture’s 2012 Marine Chronometer is powered by UN-118 caliber, introduced in 2011. Calibre 118 follows, it may be recalled, the footsteps of Ulysse Nardin’s Caliber 66/67 Sonata, the first timepiece conceived and manufactured in house and Anniversary Calibre 160, but takes forward innovation in movement technology.
Calibre 118 is the first member of a family of movements with an in-house-produced and patented DiamonSIL escapement together with the in-house produced oscillator, adjustable with four screws and fitted with a silicium 1.1.1 hairspring. This oscillator, patented in 2007, was first put on the market in the Sonata Silicium in March 2008.
An expanded 45 mm diameter case and a new crown design for easy handling, complete with a rubber notch for comfortable winding, are not the only progressions made to the coveted Marine Chronometer. Gracing the collection’s latest addition is its beautifully handcrafted enamel dial produced by Donzé Cadrans, the world-recognised enamel-dial specialist and the latest member of the Ulysse Nardin group of companies.
A refined and complex decorative technique, the mastery of enamelling depends upon both the personal sensitivity and daily practice of the artist. It is a centuries-old craft that continues to make a stunning mark on its timepieces. For the Marine Chronometer dial, the aesthetic is a bright, snow white offset by black Roman numerals and bold accents of cherry red, presenting a style that is simultaneously straight-forward and interesting. Its 18-carat rose-gold bejewelled case enhances the timepiece’s sophistication.
Further illustrating Ulysse Nardin’s imagination in watch making is the UN-118 calibre, the Manufacture’s selfwinding base calibre conceived and executed entirely in-house, and now offered in the Marine Chronometer Manufacture. This calibre continues the advancement of watch brand’s use of new materials and techniques.
The anchor escapement in Calibre UN-118 is produced using DiamonSil, Ulysse Nardin’s revolutionary alliance of diamond and silicon, and a furthering of its pioneering collaboration with Sigatec. DiamonSIL is an extremely light but hard material that eliminates friction and removes the need for lubrication of the escapement – the watchmaker’sholy grail.
Calibre UN-118 demonstrates the synergies between technologies of the engraving of silicon and Diamond Coated Silicon (DCS) and is the first member of a new family of movements that will house this anchor escapement in DiamonSil, with the watchmaker’s own oscillator and its patented hairspring.
The movement features a stellar 60-hour power reserve indicator, oversized small seconds register and a date display at 6 o’clock. It boasts Ulysse Nardin’s ‘quick setting’, allowing forward and backward date adjustments.
The Marine Chronometer Manufacture will be available in a Limited Edition of 350 pieces in 18-carat rose gold, and in two-tone titanium case with gold bezel and gold crown as well as in an all stainless-steel/titanium case.
From the art of enamelling to the precision of engineering, the watchmaker reveals through the Marine Chronometer that art and innovation go hand in hand in leading the company independently.
