1183 - 170 - 3/92
Watches of Switzerland / London, 9th March 2019
I'm pretty sure this was the first time I'd had a Ulysse Nardin on my wrist, and even the salesman seemed a little surprised at my interest. He confided in me that the brand isn't very popular in the UK and I must admit from what I'd seen in the past at their Bicester Village outlet store I was never overly impressed. Sure, I have seen some higher end pieces that were interesting but as for their affordable models... well, let's just say this one made a nice change!
This one caught my eye because I rather like the bold but simple styling and the colour scheme, those little splashes of red really add something to the overall aesthetic without spoiling the monochrome effect. I rather like the power reserve indicator as well, which is not something I often say, (particularly when talking about Grand Seiko...) but here it's well placed and I like the fuel gauge inspired design.
That said, it's a little unusual to find a power reserve indicator on an automatic watch, and as it's a little while since I tried this on now I just had to double check that this watch was indeed an automatic - it is, which renders the gauge a little less necessary than I thought. But then I guess it's handy for people like me who don't tend to wear their mechanical watches regularly and have to wind them when they take them out of the safe / watch box. For that reason I would appreciate a power reserve indicator on my Heuer 01!
I know it's a Ulysse Nardin 'thing' but I could live without the odd metal part on the rubber strap, it seems a bit pointless and is surely going to look scratched after a while. The bezel is very stylish and definitely plays a big part in making this look quite a classy piece, it's slightly reminiscent of the Rolex Yacht Master that I tried on early the same day albeit a fair bit less expensive with a list price of 7,900CHF (£6000ish),
As you'd expect, Ulysse Nardin have produced their new 'Diver Chronometer' in a variety of colours and finishes as seen below. The one on the white rubber strap looks particularly interesting to me and on further investigation it seems it is a limited edition of 300 pieces with a slightly higher list price of 8,900CHF. Unfortunately Ulysse Nardin's website gives the barest minimum of information so I don't know why it is limited and more expensive, but I notice the brand logo on the strap has been replaced with a shark design so perhaps this is some kind of tie in with a shark protection charity or something?
All these watches are 44mm with a titanium case and I have to say the one that I was able to try on felt very good on the wrist. It didn't feel as big as 44mm sounds, and obviously being titanium it wasn't a big heavy lump on the wrist either. I've never been a fan of Ulysse Nardin, but this watch has changed that to some extent. I'm still not crazy about that metal part on the strap and I wouldn't spend £6000 on this, but if the resale value is as weak as I expect it to be this could become a bit of a bargain in a few years when it trickles down to the second hand market. Worth keeping an eye out anyway... after all it's good to keep an open mind and to try something new now and again.
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