BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Ulysse Nardin is most renowned for its Freak watches these days, you know the ones I mean, those watches where the majority of the movement is fitted into a hand on the dial, looking very architectural and cool. The Freak is a relatively new idea in Ulysse Nardin’s long history of making timepieces, and for most of its life from its founding in 1846 to today, the maison has been making marine chronometers used for accurate navigation at sea. Astronomy has played a part in accurate seafaring for millennia, so it’s understandable that Ulysse Nardin would be involved somewhere. Shortly after acquiring the maison in 1983, entrepreneur Rolf Schnyder met Dr. Ludwig Oeschlin, founder of Ochs und Jr, who had developed an astronomical clock. Schnyder challenged Oeschlin to put his astronomical workings into a wristwatch, resulting in Ulysse Nardin’s Astrolabium Galileo Galilei, introduced in 1985 and recognised by Guinness World Records as the first astronomical wristwatch.
The new Blast Moonstruck aims to continue Ulysse Nardin’s legacy as a maker of astronomical timepieces, its dial features five astronomical indications, as well as the date and time. The watch’s centre features a top-down view of the Northern hemisphere as seen from the north pole formed as part of the glassbox sapphire crystal’s centre.
The hours, minutes and date indicator span out from under it. A fixed city ring around the dial edge forms part of the world time display, which Ulysse Nardin counts as an astronomical indication; a day/night indicator is also present thanks to the two-tone ring inside the fixed city ring.
Orbiting the hands are sun and moon indicators which show their relative positions in real time with respect to the Earth, and the moonphase will need adjustment once every 40.3 years. A neat little trick engineered into the moon’s display means that the light side of the moon indicator will always face the sun, I can’t think of a Pink Floyd reference right now so if you have one tell me in the comments. By knowing the position of the sun and moon, the wearer is able to work out whether there is a spring or neap tide, this is similar to how the watches of Ochs und Jr work too, they tell you all the information you need to do without complicating the display, requiring you to do a little thinking yourself.
The self-winding calibre UN-106 powers all of this astronomical magnificence, and it’s made of 338 components with 42 jewels. It has a 4Hz (28,800vph) beat rate and 50-hour power reserve. A silicon escapement and hairspring (introduced in the Freak models) are fitted for greater accuracy and resistance to magnetism, and they’re made by SIGATEC, which Ulysse Nardin owns.
This is all housed in a futuristic-looking 45mm case made of 18k rose gold and black DLC-coated titanium. The case is water-resistant to 30m and is presented on a black alligator/rubber strap with an 18k rose gold and DLC titanium folding clasp. The watch is limited to 20 pieces worldwide at a price of $116,000 before tax.
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