By Jovan Krstevski
Did you know that some ancient watches have been showing their eccentric bawdy side? Well, just ask Ulysse Nardin and their own reinterpretation of the watch industry’s classic erotic motif in the form of the new Hourstriker Erotica Jarretière. You gotta love these guys basically flaunting the magnificent watches as forbidden timepieces. Personally, it’s more of an indecorous persona or sort of a counter culture stuff for me which is rather very interesting to say the least.
Don’t you just hate the audacity of your hypocrite pals, well you know what I mean if you totally understand the point, let’s put it this way, Ulysse Nardin already did the job for us and it’s damn good of a watch. Needless to say, this watch is for open minded people who have a humorous outlook in life and not afraid of showing their bawdy sides. Are we philosophizing now, thank you, Ulysse Nardin, I didn’t expect that one coming.
So what’s the fuss? It’s a Ulysse Nardin and judging from the materials used and the grand design itself, it’s a complicated watch and there are only 28 pieces of these babies making it rather a collector’s must have. You can have the new Hourstriker Erotica Jarretière in either Platinum or Rose Gold. Personally, I’d go for the Platinum edition since the black onyx dial pretty much intensifies the white gold jaquemarts also bringing to life the striking of hours and half hours. What really makes it bawdy you ask, just wait for an hour to chime and observe the handcrafted Jaquemarts make love on a chaise. Their rhythm goes naturally with the Hourstriker mechanism, but you can certainly gong the hour on purpose thereby naturally playing with the Jaquemarts for exhibition purposes.
The 42 mm case looks perfect on either Platinum or Rose Gold, however, the combination of a black onyx dial and Rose Gold pretty much results to a very striking design. The hands are sexy too, being not too pointy and with just enough oomph to show you the hourly details but again, this is a complicated watch. The mechanism is great and the presentation is marvelous. The lugs and the bezel pretty much encapsulate the watch in an embrace and the two pushers subtly adorns the crown giving the timepiece an elegant yet masculine appeal. You won’t see railroad indicators here, just lovely dots placed at a 45 degrees angle on the side of the bezel with Ulysse Nardin’s branding at the 6 o’clock. The case is protected by a sapphire crystal which showcases the clarity of the Venetian decor. The chiming mechanism also strikes during half hours and there’s the subtle striker at the 2 o’clock.
The Hourstriker Erotica Jarretière is powered by an in-house movement UN–611 capable of storing up to 42 hours of power reserve. Normally the striking mechanism poses a danger to the watch if brought underwater but this timepiece can resist the ingress of water up to 30 meters, so it’s pretty much safe for a casual beach rundown. Moreover, you can see part of the self-winding movement by peering through the exhibition caseback which is also protected by a sapphire crystal. Finally, the timepiece’s finesse is enhanced by its luxurious leather strap with a folding clasp. Knowing that there are only 28 of these babies makes it rather exciting to have.
For more info, please visit ulysse-nardin.com
JOVAN KRSTEVSKI – FOUNDER, PROPRIETOR & EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Watch collector, aficionado and an Event profile in the Swedish nightlife. He launched Watchgeek back in 2011, which is now known as WristReview and is one of the most widely read watch blogs on the Web. He quotes ’WristReview is a site to help people find, explore, discover and enjoy wristwatches.’ His passion jump started in his early teens when he was given his first mid-range wristwatch which was an Omega Seamaster. Since then he has always been in love with wristwatches! Besides WristReview, he also writes for a number of publications. Read his articles here.
