UFO, Ulysse Nardin’s marine chronometer of the future, is returning one last time with three limited editions in champagne, ice blue and green with its partners The Hour Glass, Bucherer and Yoshida.
Le Locle, July 10th 2023. Who would dare to put a new spin on a marine chronometer or table clock? And yet, in 2021, to mark its 175th anniversary, Ulysse Nardin reinvented the historical codes with UFO. A new leap into the future for the nonconformist Manufacture that’s always ahead of its time! Artistic, technical but also playful, UFO – Unidentified Floating Object – sways when nudged, before righting itself on its base. This mechanical feat incorporating 675 components boasts a year’s power reserve. UFO’s first 75 unique examples in dark blue were quickly snapped up. The same year, an orange version was sold for the exceptional sum of CHF 380,000 at the Only Watch charity auction. This thrilling adventure is now coming to a close with a final historic series, each limited to 30 pieces: green for Yoshida in Japan, ice blue for Bucherer and champagne for The Hour Glass in South-East Asia.
Breaking convention
A fascinating oval clock capable of defying gravity, UFO took two years’ research and prototyping carried out by Ulysse Nardin’s R&D teams and the watchmaking specialist Maison L’Épée in Delémont. UFO’s weight – 7.2 kg exactly – and its distribution – over a height of 263 mm and a diameter of 159 mm – give it the properties… of a roly-poly toy! The half-spherical aluminium base contains a tungsten mass, which allows UFO to return to an upright position. The amplitude of its movements can reach 120°, an open invitation to play with this extraordinary timepiece.
The balance wheel of UFO’s calibre with a 49-mm rim beats at the low frequency of 0.5 Hz. Thanks to this slow tempo, along with the considerable energy stored by the six extra-large barrels, UFO’s power reserve lasts an entire year. It is then fully wound with 40 turns of a key that is also used to set the time zones of the three trapezoidal dials. A dead beat second mechanism marks the time on this futuristic measuring instrument, recalling the Manufacture’s multi-award-winning mechanical heritage of marine and pocket chronometers.
A spectacular glass
With a design inspired by the structure of nautical buoys and crowned by Ulysse Nardin’s emblematic anchor, this movement is covered by a glass dome. Hand-blown in VQT’s workshop in Neuchâtel, its creation is a feat of dexterity – only a third of the bells produced achieve the required quality. The dome measures 25 cm in height, 15 cm in diameter and has a 3-mm thickness: dimensions that demand complete mastery of the shaping process – the slightest flaw would compromise the entire piece.
Ulysse Nardin is bringing the UFO feat to a close with three final editions in ice blue, green and champagne, exclusively available from its partners Bucherer, Yoshida and The Hour Glass. Accompanied by a limited-edition certificate and a winding and setting key, each numbered piece is presented in an aged wooden box – an extraordinary technical, artistic and playful watchmaking treasure.
Ulysse Nardin UFO Final Editions Technical Specifications
References
- UFO | YOSHIDA EXCLUSIVE – 9023-900LE-8A-YOS
- UFO | BUCHERER EXCLUSIVE – 9023-900LE-3A-BUCH
- UFO | THE HOUR GLASS EXCLUSIVE – 9023-900LE-9A-THG
Price
- 65’000 CHF / 68’600 USD (tax excl.) / 69’600 EUR / 8’319’300 JPY
Movement
- Calibre UN-902
- Table clock
- Features: Manually wound movement 3 time zones Hours, minutes, power reserve display Dead beat second mechanism 675 components Extra-large oscillator 0.5 Hz/3,600 vph
- Power reserve: 1 year, 6 barrels
Case
- Aluminium base & blown glass
- Dimensions: 263 (H) x 159 (Ø) mm
- Weight: 7.2 kg
- Coloured elements: Spherical varnished aluminium base
- Power reserve discs
- Lower ties
- Connecting cylinders
- Ulysse Nardin logo
- Limited edition: Three limited editions of 30 numbered pieces
Ulysse Nardin is the independent Manufacture producing advanced timepieces for explorers in pursuit of freedom.
Founded by Mr. Ulysse Nardin in 1846, the company owes its reputation to its links with the sea: its onboard marine chronometers are among the most award-winning and reliable ever designed.
A pioneer in innovative technologies and the use of high-tech materials such as silicium, Ulysse Nardin is one of the few integrated manufactures with the in-house expertise to produce its own high-precision components and movements. In 2001, the Maison changed the face of contemporary watchmaking by launching the first Freak.
Today, in the Swiss towns of Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds, Ulysse Nardin remains devoted to its quest for watchmaking perfection in four collections: Freak, Blast, Diver and Marine.
As of 2022, Ulysse Nardin and sister Maison Girard-Perregaux have formed an independent collective of high horology Manufactures.