To celebrate World Oceans Day, Ulysse Nardin has chosen azure blue. This aquatic shade refreshes the Diver X Skeleton, which remains powerful and ultra-accurate even in the Ocean depths, and the Diver Net, which offers innovative durability.
Le Locle, 8 June 2023, 10am CET. Ulysse Nardin’s affinity for the marine world dates back to 1846 and the Manufacture’s first marine chronometers. Their accuracy was vital for setting the course of a ship and explorers’ lives depended on it. The Ocean itself is now in danger, and its survival depends on the sustainable management of environmental resources. The United Nations has dedicated an international day to it, an opportunity for Ulysse Nardin to support the NGO OCEARCH and shark activist Mike Coots and to put its expertise in innovation and timekeeping at the service of this essential cause. From an aesthetic point of view, touches of azure blue contrast with the anthracite shades of the Diver X Skeleton and the Diver Net. But, most importantly, the Manufacture has succeeded in using raw and recycled materials responsibly without compromising on the excellence expected of Haute Horlogerie.
Ninety percent of large fish populations have been depleted, fifty percent of coral reefs have been destroyed, and nine million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the Ocean each year. In light of this situation, Ulysse Nardin, pioneers in using revolutionary materials, last year presented the Diver Net, made from upcycled materials. This exceptional watch – a first when it launched – was the product of a collaboration between the Manufacture and several start-ups. Its case is made from Carbonium® (with a 40% lower environmental impact than other carbon composites), Nylo® (recycled polyamide from fishing nets), and 95% recycled steel. This particularly high percentage represents a further improvement on the first Diver Net, which contained 80% recycled steel.
The new Diver Net Azure is powered by the iconic UN-118 movement, fitted with a silicon balance-spring, and an escapement wheel and an anchor in DiamonSil. This fine watchmaking piece, water-resistant up to 300 metres, is adorned with blue, highlighting the X on the dial, the display indications, and the markings on the bezel. The rubber strap features the colours of the Ocean too.
The ultra-technical and powerful Diver X Skeleton Azure revolutionises the aesthetics of diving watches. With its titanium DLC case water-resistant to 200 metres, this extraordinary piece presents a dynamic skeletonised face/dial marked with an X in deep black and azure blue. The transparency of the dial and movement draws the eye deep into the heart of the mechanism. Carbonium®, a light and resistant technical composite, tops the barrel cover and the unidirectional rotating bezel for measuring immersion times.
Its UN-372 Manufacture calibre stands out for its reliability and accuracy and is fitted with an extra-large oscillator and a silicon escapement wheel, anchor and balance-spring, all produced in-house, which is rare in watchmaking. Silicon, which was used for the first time in watchmaking by Ulysse Nardin in the Freak in 2001, has a number of exceptional properties, such as anti-magnetism and resistance to oxidation and deforming, which improve the accuracy and reliability of its timekeeping. With the blue extending onto the crown protector and rubber strap, there can be no doubt that the new Diver X Skeleton Azure fearlessly dares to explore as yet uncharted waters.
With the Diver Net Azure and the Diver X Skeleton Azure, Ulysse Nardin, which specialises in accuracy and watchmaking innovation, is bringing the Ocean cause to the fore, along with the pressing need to reinvent ourselves in order to protect it.
Ulysse Nardin Diver Net Azure Technical Specifications
Reference 1183-170-2B/3A – CHF 11,900 (7.7% VAT) / €12,700 (21% VAT) / $12,600
Movement & functions
- UN-118 Manufacture calibre
- Automatic movement
- Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, power reserve indicator
- Silicon balance-spring
- DiamonSil escapement wheel and anchor
- 260 components / 50 jewels
- Frequency 4Hz / Oscillating at 28,800 vib/h
Case
- Central case, bezel, case back and movement mount in 95% recycled stainless steel.
- Side case and case back ring: 60% Nylo® recycled fishing nets and 40% Carbonium® upcycled carbon fibres from the aeronautic industry.
- Open sapphire crystal case back
- Diameter 44 mm, height 14.81 mm
- Water-resistance: 300 m
- Bezel: Concave unidirectional rotating bezel in 100% upcycled Carbonium® with domed sapphire crystal
Dial
- Sandblasted black dial with an embossed and satinated X
- Power-reserve indicator at 12 o’clock, date and small seconds at 6 o’clock
- Hour-markers and hands with Super-LumiNova
Strap and buckle
- Azure-coloured rubber strap with black “Ulysse Nardin” ceramic element at 6 o’clock
- Black ceramic pin buckle
Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton Azure Technical Specifications
Reference 3723-170-2B/3A – CHF 25,000 (7.7% VAT) / €26,800 (21% VAT) / $26,400
Movement & functions
- UN-372 Manufacture calibre
- Self-winding skeleton movement
- Hours, minutes, seconds
- Oversized silicon balance wheel
- Silicon escapement wheel, anchor and balance-spring
- 171 components / 23 jewels
- Frequency 3Hz / Oscillating at 21,600 vib/h
Case
- Polished and satin finished black DLC titanium case
- Concave unidirectional rotating bezel in Carbonium® with domed sapphire crystal
- Open sapphire crystal case back in black DLC titanium
- Diameter 44 mm, height 15.7 mm
- Water-resistance: 200 m
- Bezel: Concave unidirectional rotating bezel in 100% upcycled Carbonium® with domed sapphire crystal
Dial
- X-shaped skeleton dial in polished and satin-finished black PVD
- Carbonium® barrel cover
- Black hour-markers and hands with Super-LumiNova
Strap and buckle
- Azure-coloured rubber strap with black “Ulysse Nardin” ceramic element at 6 o’clock
- Compatible with R-STRAP
- Folding clasp in black ceramic and black PVD titanium
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.