At the age of 23, Ulysse Nardin founded his namesake business in 1846 in Le Locle, Switzerland. He famously purchased an astronomical regulator clock in 1860 to increase the accuracy of calibration in his timepieces. In the decades to follow, his award-winning designs for marine chronometers put him at the head of the pack among those making this type of watch.
When Ulysse Nardin died in 1876 at the young age of 53, his son took over the company. Paul-David Nardin followed the path set by his father and continued to be recognized with gold medals for both pocket and marine chronometers, along with garnering several patents. By the turn of the 20th century, the company was making chronometers with tourbillon escapements.
“In 1915, at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., Ulysse Nardin took first place among sixty marine chronometers; seven years later, at the same trials, Ulysse Nardin marine chronometers again captured first place—and second and third as well,” according to authors Gene Stone and Stephen Pulvirent in “The Watch, Thoroughly Revised.” The company followed up in the 1930s introducing a split-second pocket chronograph and continued to win accolades in the decades following.
After enduring the stresses of the quartz watch crisis during the 1970s, a group of investors led by Rolf W. Schnyder, a former Jaeger-LeCoultre executive, purchased the Ulysse Nardin brand in 1983. They hired Dr. Ludwig Oechslin to assist in bringing the struggling entity back to life. Among his achievements during the period from 1985 to 1992 is a series of renowned watches named the Trilogy of Time, which are fine timepieces and quite handsome. These first three watches laid the groundwork for many Ulysses Nardin timepieces to follow.
Ownership changed again in 2014 when acquisition by the Kering Luxury Watches and Jewelry Group took place. They have continued to impress the world of Haute horology with innovations since then.
The Ulysse Nardin Grand Bleu Flying Tourbillon is a limited edition of only 18 pieces.
The complexity of the piece is displayed in a complete sapphire case housing the in house movement powered by a reserve of 48h.
This incredible piece is one of the only 3 pieces that made it to the United States and it is available as a completely brand new set at The Second Hand Club.
Movement | Self Winding |
---|---|
Calibre |
UN-79
|
Dial | Blue & Transparent |
Case size | 44mm |
Material | Sapphire |
Bracelet | Leather |
Glass | Sapphire |
Condition | New |
Box & Papers | Complete, 2022 dated papers, Full set |