Ulysse Nardin

Beware of BLAST, a collection born of fire and ice, magma and glaciers, violent lava eruptions and cascading ice shelves.

From ocean to land, from the FREAK X to the SKELETON X and DIVER X, Ulysse Nardin has long strived to stamp its X on as many audacious possibilities as it can reach.

This year, the Swiss watchmaker to the fast and furious has tapped into the very magma of the earth to forge a new collection of ripped Xplosion of volcanic energy.

Beware of BLAST, a collection born of fire and ice, magma and glaciers, violent lava eruptions and cascading ice shelves. From imposing blue glaciers at the ends of the planet to the volcanic islands of the Pacific, the daunting and dangerous nature of these ultimate hot and cold zones brings forth four models, each playing off the transparency of its new powerful automatic silicium tourbillon nested in a bold, X-shaped cage, which beats inside at a frequency of 2.5 Hz.

Light penetrates the open-worked body of the watch like a laser. Some Ulysse Nardin emblematic codes have been included – the rectangular frame, the 3-horned signature fixing the strap, the smooth, colored bezel, the verticality of the movement with the barrel at 12 o’clock and the flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock.

It has a distinctive look borrowed from the design of a stealth aircraft – the latest proof of Ulysse Nardin’s aesthetic prowess. Aeronautical and military engineers have created furtive aircrafts with aligned edges and serrated triangular patterns to make them invisible to radar and to deflect radio waves. The Ulysse Nardin designers have restyled and rebuilt the watch horns making them strong and geometric like the sharp wings of a stealth aircraft as it slices through a storm. Each triangle has a different finish, the surface of the horns alternating between polished, satin-finish and sand-blasted veneer.

The result is a shock to the eye and the effect otherworldly, like the lunar landscapes of black, cold magma that surround a volcano and glisten under the light of the moon.

As with FREAK X, SKELETON X and DIVER X, BLAST wears its “X” prominently and with pride, as an underlying theme progressing transversally throughout all Ulysse Nardin collections. Its shape-within-shape-within-shape geometry is a visual delight: an “X”, framed in a rectangle, both inside a circle.

This atomic bomb of a watch is powered by the recently fashioned UN-172 movement (an evolution of the UN-171 movement) and has a three-day power reserve. With an automatic tourbillon for the first time within the Ulysse Nardin SKELETON collection and a new tiny yet powerful platinum micro-rotor – visible only from the front of the watch at 12 o’clock – BLAST was 18 months in the making, from conception to creation. Every part of this new marvel was cleverly thought, from the triple-toothed round bezel to the double “X” that clamps the movements together in a “secret-agent style” sandwich, to the self-deploying buckle which releases effortlessly in just one click.

Thanks to a new patented 3 blade system that opens in a synchronized manner it snaps open seamlessly at the press of the finger.

BLAST is available in four distinct models, each with the new manufacture UN-172 movement with an automatic tourbillon and the new self-deploying buckle. Several strap options are possible: structured rubber, leather, velvet and some other specific option.

FIRE: ROSE GOLD BLAST 45mm

Forged from one of the most precious metals on Earth, this model features a black DLC middle case and solid gold horns, black ceramic bezel, a bicolor tourbillon cage rose gold colored and black PVD, sculpted rose gold indexes and hands set with Superluminova. Transparent jewels. Black X. Black Rectangle.

ICE: BLUE BLAST 45mm

Cool blue like the inside of an iceberg, the Blue BLAST has a titanium middle case, blue titanium bezel, blue brass rectangular bridge, blue tourbillon cage, blue and grey double “X” pattern, metallic grey sculpted hands and indexes with Superluminova.

 ICE: WHITE BLAST 45mm

Color composition for this watch is a palette straight out of Antarctica: white ceramic, metallic grey, dark blue and beautiful transparency. Just like a frozen lake. Reminiscent of glaciers, this model features a smooth titanium bezel, dark blue inscriptions on the barrel mentioning “Silicium Technology” which beats inside of it. The dark blue “Ulysse Nardin” logo is featured prominently on the rectangular frame and the dark blue color on the sculpted indexes and hands, is completed by Superluminova. Its jewels are transparent just like snowflakes.

FIRE: BLACK BLAST 45mm

The iconic model of this line, Black BLAST comes complete with a ceramic upper middle case and bezel; black rectangular bridge, red and black double “X” pattern and a stunning new red balance wheel – the first time that Ulysse Nardin has ever developed a colored balance wheel. The crystal joint is red, so are the jewels and the lacquered inscription “Silicium Technology” on the barrel. Grey Ulysse Nardin logo completes the rectangular frame. The geometric horns are fully polished and sandblasted for a matte-finish.

Learn more about the collection at the official website here.

(Source: Ulysse Nardin)