INTRODUCING: The Ulysse Nardin Executive Tourbillon

ulysse-nardin-executive-tourbillon-1With a penchant for the avant-garde, Ulysse Nardin is a tricky customer to pin down stylistically. They’re most famous for their marine chronometers, but they also produce simple, lean pieces that embody elegance. They also dabble in the upper echelons of haute-horology with their famous Freak as well as models with painstakingly elaborate hand-painted dials. The modern and ultra-lightweight Executive Skeleton Tourbillon (which has been pre-selected for this year’s GPHG awards in the Tourbillon category) shows off another side of Ulysse Nardin. With its bold 45mm titanium case topped with a ceramic bezel, this featherweight piece won’t weigh your wrist down, despite its size. Through the sapphire crystal, the hands and oversized Roman numerals appear to float on the dial barely obscuring the view of the movement In order to achieve minimum weight the movement, which is the the manual winding Calibre UN-171 Manufacture, has been skeletonised to further reduce any unnecessary heft, while still offering an ample power reserve of 170 hours. The black, rectangular bridge is a nice modern touch that frames the movement. At Baselworld this year, Ulysse Nardin made waves with their Grand Deck Marine Tourbillon. That piece employed some nifty tricks that involved using a series of…

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9 years ago

Hands-On: The Martenero Edgemere, A Marine Chronometer-Inspired Watch Designed In New York

It’s easy to forget in a sea of marketing campaigns and brand ambassadors that there are a lot of small companies out there making cool watches too. Martenero is one such company that has been creating small runs of enthusiast-designed watches for a few years now, right out of New York City. Its latest design, the Edgemere, is inspired by marine chronometers, but with a modern look and bright colors. Here’s a hands-on look at this high-value piece.

9 years ago

Hands-On: An Original Omega Speedmaster Alaska Project & Some 44mm Sector-Dial Madness (And Why These Might Be The Coolest Watches In The Phillips November Sale)

The upcoming auction season has some pretty spectacular things on offer – none more so than the stainless steel 1518 at Phillips. The auction house has a bunch of other super high-end, super fancy stuff on offer too, like a Tiffany-signed Rolex 6263, a Cartier-signed Patek 1463, and some other steel Pateks and mega Rolex. It’s a good catalog. However, when I look at the Phillips sale, the two pieces that stand out to me might not strike your fancy immediately – but trust me, they’re absolutely spectacular watches, both bordering on the almost unique category, with a ton of aesthetic charm. Oh, and they both happen to be Omegas.

9 years ago

BEST FROM: aBlogtoWatch & Friends October 28, 2016

With dwindling sales and the threat of smartwatches, these are trying times for watch brands. In this roundup, let’s consider a more optimistic outlook on the impact of smartwatches and how they could actually boost and create interest in mechanical watches and even high-end horology.

9 years ago

Earth: The Blue Ball. Is This How The Universe Works?

This is a photo of the movement of the Jacob & Co. Astronomia triple-axis tourbillon: even that one-carat diamond “globe” counterbalancing the earth rotates on two axes! I’m sure there are people who believe the fiction that this is a movement destined for a wristwatch, but I’m hoping you are not one of them. Let us know what you think this contraption is really for in the comments!

9 years ago

Bring a Loupe: A Rare Wittnauer Professional Chronograph 242T, A Funky Jaeger-LeCoultre ‘Disco Volante,’ A Rolex Explorer II Reference 1655, And More

This week, we’ve rounded up some fairly unusual watches with a strong influence from the 1970s. So you can expect some orange touches from a Rolex Explorer II reference 1655 and an Eberhard Contagraf with an in-house chronograph movement. You will also find a pricey Wittnauer Professional Chronograph 242T, and a clear buyer beware in the form of a Zenith El Primero A386 fitted with a lot of service parts. This is your Bring A Loupe for October 28, 2016.

9 years ago

5 Cool Finds – 5 “Youngtimer” Rolex Watches for a lifetime

In our 3 previous episodes of “5 Cool Finds“, we’ve been looking at specific types of watches – multiple time-zones, super-complicated and dive watches. Probably, you’ve seen that in every article, there was at least one Rolex, and if you know your thing about watchmaking, you do understand why this brand is so well represented. Thus, instead of having one Rolex in a selection of 5 watches, we decided with our partner Chronext to focus this week only on this brand. That doesn’t mean we’re about to change our habits. You know the deal, 5 watches, all “youngtimers”, meaning not vintage but not in the collection anymore. What we have are 5 Rolex watches, from the last 2 decades, with that unique iconic flair and that are made to last a lifetime.

9 years ago

Attend In Miami: Parmigiani Fleurier ‘20 Years Of Achievements’ November 17 – December 31, 2016

Parmigiani Fleurier is proud to invite aBlogtoWatch audience members to attend our “20 Years of Achievements” exhibit celebrating Parmigiani watches and movements which will run from November 17th through December 31st, 2016, at the Miami Design District Parmigiani boutique. For those in the Miami area, on December 7th there will be a special Parmigiani and aBlogtoWatch event.

9 years ago