Ulysse Nardin gives a new shine to its Executive Free Wheel by using four daring materials on its dial and barrel cover. Each model is manufactured in a limited edition of just 18 timepieces.
Osmium
With a dial made from osmium - which is not only the world’s heaviest metal but also the rarest and densest, most stable element - this version of the Free Wheel has a white gold case which frames the diamond-like osmium crystals. Osmium, atomic number 76 in the Periodic Table of The Elements, is a trace element found in alloys mostly in the platinum group and used by manufacturers when extreme hardness is required. It is a siren song of engineering and esthetics.
Aventurine
The deep blue aventurine dial is reminiscent of the starry night sky glittering with reflections of the stars. A form of translucent quartz, the name “aventurine” derives from the Italian a ventura, which can mean “by chance” or simply “let the adventure begin”. Also used in the Ulysse Nardin men’s Blue Aventurine Genghis Khan 789-80, this mineral’s aventurescence provides a shimmering effect.
Straw marquetry
Made using a rarefied, 17th-century technique once practiced by nuns in convents, straw marquetry has been revived with new glory and used by Ulysse Nardin to adorn the face of this Executive Free Wheel model. Lightweight straw means there is no issue of pressure on the dial and barrel cover. The face design uses shiny, black-dyed straw – every stalk cut and prepared by specialized artisans – adding a sleek, masculine veneer to the dial.
Naturally resistant to the effects of time and capable of catching light to create a visual effect, straw marquetry is a master craft in and of itself. Straw is split with painstaking precision, dyed with textile dye then applied onto the dial and the barrel cover. It is a distinctive way to explore precision in a pattern design.
Carbonium® Gold
Composed of aeronautical-grade carbon fibers, Carbonium® is approximately twice as light as aluminum. The carbon and pre-pregnated resin composite is made with ecologically-sourced components, making a markedly smaller impact on the environment than any conventional carbon composite. Aesthetically stunning, Carbonium® Gold is a product of the intimate fusion of carbon filaments and gold particles within a thermosetting matrix. The result is a gold-veined effect.
