Classico Manufacture Grand Feu Noir
Almost exactly one year ago, Ulysse Nardin announced the launch of the new Classico Manufacture “Grand Feu” with a blue dial, which was closely followed by a limited edition with white dial and blue numerals to celebrate the 170th anniversary of the Le Locle watchmaker. Having ticked off white and blue, this year the artisans from Donzé Cadrans – a specialist dialmaker and enamelling company owned by Ulysse Nardin – have taken up the challenge of black, a particularly difficult hue to achieve with grand feu enamel. The timepiece has the same 40 mm-diameter, 9.6 mm-thick stainless steel case as its predecessors, which, with its slender lugs, provides an elegant frame for the intense opaque black of the enamel dial. After repeated firings in a high-temperature kiln, the dial is polished and buffed in preparation for the addition of the Roman numerals, leaf-type hands, minutes track and small seconds register at 6 o’clock, along with a date window, all in a contrasting white.
The self-winding manufacture UN-320 calibre, featuring the brand’s signature silicon balance spring and escapement, provides a 48-hour power reserve. A corrector that can be accessed from both front and back ensures easy date adjustment. The Classico Manufacture Grand Feu Noir is also available in a mirror-image version, with a white dial and black accents. Both variants come with a price tag of CHF 8,800.
Marine Tourbillon Grand Feu Bleu
The Marine Tourbillon Grand Feu is barely one year old. Launched in white enamel livery, it returns to the SIHH sporting a magnificent deep blue dial whose liquid brilliance is ideal for a model in the Marine collection. The 60-second flying tourbillon sits boldly at 6 o’clock, while the power reserve indicator is discreetly located at 12 o’clock, supplying the only red accent on a dial dominated by blue and white. The 43-mm steel case with its bevelled edges, fluted bezel and screw-down crown is water-resistant to 100 metres, as one would expect from a watch descended from marine chronometers of old. At its heart beats the automatic manufacture movement UN-128, with a 60-hour power reserve. The classic horological combination of tourbillon and grand feu enamel comes at the very competitive price of CHF 28,800.
Marine Torpilleur Military
The new Marine Torpilleur Military offers a distinctive alternative to the first three versions launched in 2017, in rose gold or steel, with their white or blue dials. The classical styling of 19th and 20th century pocket marine chronometers gives way to a more military bearing that nevertheless retains the elegance of old military timepieces. The Roman numerals have been replaced with Arabic figures, the 44 mm steel case has an attractive sand-blasted finish, and the topstitched leather straps accentuate the timepiece’s vintage military character. The Marine Torpilleur Military comes with an off-white dial and black-edged beige markers, or in a bolder version with a black dial and orange markers and topstitching, on a matt black leather strap. This COSC chronometer-certified watch is driven by the manufacture calibre UN-118, which supplies a power reserve of 60 hours. The number of the limited edition, out of 300, is clearly marked in red on the small seconds counter, along with “C.W.” for “Chronometer Watch”. The steel case back is engraved with a representation of the torpedo boat that gives the collection its name. Both variants of the Marine Torpilleur Military are available for CHF 7,900.
