Ulysse Nardin’s presence at this year’s SIHH was all about X. There was a new Freak X, this new Skeleton X and the usual crop of X-rated watches that some found audacious to say the least (while others happily posted photos of them on social media for anyone over the age of 13 to see). The corruption of buzzwords containing the letter “x” was employed to drum the theme home, as we were encouraged to eXplore the eXtraordinary to eXcess and eXperience the eXcitement.
Beyond the buzz, however, is a more serious message: that of “democratisation”. After a number of innovative concept watches, the Freak is now available with a self-winding movement for as little as 21,000 US dollars in titanium. The Skeleton X model follows suit from just 17,500 dollars. If you have the impression you’ve seen something similar before, then you are correct. The Skeleton X shares a similar design to the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon, yet the price is obviously considerably different.
Despite the similarities the Skeleton X is an entirely new watch. The case is a smaller 42mm and has a more rounded look, with the crown and crown protector better integrated into the case. The lugs are tapered rather than straight, further rounding the case design. The skeleton movement also appears similar to the one seen in the tourbillon, but look closer and there are a number of differences. The large rectangular aperture of the bridges is still there, but it is supported by an X shape that is absent on the tourbillon. The oversized numerals seen on the tourbillon have also disappeared, with just a discreet Roman III and IX remaining. In fact, the movement is a completely new calibre, the UN-371 in-house manual movement. It beats at 3Hz, rather than the 2.5Hz of the tourbillon and thus has a lower power reserve of 96 hours. Its extra-large silicon balance wheel deserves special attention, since it uses nickel flyweights and the stabilising micro-blades first seen on the Freak Vision last year.
The Skeleton X comes in four different versions: brushed titantium with blue bezel and blue rubber or alligator strap, black DLC titanium with black strap, Carbonium® gold and rose gold. Ulysse Nardin is the first watch brand to use Carbonium® in watch cases. The material is a superlight composite that has 40% less environmental impact that other carbon composites and is widely used in aeroplane construction. Carbonium® gold fuses flecks of gold with this innovative material for a unique look to the Skeleton X watch case.
Titanium blue: USD 17,500
DLC black titanium: USD 17,500
Carbonium® gold: USD 21,000
18-carat rose gold: USD 29,000
class="btn btnLine" style="color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;" href="/feature/watches-and-wonders-21">> Watches & Wonders
