Ulysse Nardin, who is officially sponsoring the Monaco Yacht Show for the eighth year, welcomed visitors and guests to its booth overlooking the principality’s Port Hercules from the Parvis Piscine. Susanne Hurni, Ulysse Nardin’s head of communications, explained how the show helps the company to communicate with its customers: “Many of our clients buy more than one Ulysse Nardin watch, so inviting them here in this setting gives us the opportunity to show them newer models that they might not yet be familiar with, as well as the Monaco Yacht Show limited edition, and our SuperCat concept table clock, which we unveiled at Baselworld, and which superyacht owners particularly appreciate.”
Every year at the world’s leading superyacht fair, Ulysse Nardin unveils a limited edition of 100 timepieces dedicated to the Monaco Yacht Show. Opposite the booth, which is located right next to the VIP lounge, a giant screen shows off the 2016 special edition and Ulysse Nardin’s new advertising campaign. Naturally, the Diver Chronograph Monaco is displayed in the booth’s showcases, along with the entire current collection. A team from Kronometry 1999, a watch retailer in nearby Cannes, who are there to represent Ulysse Nardin, are available to answer the requests of their well-heeled and well-connected international visitors. The first two watches were sold on the first day. This year, the special edition is an automatic dive watch equipped with a manufacture movement with silicon escapement, and a chronograph whose minute counter is decorated with the coat of arms of the Principality of Monaco. The hands and indices in the colours of the Monegasque flag punctuate a blue diamond-patterned dial, discreetly inscribed with the legend “Monaco Yacht Show”.
Aesthetic codes define the collections
At this year’s Baselworld, two years after joining luxury group Kering (which also owns Girard-Perregaux and Boucheron, along with a number of fashion brands), Ulysse Nardin unveiled the primary elements of its new strategy, which will carry the brand through to 2020. The stylised wave that features in its new campaign, and the emergence of six new watch families are just the tip of the iceberg. Previously, the Le Locle company offered fifteen parallel product ranges, each differentiated by their movements. These have been consolidated into six collections identified by their design, rather than their technical features, which the company continues to evolve and innovate. The six new families are Classic, Diver, Executive, Freak, Marine, and Jade for women. This pursuit of greater coherence bears the hallmarks of Jean-Christophe Sabatier, Ulysse Nardin’s new head of product marketing, who arrived at Baselworld and jumped straight in at the deep end. A transplant from Boucheron, his main concern currently is to ensure that the company’s 2017 watches are ready in record time; Ulysse Nardin will be exhibiting at the SIHH rather than Baselworld next year, which means everything must be ready for January, rather than March. As guardian of the codes of each collection, he must set some limits to ensure that creativity doesn’t overwhelm the key elements identified for each model, as well as overseeing their implementation down to the smallest details, and building a communication strategy that conveys a clearer message to clients. The four watches selected for the GPHG 2016 will probably help in this regard.
Four watches selected for the GPHG
With four watches selected for the 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, Ulysse Nardin is clearly on the prize jury’s radar (the winners will be revealed at a ceremony on 10 November, to be broadcast live on WorldTempus). The Tourbillon Grand Deck Marine, in the Sport category, brings a rare whimsical touch to a highly technical timepiece, with its rigging and spars. Another tourbillon from the Executive family has been entered for the Tourbillon category; the Skeleton Tourbillon is far more urban in style, but with Ulysse Nardin’s characteristic bold styling. A member of the Marine collection, the Chronograph Annual Calendar, is competing in the Chronograph category, and it’s Susanne Hurni’s personal favourite: “It’s a personal choice, but I feel this is a very accessible watch that epitomises the genius of Ludwig Oechslin, who has brought great simplicity to complexity. These days the challenge is to make complications simple and reliable, and one way to do this is by reducing the number of parts to a minimum.” Finally, the Skeleton Tourbillon Pearl, whose bridges are delicately embellished with mother-of-pearl and diamonds, is one of six watches selected for the Women’s High-Mech prize. It’s going to be a tough choice for the jury.
