Ulysse Nardin Marine Grand Deck Tourbillon

Ulysse Nardin has been inspired by the world of boating at least a few dozen times over the years, and new interpretations continue to manifest from that, such as this Ulysse Nardin Grand Deck Marine Tourbillon in 44 mm white gold case. This happens to be the first time Ulysse Nardin has introduced a new complication into the Marine case collection. The watch works as a series of "nanowires" act to pull a blued-aluminum retrograde minute hand, which is meant to act like a ship's boom. The dial miniaturizes elements of the deck of a classic racing yacht, including a wood deck, winches, lines and a mainsail boom. The dial is made of inlaid wood in a color and curved design intended to resemble the deck of a classic yacht. A blue aluminum minutes hand represents the boom, the horizontal spar used to angle the mainsail on a racing boat. It swings down from the 12 o’clock position, sweeping across a retrograde minutes scale that extends from 3 to 6 o’clock. It is literally pulled across the scale by strong high-tech fibers that wrap around two “rigging screws” and two pinions designed to resemble – and function as – the winches on the deck of a racing yacht. The lines of the winches are made of polyethylene Dyneema®, a fiber used in ship’s rigging that is many times stronger than steel.

Once the boom reaches the 60-minute position, it jumps back to zero in about 4 seconds – a delay that is calibrated with a special regulator that maintains the accuracy of the minutes. The minutes scale is made of a translucent blue crystal so as not to interfere with the view of the “deck.” The hour is displayed as a jumping hour in a double window just above the minutes. A corrector positioned at 2 o’clock on the case side can be used to set the time. The Ulysse Nardin logo appears on the upper dial between two floating maritime symbols, spelled according to the nautical alphabet that was used in classic ship’s chronometers – such as those historically produced by Ulysse Nardin. The watch will be made in limited editions of 18 pieces in white gold.