Ulysse Nardin
- Founded
- 1846
- Based in
- Le Locle, Switzerland
- In our catalog
- 4 watches from $7,600 to $106,000
Ulysse Nardin has two personalities. One is nautical: for over a century it built marine chronometers for the world's navies, and its Marine and Diver collections still carry that heritage. The other is experimental: in 2001 it launched the Freak, a watch with no hands, no crown and an escapement made of silicon, years before the rest of the industry caught on to the material.
History
Ulysse Nardin founded the company in Le Locle in 1846. It became one of the most respected makers of marine chronometers, the precise clocks ships used to work out their longitude, and supplied dozens of navies around the world.
The company was struggling by the early 1980s when entrepreneur Rolf Schnyder bought it in 1983. He teamed up with the scholar-watchmaker Ludwig Oechslin, whose astronomical watches, starting with the Astrolabium Galileo Galilei in 1985, put the brand back on the map. The Freak followed in 2001. Kering bought Ulysse Nardin in 2014, and in 2022 it became independent again in a management buyout, alongside Girard-Perregaux.
Signature models
- Marine Torpilleur: A classic marine chronometer-style watch with a large small-seconds dial and Roman numerals.
- Diver 42: A modern dive watch with a strong, sporty look and good water resistance.
- Freak One: The handless watch: the whole movement rotates on the dial to show the minutes, and you set it by turning the bezel.
- Blast Tourbillon: A sharp-edged, architectural tourbillon.
What it's known for
Ulysse Nardin was among the first to use silicon parts in mechanical watches, a technology that's now standard across the industry.
Price and positioning
Marine and dive models cost about $7,500 to $10,000, while the Freak and tourbillons cost $50,000 and more. Pre-owned Ulysse Nardins tend to trade well below retail, which makes them good value.
Ulysse Nardin watches in our library
- Ulysse Nardin Diver 42 ($7,600 to $8,200)
- Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur ($9,900 to $10,900)
- Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon ($50,000 to $58,000)
- Ulysse Nardin Freak One ($102,000 to $106,000)