In 2021, Ulysse Nardin celebrated its 175th anniversary. Throughout these many years, the brand has always had a close relationship with water, making it more than capable of combining the marine chronometer with a clock. Being Ulysse Nardin, the brand doesn’t like to dwell on the past too much, so the UFO was born, standing for ‘Unidentified Floating Object.’
It turned out to be quite a success, with the original 75 clocks selling out quite rapidly. Ulysse Nardin even made one in orange for the 9th edition of Only Watch. This clock sold at auction for CHF 380,000. Now, 30 final UFOs have been announced, available in three exciting colors: green, ice blue, and champagne. The color is, fortunately, the only thing that has changed, as the rest of the UFO remains its impressive self.
Ulysse Nardin worked with clock specialist Maison L’Épée for two years to develop this timepiece, which can simultaneously show the time in three timezones. At the top of the clock, a 49mm large balance wheel beats slowly at 0.5Hz. Thanks to this, the six mainspring barrels can power the watch for over a year when fully wound.
The UFO, of course, feels at home in a nautical environment. The aluminum base is a half sphere in which a tungsten mass is placed. This allows the clock to always return to an upright position when it swings on the candace of the waves or when it has gotten a playful push. The glass dome is another accomplishment, as it is hand-blown in Neuchâtel. This is quite a demanding task, as the dome is 25 cm in height, 15 cm wide, and has to have a consistent thickness of 3 mm.
The beauty is that Ulysse Nardin also uses these final UFO clocks to underscore its close relationship with three important brick-and-mortar retailers, each of which will have ten pieces of a color exclusive. Bucherer has the ice blue ones, Yoshida the green ones, and report to The Hour Glass if you want the UFO in champagne. The price of all three options remains consistent at $68,600 (excluding VAT).
For more info, visit Ulysse Nardin, here.