papazulu shares his exciting discovery of a silver-cased Ulysse Nardin Deck watch, complete with an impressively swift archive extract from Ulysse Nardin. This post offers a detailed look at a vintage instrument, highlighting the brand's excellent customer service and the historical significance of such timepieces.
Last week at a Watch and Clock trade fair here in germany I found this...
A silver cased Ulysse Nardin Deck watch in near perfect condition.
I mailed Ulysse Nardin and asked if I could have an extract from the archives.
Well, the answer came from Locle, not even 24 hours later, would you believe!
That´s what I call customer service!
Dear Mr. XXXXX,
We thank you for your email and the pictures: the watch is beautiful !
I found in our archives the following information:
The movement 27’762 is a caliber 22’ Ancre and has been produced on the 14.05.1938.
Should you have any further request, I remain at your disposal,
Best regards
Sylvie ROLOT
International Technical Service
Ulysse Nardin
CH-2400 Le Locle
Tel: +41 32 930 74 00
Fax: +41 32 930 74 19
I found that watch had already been described by the National Maritime Museum, London- England, so I edited it to suit my watch.
A mahogany deck box fitted with a brass piano hinge and a simple pressed brass clip-type catch. The box contains a brass drum mounting in the base, shaped to the form of the watch, with a red velvet-covered cork base inside. It has a brass screw-down bezel with silvered site ring and bevelled glass. The lid contains a chrome-plated, folded steel label holder for an issue card .
The bottom of the box is covered with green baize. The silver, open-face case has the winding/setting crown inset into a cylindrical pendant, with a hand-setting push pin on the side of the case to the left at '11 o'clock'. The plain silver, rolled-edge bezel has a fitting for a thick beveled glass. The silver, screw-down back has no engravings. The inside of the back is stamped with the manufacturer's mark 'ULYSSE NARDIN / LOCLE' in Nardin's emblematic shield, the incuse mark 'AIIM' and number '396420' and in oval marks '925', the Glasgow import mark (two horizontal interlocking letter 'Fs) with the date letter 'p' (for 1938-39) and in a rectangular mark 'FFBA / 46'.
A white enamel dial of 50 mm Æ is signed 'ULYSSE NARDIN / LOCLE / 27762 / C /I\ W above the centre, and has a subsidiary seconds dial below. The dial has Roman numerals and the seconds dial has small Arabic ten-second figures. Polished, blued-steel spade hands and counter-balanced blued-steel seconds hand.
The going barrel, barred movement is of matt-gilt brass, and is signed with machine engraving on the barrel bridge 'ULYSSE NARDIN / SWISS / ' and below /I\. It is also marked on the main plate, by the escape wheel cock foot '27762' in a rectangular surround. A polished steel index, mounted on the balance cock, acts on a horizontal steel screw for fine rating adjustment, the cock having a scale engraved on it with 'F' and 'S' for fast and slow. There is a four-wheel train with a going barrel.
There is a double roller, jewelled and club tooth lever escapement. The impulse roller has a jewelled impulse pin and pallets with red stones, the pallets bank against brass banking pins. The cut bimetallic compensation balance is mounted with 14 brass screws around the rim. The flat spiral, blued-steel balance spring, with over coil, has an index mounted on the upper surface of the balance cock. The train is jewelled to the centre with red pressed-in stones. The balance and escape wheel have polished steel-set end stones.
The instrument is in a very good condition, with just a few marks on the wooden box.
Regards
Jimmy
