Horological Meandering

Marcus Hanke explores the history behind the tiny automatons on the dials of Ulysse Nardin's repeaters and hour strikers. Jacquemarts: Little Big Men Striking My research for this article started nearly nine years ago. Already the first Ulysse Nardin cata...  

than I thought. Thanks Marcus for the historic traipse through striking time. If production is low ( I am only assuming it is as these things are prohibitively expensive and there can't be a troupe of buyers out there!), how does UN maintain 'expertise pr... 

... since he is one of the most competent experts on musical watches, repeaters and automatons. Regards, Marcus

Claret is, without question, one of the greatest watch makers of all time!!! Craig

informative, emotional, and eye opener. Faisal

Thanks, Marcus, for all the effort and research you put into this. I have found the UN watches with jacquesmarts to be interesting novelties that are great little miniaturizations capturing the spirit of historical clocks (I remember reading about the San... 

an Erotica edition of this from UN as well?

... yes, there is an erotica version of the Hourstriker, but since the activities shown by the figures are lacking that distinguishing metallic sound as a result ..... *blush* .... You find it in our UN gallery of enamel watches: ulyssenardin.watchpro... 

and Marcus has provided the write-up and pics, here's one in action with sound .... make sure you are over '18' before clicking here Kong

Makes me appreciate mine all the more.... Dave This message has been edited by Dave G on 2010-06-06 05:05:51...  

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Always have loved those UN repeaters, found them very interesting and spectacular. Art works. Thanks for sharing. Vte

2 words, or better, 2 names immediately came to my mind: La Torre dell Orologio and ... Ulysse Nardin. Indeed, for every U.N Lover, a pilgrimage to Venezia is a must. For every Jacquemarts Lover, UN is a must. What other brand offers such a diversity in t... 

It is a big jump from tower clocks, the pride of the up and coming bourgeois towns of the 14th and 15th centuries, to modern wristwatches with striking automatons, the pride of some lucky bourgeois in our days. Fascinating, Don

Thank you dr. Hanke for this wonder of post If I may, and I hope that you'll not hold it against me, I would like to take this opportunity and present most famous Jacquemarts from my country The Green Man of Dubrovnik. These are the Renaissance bronze sta...  

... so I assume the original figures have been replaced by copies? Are these functional, so that they strike the hour? Sorry, I have never heard the version that "Jacuemart" means "Jacues and brother", so I can neither confirm nor outrule it. Best regards... 

original figures are replaced by exact replicas. Originals are in Rector's palace today (next to tower where they were striking hours for centuries) restored to original state as pictured in my first post. Replicas are fully functional I'll try to make vi...  

Thank you Sir. This is one of the most educating and interesting horological articles I have read -- beating everything I have read in any watch magazine. I hope a major watch magazine will pay you handsomely to publish it. At one time I owned a UN GMT Bi... 

Thanks for the tour with views of the marvellous ancient Jacquemarts above various buildings. Prefer the Ulysse Nardin Hourstriker in pink gold with blue enamel dial to the current version in White gold and onyx dial, as it is more real, with the 'hans-ha... 

... it is a symbol that the sonnerie mechanism is active and every hour (and half hour) is struck. With a pusher on the case you can silence the mechanism, and the small hand would point away from the hour glass. "Jacqueline" is rather the female of "Jacq... 

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These pieces are just amazing to se in photographs so I can only imagine seeing and hearing them in the metal. Wow! respo

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First of all, let me congratulate you Marcus for writing such a fantastic review. This is a cumulation of a large amount of information that I, as a reader, will take time to appreciate. Personally, I have not seen the Ulysse Nardin Jacquemart timepieces ... 

... but they seem to be very rare. the oldest one I saw in a book, with a central bronze figurine striking on two bells dates from the early 17th century. It would certainly be rewarding to find one in good and working condition at an auction. thanks a lo... 

maybe someone can post it here for us please, thanks for the post Marcus im intrigued by these guys