Ulysse Nardin Royal Blue Tourbillon. Simply Royal.
amanico
Ulysse Nardin Royal Blue Tourbillon. Simply Royal.
Mysterious, magic, envouting, the Royal Blue Tourbillon, made in collaboration with Christophe Claret, is the Watch of Superlatives, or a Superlative Watch, as you want.
Introduced in the Ulysse Nardin Collection in 2005, it immediately came to the selective club of finest Tourbillons, along with the Girard Perregaux tourbillon with one or several gold bridges, the JLC Reverso platinum Tourbillon Skeleton or Gyrotourbillons, to name only a few which immediately come to my mind.
Of course, when you look at this Watch, the first part you admire is the dial, totally eye catching.
The blue sapphire bridges, the flying tourbillon ( which means that the balance Wheel is not attached to a bridge ), the transparency of the dial, the skeleton hands, and the movement, conceived in a minimalist way gives you a strong impression of lightness, clarity, play of light, depth...
This is not only the tourbillon which seems to float, but the whole dial, movement included, which floats on itself.
Here are a few shots from Ulysse Nardin, focusing on the dial, and on the Tourbillon:
The two third volume of the dial, covered with these blue sapphire bridges, gives a lot of presence, character and elegance, but also helps to read the time, as it brings some contrast to the skeleton Sonata hands. Functionnality and beauty are not incompatible.
I am not a big fan of jewelled watches, but I must confess a certain fascination for the use of sapphire stones, on the Royal Blue Tourbillon.
The configuration I love the most is this one, with the 12 sapphire used as hour markers, and a 13rd one on the top of the Tourbillon:
The slight use of jewels adds some preciousness to this already precious piece, with subtility, without any kind of arrogance. I am deeply seduced.
There were and still are several versions of the Royal Blue Tourbillon, more or less " jewelled ", some being entirely paved...
The one I took in picture is not my favourite, but well, pretty fascinating, to say the least.
Between my favourite, with the sapphires only, and this one, you have 48 diamonds... 48 diamonds which are used as minute indexes.
The pictures speak very loud on the beauty of this Watch, even if, once again, I prefer the more sober sapphire version only:
The impression of depht and transparency is better with a white background:
The case is very much my taste. With such a dial, it had to borrow a modern style, and it is!
Strong and elegant at the same time, with a particular mention for the lugs, deliciously shaped.
I much prefer the " basic " 41 mm one, to the bigger one ( 43 mm ).
As for the movement, the Cal UN-79, a view through the sapphire case back helps us to better understand how it works, and to appreciate it.
Here, an official photo:
And the photo I took, but I made the mistake to choose a blue background. It would have been more spectacular with a white one:
The minimalist appearance, no place for the " Superfluous " and the finish shows the level of exigence U.N showed when creating this Watch.
I m not very found of skeleton movements, but when they are so light, so ethereal, that makes me think of some pieces of modern art.
Convincing, to say the least. From an aesthetical point of view...
A tourbillon, for what purpose, by the way?
It has often been said that a Tourbillon is a complication, that it serves the purpose of accuracy...
I rather see it as a sophistication, first.
Then, if the original purpose of a tourbillon was accuracy, in a clock, or a Pocket Watch, which were, most of the time, in an horizontal position, I am not sure anymore that it is still valid. On a wrist, the position of the Watch necessarily changes.
Moreover, we saw during the last chronometry contest, that a simple ETA movement ( housed in the Tissot Chronometer ) won.
Accuracy is mor about the skill of the watchmaker when setting the movement, in my opinion.
No, the true purpose of a tourbillon is to make us dream, and only the finest make me dream, such as the ones I mentionned at the beginning of this article... Such as this Royal Blue Tourbillon.
Best,
Nicolas
This message has been edited by amanico on 2015-09-20 12:09:46
Comments:
Mark in Paris September 20th, 2015-13:31
Funny as it makes me think of the "1000 et 1 nuits" The blue saphire dial part looks like a "hijab" (women's veil) together with the jewels... Of course I wouldn't wear it but I find it very nice. Thanks for the article Nicolas.
foversta September 21st, 2015-13:23
It is a watch I love Even with more diamonds! Its light style makes me very appealing. The typical hands are also perfect in this context. Thanks for the pics and comments! Fx
amanico September 21st, 2015-14:20
Well, less is more for me, but yes, this Royal Blue has a strong appeal.
cazalea September 21st, 2015-15:21
This is a watch that I dream about - I have stored on my hard drive There's something about a blue color dial (or lack of one) that appeals to me. It could sit on my dresser in this this Lalique bowl / thing. or this one Mike ...
amanico September 21st, 2015-22:41
Yes, the light of the blue is captivating. Thanks, Mike.
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