Written by: Holly Troupe

For generations, Swiss watches have been the pinnacle of luxury and mechanical timekeeping exactitude.  Within that world of Swiss watch makers, one name symbolizes mechanical precision, scientific progress and artistic originality: Ulysse Nardin.

Ulysse Nardin was a Swiss watchmaker who learned his craft under the tutelage of his father Leonard-Frederic Nardin and two of the most celebrated watchmakers of the nineteenth century: Frederic William Dubois and Louis JeanRichard-dit-Bressel. In 1846 at the age of 23, he opened his own watch making company in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Seeing sailors’ need for accurate navigational aids, he perfected the chronometer with the half-second mark, allowing seamen to decipher the precise longitude during a sea voyage. Ulysse Nardin grew to be one of the premier manufacturers of marine chronometers world wide. Today, Ulysse Nardin’s watch making superiority has earned it 18 international gold medals and 4300 awards in the field of chronometrical distinction. Ulysse Nardin marine chronometers are prized by discerning watch collectors all over the world and have been commissioned by naval forces in 50 countries.

Continuing to create and develop unique timepieces of exceptional artisanship and precision, Ulysse Nardin invents mechanical complications entirely new to the world of watch making. For the last 160 years, Ulysse Nardin has striven to lead the pack in technological innovation, the employment of unique materials and the encouragement of original design concepts. The Unveiling of The Freak, Ulysse Nardin’s prize winning piece that was the first to use silicon, synthesized the hallmarks of the Ulysse Nardin philosophy. The Freak has no hands, dial or crown; yet it is able to keep time via its crystal and bezel movement. The entirely in-house developments like the tourbillion carousel propel Ulysse Nardin to the forefront of technological achievement.

With thousands of awards, accolades and the invention of game-changing scientific complications, the dispassionate chronicle of Ulysse Nardin’s achievements seems more extraordinary than the overblown superlatives describing its fellow watch makers. Since Ulysse Nardin’s humble beginnings more than 160 years ago, this titan of mechanical watchmakers has proved time and time again that scientific challenges, revelations and innovations combined with unparalleled artistry provide the basis for the exceptional crafting of timepieces.