When talking about Ulysse Nardin, the conversation tends to run in one of two directions. First, between those two is their horological innovation and the impact of the Freak on modern watchmaking, second is their history of producing marine chronometers for naval navigation. What they are not widely known for is Metiers d’Art. That’s not to say they never dip their toes into the artistic pool but it’s not what you’d call a brand signature. Which is why I love the new Ulysse Nardin Classico Rendao Liu Make Waves Collection.
The collection consists of four 40mm rose gold watches with hand-painted miniature painting dials. The four compositions were created by Chinese contemporary artist Rendao Liu using the medium of ink. Once he had created the images, Ulysse Nardin’s in-house micro-painters carefully studied and recreated the pictures as miniature paintings on the watch dials. The precision and focus required is frankly astonishing, especially to replicate each design flawlessly 25 times to create the full 100-piece collection – each dial taking around 50 hours to perfect.
As the ‘Make Waves’ title of the Ulysse Nardin Classico Rendao Liu Make Waves Collection indicates, the subject of each of the paintings is the raw power of the sea. The four designs are: Zhi Yin (Kindred Spirit), Miao Yin (Resonance), Xuan Qu (Mystic Melody) and You Ya (Graceful Ease). I really like the vibrancy of the sea in the images paired with the brooding islands. It’s as if the artworks of Turner and Hokusai have met somewhere in the middle.
Powering the collection is the Calibre UN-320 Manufacture automatic movement with 48-hour power reserve. This is Ulysse Nardin we’re talking about so while it’s one of their simpler calibres, the movement still uses a silicon escapement, an innovation that they helped to develop under the oversight of Ludwig Oechslin. It reduces friction and improves anti-magnetic field resistance.
For pricing and availability, each of the four Ulysse Nardin Classico Rendao Liu Make Waves Collection watches is limited to 25 pieces at a price of CNY 450’000 (approx. £48,600). They are available from Ulysse Nardin boutiques in China and Geneva but are not strictly regional exclusives, meaning they are available by special request globally. It’s cool to see Ulysse Nardin prove that they can hang with the likes of Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin when it comes to Metiers d’Art.
Price and Specs:
More details at Ulysse Nardin.
