Ulysse Nardin Watches

About Ulysse Nardin Watches

Founded in 1846 in Le Locle, Switzerland, Ulysse Nardin has made a name for itself as the authority on marine watches. The company’s founder, Ulysse Nardin, set out on a mission to create some of the best hand crafted sailing watches in the world. Although Nardin is famous today for its sea watches, it is also very famous for its brilliant mechanical watches.

In Nardin’s time, it was very important for merchants who were sailing ships to be able to get to places on time and keep a schedule. This was before the quartz era, so sailors needed an efficient mechanical way to keep track of time. Nardin had the answer. Nardin introduced his Maxi Marine Chronometer to the sailing world, and it was a hit. Although sailors had to pay a premium for these incredibly precise pieces, they were fine with this because it was well worth having a watch that was durable and could tell them exactly what time it was. Ulysse Nardin continued on his adventure to create the best watches for sailors, and ultimately his success in this market transferred over to the rest of the watchmaking industry. People wanted his products because of the legendary skill that had been put into creating them. The man who had once just dreamed of excellence in marine watch making was now becoming a hit in the watch making industry.

The company continued to have success, but it did not completely progress with the fast paced watch world. In 1983 the company was acquired by Rolf Schnyder, who turned the brand around. Along with other colleagues, Schnyder began to introduce complication timepieces to the company. This was crucial in helping the brand succeed. The company also switched its methods of manufacturing and development to create a much more efficient system. The company started to create watches that had not only a new style but also a new way of operating. From then on, all of the watches that left Nardin’s doors operated on the ETA movement. The first time the ETA movement was implemented for the company was when they designed the Astrolabium Galileo Galilei. This new watch was able to tell time at a much more accurate level than previous watches. The watch tells both solar and local time, Later, it was named by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most functional watch. This feat was accomplished by Schnyder and his colleagues. Another feat that the company accomplished was the revival of enameling.

In many ways Ulysse Nardin should credit its current success to the current ownership. However, it is the history of a watch that contributes to the value of a watch. The history associated with the company is one of greatness. These watches have been dubbed by many as the most accurate mechanical watches of their time in the pre-quartz era. The company has released watches under collections named Complications, Big Date, Macho Palladium 950, Marine Collection, Michelangelo, San Marco, and Ulysse in addition to some limited edition pieces, like the Night's Watch.

Today the company is still regarded as one of the best in horology.