A Closer Look At The New Ulysse Nardin Ocean Race Diver Chronograph

The race around the world, The Ocean Race, which takes about six months to sail and brings teams to some of the most treacherous waters on Earth, is four months into its course. This past weekend, teams made a stopover in Newport, R.I. to rest and replenish supplies before moving to the next leg of the journey. Coming into Newport as the winner of the Itajai (Brazil) to Newport leg of the race was  11^th Hour Racing Team. Interestingly enough, Swiss watch brand Ulysse Nardin is the Official Timing Partner of The Ocean Race and a sponsor of 11^th Hour Racing Team. To celebrate its role and the fact that The Ocean Race marks its 50th anniversary this year, Ulysse Nardin unveiled a new Ocean Race Diver Chronograph watch.

The Ocean Race first began as the Whitbread Round the World Race, then became The Volvo Ocean Race and is now The Ocean Race for the 2022-23 edition. Not only is Ulysse Nardin the Official Timekeeper of the race, responsible for timing the different legs, the overall time and the start countdowns, but also it is a partner of the 24-Hour Speed Challenge that times which crew covers the greatest distance in 14 hours.  The brand is also a partner of the Time to Act program that is aimed at reducing the impact of pollution and climate change.

 Another initiative of the race and of Ulysse Nardin’s involvement is Racing with Purpose—an initiative established with the main partner of The Ocean Race: 11^th Hour Racing. Essentially 11^th Hour Racing formed a sustainability program that would be folded into the race. Efforts include having the teams collect ocean samples around the world, including some of the most isolated areas of Earth,  for scientific teams to  later analyze. It may well be one of the largest collection of data done as part of a sporting event.

According to Ulysse Nardin, the partnership with the race is a perfect fit, as both are committed to ocean sustainability and preservation – each with an emphasis on reducing marine plastic pollution through upcycling. At Ulysse Nardin, where the shark is the brand’s mascot and where sustainable efforts around the oceans has been a priority.

For the 2022-23 The Ocean Race, which started four months ago in Spain, then went on to Cape Verde and Cape Town before heading to Brazil and Newport, all teams had to meet a specified criteria of sustainability when building their sailing vessels. Additionally, as the teams stop in nine cities around the world, they are committed to raising awareness of ocean pollution.

 

The Ulysse Nardin Ocean Race Diver Chronograph

Celebrating environmental commitments, The Ocean Race and more, Ulysse Nardin releases the new The Ocean Race Diver Chronograph, which is being created in a limited edition of just 100 pieces. Crafted in black satin-finished DLC titanium with a 44mm sized case, the watch is water resistant to 300 meters. The watch is a beautiful story of ocean blue and black with a sandblasted dial and blue accents on the dial, on the Carbonium concave unidirectional rotating bezel  and the pusher. The bezel contains carbon fibers that have been upcycled from plane fuselage offcuts, reducing the environmental impact by 40 percent over other carbon composites. It is also very light in weight and highly durable.

The watch is powered by the Ulysse Nardin Manufacture Chronograph Caliber UN-150 that consist of 318 components including a silicon escape wheel. The complex movement is visible via a sapphire case back, which features the number 50 in honor of this year’s Ocean Race.  In addition to hours, minutes and small seconds (at 9:00) , the watch offers chronograph countdown timers of 30 minutes (at 3:00) and 12 hours (at 6:00). It is finished with a black rubber strap that boasts a black ceramic element below 6:00 that has The Ocean Race logo on it. It retails for $15,700.

On Sunday, May 21,the teams sail out of Newport toward a transatlantic race to Europe, passing through three more cities before ending in Genoa, Italy, at the end of June.