Ulysse Nardin Royal Sapphire watches.
Just last week, pioneering watch brand Ulysse Nardin unveiled its pink and blue Royal Sapphire watches. The incredibly breath-taking pieces are not only visually alluring, but also mechanically advanced and wrought with cutting-edge materials both inside and out. A deft blend of art and engineering, the totally transparent new watches are created in extremely limited numbers – 18 in blue and eight in “ruby” — and retail for $328,300 each.
Before we get into too many details about this new watch and its two versions, we need to start by stating the fact that the movement inside this timepiece, the manual-winding Caliber UN-79, is not entirely new, but it has been reworked significantly. Consisting of 209 components, including a flying tourbillon escapement – this movement also once powered the brand’s limited edition (99 pieces) Royal Blue Mystery Tourbillon from 2010.
This version outshines that 14-year-old introduction by a long shot – for a host of reasons. To begin with, the totally transparent timepiece is crafted using a single block of sapphire for the case. This is no easy feat, since it takes hundreds upon hundreds of hours to mill the synthetic sapphire case with all of its angles and edges.
The Ulysse Nardin Royal Sapphire Blue watch is created with a sapphire crystal and synthetic spinel main plate and bridges.
Additionally, the movement inside achieves its transparency thanks to the use of more synthetic sapphire and – for the bright blue and hot pink/red hues – synthetic spinel. In fact, the main plate and bridges are made of lab-grown spinel, modeled after the spinel gemstone that is known for its exceptional hardness and color. The two 44mm Royal Sapphire watches are named for their colors, inspired by the actual gemstone corundum, which is blue in its sapphire form and red in its ruby form. Hence: Royal Sapphire (also a nod to the 2010 watch) and Royal Sapphire Ruby.
The gears of the watch are skeletonized and the barrel is open so that the mainspring is visible from above – a seemingly magical feat. The mysterious winding system is also a challenge well conquered.
Just eight pieces will be made of the Ulysse Nardin Royal Sapphire Ruby watch.
The watches boasts what some might call a mystery dial – also nothing new to this visionary brand – that always attracts watch lovers. Popular in the most luxurious clocks of the mid-20th century, mystery clocks and watches feature hands that are on transparent disks so they seem to float in space. In this watch, thanks to the ultra-transparency, the entire movement seems to float in space. Even the flying tourbillon escapement at 6:00 seems to be suspended in air since it is devoid of the typical bridges that hold it in place. The watch is equipped with 100 hours of power reserve and is sold on an alligator strap. esmerizing to look at, or rather look through, the Royal Sapphire watches make a striking impact.
