A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
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A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
I said I was looking for something left field, and I certainly found it! Thanks to a combination of helpful people on two different forums (one of whom actually sold me the watch!) I was able to source and buy this one relatively quickly.
Ulysse Nardin has been something of a “back burner grail“ brand for me for a while. When I first joined watch forums about 10 years ago it was one of many brands I had never heard of. I was attracted by its jaunty anchor motif and its association with the sea; founded in the town of Le Locle in 1846 the company was a famous manufacturer of marine chronometers. It appeared to enjoy high status in the watchmaking world, and was pretty much out of my ball-park price-wise. Highly attractive, rather different; a small workforce producing small numbers of high-quality watches. Many of its current products are large and downright ugly in my opinion, but the current range of marine chronometer wrist watches are for the most part very beautiful, though relatively expensive. It’s not a brand I thought I would ever own, but times change.
Picture from Time & Tide
And so to the watch itself...
This particular model was introduced in 1998, so given the relatively low serial number it probably dates from shortly after that.
The case is 39.5 mm in diameter; 43 mm if you add the crown and pushers. A nice size for me. Lug to lug measurement is 47 mm. The lug width is 20 mm; I am so keen on the bracelet that I haven’t tried it on a strap yet. It is 12 mm in height, reasonably slim for a double-complicated automatic, and the sapphire crystal is very slightly domed. All visible surfaces are polished, so it’s rather a shiny watch, which adds to the dressy feel. There are no sharp angles or edges; everything, including pushers, crown guards, stepped lugs and rounded bezel, is incredibly smooth and tactile.
The watch weighs 142 grams including the bracelet; it has heft, but it’s no monster; amazingly, the Speedy Moonwatch and the C65 Trident Diver, both on bracelet, each weigh exactly 148 grams, so they’re all very similar.
The screw-down crown has a smooth action, and a rather lovely feature; it contains a beautiful blue insert (à la Cartier) which is either enamel or resin, and is decorated with the UN Anchor logo.
The two pushers at 8 and 10 operate the +/- GMT feature; again, these feel very smooth and sit close to the lugs. They have a satisfyingly firm action, so there is no risk of the arm or sleeve accidentally changing the hour!
The main feature of the solid case back is the winged lion of Venice in relief; it is part of Saint Jerome’s variant of the Tetramorph, an artistic and symbolic tradition in which the four Evangelists are depicted variously as Man, Lion, Calf and Eagle. Mark is the patron saint of Venice, and his lion is depicted on the flag of the Republic of Venice, and also on the flag of the modern Italian Navy.
The bracelet is just beautiful; a relatively thin Jubilee style signed with the UN Anchor near the shoulders and on the butterfly clasp. The clasp itself is a bit fiddly until you get used to it.
Beautiful as the case and bracelet are, the real star of this watch is the dial, as it should be. I tend to be a bit scathing about white hands/indices on white dials. This, however, is a silver guilloché dial with rather elegant sword hands, they are a pale yellow (like the JLC Geophysic) and edged boldly in a sort of blue-black (changes with the light), so legibility is not an issue. The raised indices are of a similar hue, as is the slim seconds hand, and the bold Roman numerals at XII and VI are a nice feature. Although the lume is nicely visible when charged it struggles to last the night…but the watch is over 20 years old.
The round window at 9 shows the Home Time, 24h black on white; thanks to a magnifier over the aperture but UNDER the crystal (so not a cyclops) it is very legible. I wondered whether this would click over instantly, but in fact it rolls around over about 3 minutes at the top of the hour. I’ve seen this feature on earlier models with the window at 11 and with the daytime hours (12 hour format) in black on white, and the night time hours in white on black. I must say I prefer this version. I wasn’t sure if I would take to the Grande Date at the 2 o’clock position, but I immediately liked it. Both windows are rather tastefully edged in black, which makes them stand out. The edging, like the indices, is noticeably raised. The hour indices are marked with discreet little lume pips, with the exception of 2 o’clock, and the minute track is a series of small but easily visible dots in a silver metallic ring. Together with the GMT +/- at 12 o’clock, and the full brand name and anchor logo at 6 o’clock, there is a lot going on. It’s an interesting and well-filled dial that somehow manages not to look too busy. Just a great piece of harmonic design; nothing looks too big, too small or out of place.
The complications are where it gets really interesting. Ulysse Nardin has a history of taking ébauche movements from other manufacturers, in this case the ETA 2892, and completely transforming them with their own highly individual and sometimes patented complications.
The two pushers advance or retard the hour hand in one hour increments. This is what makes the watch a “True GMT” or “Traveller’s GMT”, as opposed to an “Office GMT”, where it is the 24-hour hand that moves in incremental steps. Another rare and clever feature is that if you move the hour hand backwards through midnight, the date changes backwards as well! The date can be changed independently both forwards and backwards using the first position on the crown.
Timekeeping: the seller reported that it was running -5 s/d, with a clean plot on the Timegrapher. For the first couple of days (Thursday to Saturday) it was doing less well (around -12) but appeared to have improved by Sunday. I always think that watches which have been lying around for a while perform better after a few days’ action, so I set it to +30s on Monday morning to try to establish the rate. By Saturday lunchtime it was reading +3, so a rate of -5 was pretty well right. Periodic observation indicated a steady rate, with no spikes or dips. I’m happy with that.
So, a traveller’s watch, but not really one for kicking back on a Greek beach. For that I bought my MeisterSinger last year, though it has yet to see any holiday action. Again, this is an older watch so it’s not going in water, although originally rated for 100 m. I have this one in mind more for those trips I hope to be making in the not too distant future to help launch my second career as a travel writer. It would make a wonderful companion for a long distance road or rail trip, especially one that might cross a few time zones. It’s also quite a dressy traveller, so would be a good candidate for that round-the-world cruise…perfect, in fact.
Alternatively, I know of a few places around Europe where you can still find relatively unspoilt seaside towns and villages, and sit at a little café sipping a beer and picking at a few sardines or mussels while you watch the odd boat drifting past, without getting wet. Or, of course, a Christmas & New Year fortnight in Cyprus. Hey-ho, why not?
But also, at the end of the day, it’s just a really lovely watch that I was lucky to pick up and I am thrilled to own.
Thanks for reading.
Ulysse Nardin has been something of a “back burner grail“ brand for me for a while. When I first joined watch forums about 10 years ago it was one of many brands I had never heard of. I was attracted by its jaunty anchor motif and its association with the sea; founded in the town of Le Locle in 1846 the company was a famous manufacturer of marine chronometers. It appeared to enjoy high status in the watchmaking world, and was pretty much out of my ball-park price-wise. Highly attractive, rather different; a small workforce producing small numbers of high-quality watches. Many of its current products are large and downright ugly in my opinion, but the current range of marine chronometer wrist watches are for the most part very beautiful, though relatively expensive. It’s not a brand I thought I would ever own, but times change.
Picture from Time & Tide
And so to the watch itself...
This particular model was introduced in 1998, so given the relatively low serial number it probably dates from shortly after that.
The case is 39.5 mm in diameter; 43 mm if you add the crown and pushers. A nice size for me. Lug to lug measurement is 47 mm. The lug width is 20 mm; I am so keen on the bracelet that I haven’t tried it on a strap yet. It is 12 mm in height, reasonably slim for a double-complicated automatic, and the sapphire crystal is very slightly domed. All visible surfaces are polished, so it’s rather a shiny watch, which adds to the dressy feel. There are no sharp angles or edges; everything, including pushers, crown guards, stepped lugs and rounded bezel, is incredibly smooth and tactile.
The watch weighs 142 grams including the bracelet; it has heft, but it’s no monster; amazingly, the Speedy Moonwatch and the C65 Trident Diver, both on bracelet, each weigh exactly 148 grams, so they’re all very similar.
The screw-down crown has a smooth action, and a rather lovely feature; it contains a beautiful blue insert (à la Cartier) which is either enamel or resin, and is decorated with the UN Anchor logo.
The two pushers at 8 and 10 operate the +/- GMT feature; again, these feel very smooth and sit close to the lugs. They have a satisfyingly firm action, so there is no risk of the arm or sleeve accidentally changing the hour!
The main feature of the solid case back is the winged lion of Venice in relief; it is part of Saint Jerome’s variant of the Tetramorph, an artistic and symbolic tradition in which the four Evangelists are depicted variously as Man, Lion, Calf and Eagle. Mark is the patron saint of Venice, and his lion is depicted on the flag of the Republic of Venice, and also on the flag of the modern Italian Navy.
The bracelet is just beautiful; a relatively thin Jubilee style signed with the UN Anchor near the shoulders and on the butterfly clasp. The clasp itself is a bit fiddly until you get used to it.
Beautiful as the case and bracelet are, the real star of this watch is the dial, as it should be. I tend to be a bit scathing about white hands/indices on white dials. This, however, is a silver guilloché dial with rather elegant sword hands, they are a pale yellow (like the JLC Geophysic) and edged boldly in a sort of blue-black (changes with the light), so legibility is not an issue. The raised indices are of a similar hue, as is the slim seconds hand, and the bold Roman numerals at XII and VI are a nice feature. Although the lume is nicely visible when charged it struggles to last the night…but the watch is over 20 years old.
The round window at 9 shows the Home Time, 24h black on white; thanks to a magnifier over the aperture but UNDER the crystal (so not a cyclops) it is very legible. I wondered whether this would click over instantly, but in fact it rolls around over about 3 minutes at the top of the hour. I’ve seen this feature on earlier models with the window at 11 and with the daytime hours (12 hour format) in black on white, and the night time hours in white on black. I must say I prefer this version. I wasn’t sure if I would take to the Grande Date at the 2 o’clock position, but I immediately liked it. Both windows are rather tastefully edged in black, which makes them stand out. The edging, like the indices, is noticeably raised. The hour indices are marked with discreet little lume pips, with the exception of 2 o’clock, and the minute track is a series of small but easily visible dots in a silver metallic ring. Together with the GMT +/- at 12 o’clock, and the full brand name and anchor logo at 6 o’clock, there is a lot going on. It’s an interesting and well-filled dial that somehow manages not to look too busy. Just a great piece of harmonic design; nothing looks too big, too small or out of place.
The complications are where it gets really interesting. Ulysse Nardin has a history of taking ébauche movements from other manufacturers, in this case the ETA 2892, and completely transforming them with their own highly individual and sometimes patented complications.
The two pushers advance or retard the hour hand in one hour increments. This is what makes the watch a “True GMT” or “Traveller’s GMT”, as opposed to an “Office GMT”, where it is the 24-hour hand that moves in incremental steps. Another rare and clever feature is that if you move the hour hand backwards through midnight, the date changes backwards as well! The date can be changed independently both forwards and backwards using the first position on the crown.
Timekeeping: the seller reported that it was running -5 s/d, with a clean plot on the Timegrapher. For the first couple of days (Thursday to Saturday) it was doing less well (around -12) but appeared to have improved by Sunday. I always think that watches which have been lying around for a while perform better after a few days’ action, so I set it to +30s on Monday morning to try to establish the rate. By Saturday lunchtime it was reading +3, so a rate of -5 was pretty well right. Periodic observation indicated a steady rate, with no spikes or dips. I’m happy with that.
So, a traveller’s watch, but not really one for kicking back on a Greek beach. For that I bought my MeisterSinger last year, though it has yet to see any holiday action. Again, this is an older watch so it’s not going in water, although originally rated for 100 m. I have this one in mind more for those trips I hope to be making in the not too distant future to help launch my second career as a travel writer. It would make a wonderful companion for a long distance road or rail trip, especially one that might cross a few time zones. It’s also quite a dressy traveller, so would be a good candidate for that round-the-world cruise…perfect, in fact.
Alternatively, I know of a few places around Europe where you can still find relatively unspoilt seaside towns and villages, and sit at a little café sipping a beer and picking at a few sardines or mussels while you watch the odd boat drifting past, without getting wet. Or, of course, a Christmas & New Year fortnight in Cyprus. Hey-ho, why not?
But also, at the end of the day, it’s just a really lovely watch that I was lucky to pick up and I am thrilled to own.
Thanks for reading.
Steve
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
Nice write-up/pictures Steve and happy that you are so pleased with yours - that white textured dial is really nice. Your bracelet is also classy, these are unusual as you know, though I am more than content with the OEM ostrich strap/deployant that mine came on - suits my black dial perfectly IMO.
Mine predates yours a little judging by serial number (1566) and I reckon these have a predilection for Cyprus as mine spent a year there when I was doing a takeover job in 2012.
Enjoy
nik
Mine predates yours a little judging by serial number (1566) and I reckon these have a predilection for Cyprus as mine spent a year there when I was doing a takeover job in 2012.
Enjoy
nik
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
The more pictures we see, the more the quality shines through. An exceptional watch and one to treasure.
Richard
Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
Good write up of a lovely watch.
One of those brands where the quality far exceeds the amount you are required to pay preowned.
I note that your history of the brand didn’t mention the more racy erotic complications, that are apparently popular in certain markets.
Neil
One of those brands where the quality far exceeds the amount you are required to pay preowned.
I note that your history of the brand didn’t mention the more racy erotic complications, that are apparently popular in certain markets.
Neil
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
Enjoyed reading that, thanks for the write up. The more I see it the more I like it, certainly a bit leftfield. As good as it looks sitting on the pici of the Duomo in Firenze, it would look even better on the wrist walking round that stunning city. I'm sure it will prove a very worthy travel companion.
Des
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
Just hoping to get there for Christmas!
Much appreciated - thank you!
Agreed- good value.
They still do some rather "racy" painted dials involving sapphic mermaids!
Steve
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
Firenze is on the list! Part of my idea for a book on the Grand Tour! Where's Lucy?
Steve
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
Linguist; retired teacher; pilgrim; apprentice travel writer
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. (Max Ehrmann)
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
Thanks - a great write-up. A watch to thoroughly enjoy - I think it's wonderful and suits you down to the ground
watching you fail in your quest for a “one watch” has been great entertainment
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
That was a wonderful read. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. And if you’re inclined to share those unspoilt seaside towns & villages, I’d be interested!
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
An unsurprisingly excellent review and yes, I like it.
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
Great writeup Steve. I am (that's green with envy).
I feel in excellent company as an admirer of UN. It really is a great match and nice to see a plan come together for you.
I feel in excellent company as an admirer of UN. It really is a great match and nice to see a plan come together for you.
Time and money? I’ve spent most of mine on booze and women. The rest I just wasted…
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
That was just great Steve. Fascinating and properly special watch too. Why are we fascinated by these things? Answer right here.
Chris
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
Thanks for taking the time to write this Steve. I knew I would enjoy reading it as soon as I saw the title. UN has a rich travelling heritage, & you do seem to have selected a perfect timepiece for your second wind. Your writing is always elegant & I wish you the best of luck.
I’m rather partial to travellers’ watches myself and I’m always interested to see the different ways in which brands achieve the complication. The use of +/- pushers to adjust the main hour hand works in the same way as my 2014 Oris Worldtimer (though the UN’s home hour display at 9 is completely different to the Oris analogue sub-register at 3). Both movements are refreshingly practical, and offer a significant advantage over the ETA 2893.
The blue/black indices are intriguing. Are they lumed? Another nice touch if they are.
I’m rather partial to travellers’ watches myself and I’m always interested to see the different ways in which brands achieve the complication. The use of +/- pushers to adjust the main hour hand works in the same way as my 2014 Oris Worldtimer (though the UN’s home hour display at 9 is completely different to the Oris analogue sub-register at 3). Both movements are refreshingly practical, and offer a significant advantage over the ETA 2893.
The blue/black indices are intriguing. Are they lumed? Another nice touch if they are.
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
Very nice write up, Steve. Looking forward to seeing pics of this all over the world post-pandemic.
Alex
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Re: A first-class traveller. Living with the UN GMT +/-
Great write up Steve, looking forward to seeing the photos of it in action when you get to put it to its intended purpose,
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