Recent Ulysse Nardin debuts, with the exception of the firm’s new Diver Le Locle, have been complicated timepieces that do much to underscore the watchmaker’s deep technical abilities. Known for its marine chronometers, its artistic dial making and, of course, for its pioneering role in developing silicon and diamond-coated watch components within its Freak collection (and beyond), Ulysse Nardin this week took a step back in time.
Witness the Ulysse Nardin Classico Paul David Nardin, a 39mm steel watch that simply displays the time with a small seconds subdial and a date window. That’s it. No perpetual calendar like this recent debut here or annual calendar in sight. And nothing Freaky here either.
Named after Ulysse Nardin’s son, Paul David, who took control of the company after his death in 1876, the new watch is distinctly retro in style, modeled after a 1945 Ulysse Nardin timepiece. Given that the Ulysse Nardin Diver Le Locle unveiled only a few weeks ago is also modeled after a decades-old design (in that case a Ulysse Nardin dive watch from 1964), one wonders if this research-focused company with generally contemporary designs is finally entering the retro sweepstakes that has enthralled so many of its peers in Switzerland and Japan of late.
If so, the company is off to a good start. The resolutely retro Ulysse Nardin Classico Paul David Nardin will certainly appeal to fans of historical design timepieces with its 39mm diameter, which makes it the smallest offered among the firm’s dressy Classico Manufacture men’s models, most of which start at 40mm.
The dial’s vintage-inspired silvered dial with Arabic indexes also fills the bill for these buyers. Ulysse Nardin places its own self-winding UN-320 manufacture movement inside. The caliber is distinctly modern, despite the vintage case, as it features a hairspring and an escapement in silicon and boasts 48 hours of power reserve. Also, the date can be corrected both backward and forward, likely not a feature available in 1945. Also not from the mid-1940s: the $9,500 price tag.
Specifications: Ulysse Nardin Classico Paul David Nardin
Reference: 3203-900
Movement: Automatic Caliber UN-320 in-house manufacture with silicon escapement and hairspring; power reserve of approximately 48 hours
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds and date at 6 o’clock quick forward and backward date setting.
Case: 39mm steel, engraved caseback
Dial: Silvered with Arabic indexes
Strap: Brown leather strap with a simple buckle