Ulysse Nardin spent eight years on a single watch part, and the result is finally here.
The Anchor Tourbillon houses the Caliber UN-178, an in-house manufacture movement built around the company’s new anchor escapement. That escapement is machined entirely from silicium, the same material Ulysse Nardin has championed for years, and the company developed it alongside the specialists at Sigatec. Eight years of research for a component most owners will never see. That is either madness or dedication, and in watchmaking the two usually arrive together.
The rest of the watch stays in familiar territory. A 44mm Classico case with sapphire crystal front and back, a seven day power reserve and 29 jewels keeping the movement running. You get your choice of black or brown leather strap.
Production is where things get tight. Only 18 pieces exist in each metal. Rose gold runs $84,400 and white gold asks $93,600. Tourbillons at this price are rare enough, but a tourbillon carrying a world first escapement in a run of 36 total pieces is exactly the kind of watch that vanishes into private collections before the general public ever hears about it.
[ Ulysse Nardin ]
