TWO NEW FACES
First launched in 2017, the Marine Torpilleur collection by Ulysse Nardin has now been expanded to include two new models, one with a classic style made of rose gold and the other, more contemporary , made of steel.
Torpilleur is French for torpedo boat, “a small high-speed warship designed to carry out torpedo attacks in coastal waters“ (Collins). Torpedo boats have now largely disappeared, replaced by patrol boats, among others, but were widely used in the 20th century. The boat’s job was to attack large warships and submarines on the water’s surface by launching motorised explosive devices. Ulysse Nardin has borrowed the name for its collection of timepieces created in 2017: Marine Torpilleur. Although the watch has nothing warlike about it, it does carry within it a long history linking the brand to the world of the sea, going all the way back to 1846, when the watchmaker Ulysse Nardin opened his own workshop specialised in designing accurate and reliable sea chronometers.
The new Marine Torpilleur models that have just been added to the range have two faces that are quite different from their predecessors but every bit as elegant. While the layout on the sunburst dials is the same, the colours used give them a distinct identity: the black combined with the pink gold adds a classic touch to the wrist, while the steel version with its grey dial is better suited to a contemporary mood.
The hour rim consists of large, white and slender Arabic numerals encircled by a discreet minute track around the chapter ring. In the centre, a pair of pear-shaped hands with a copper-coloured body display the hours and minutes. The seconds have been moved to a large counter at 6 o’clock with the date shown in its lower half, against a white background for the steel Marine Torpilleur and tone-on-tone for the rose gold version. Small golden touches can be seen here and there – on the second hand and on the power-reserve indicator at 12 o’clock.
At the heart of the 42mm-wide case is the calibre UN-118, a self-winding movement providing 60 hours of power reserve.
Price: 6,900 CHF (steel) -17,900 CHF (rose gold)
By Sharmila Bertin