As if the sight of a flying tourbillon is not amazing enough (this piece of engineering, of course, is secured on a single spot), Ulysse Nardin made sure the new rendition of its Executive Tourbillon is even more beguiling.
Appended with the tag “Free Wheel,” the watch sees some of its components seemingly floating above the surface of the dial, in certain spots even appearing that one is not connected to the other. The illusion is furthered by the darkness of the dial itself, which comes in either a dark slate stone when it is fitted to the 18-karat rose gold version, or a black honeycomb grid when used in the 18-karat white gold piece. It may not be pure corporate fluff when Ulysse Nardin described the Executive Tourbillon Free Wheel as soaring “above all expectations of what contemporary watch-making craft and technology can achieve.”
Not without reason, the watchmaker pointed in particular to the piece’s seven-day power reserve indicator, tourbillon bridges and some gear train components as those which create this piece of horologic trompe l’oeil. The sapphire glass box housing the floating elements, whose finishing and structure itself Ulysse Nardin said is quite challenging to pull off, also lends an ethereal quality to the watch. Another playful touch is that the sapphire caseback actually shows, well, not much at all as most of the components are actually displayed on the dial. A strap made from “carbon leather” alligator hide straps the watch on the wrist.
Within the Executive Tourbillon Free Wheel’s 44-millimeter, 30-meter water-resistant case resides Ulysse Nardin’s in-house, manually wound calibre UN-176, which spins at 21,000vph and fitted with 23 jewels. Beating inside the movement’s flying tourbillon is the brand’s Anchor Escapement, which replaces traditional lever escapements, and which relies on low-friction silicon parts in lieu of metal or synthetic rubies.
Surprisingly, the Executive Tourbillon Free Wheel, unlike other Ulysse Nardin tourbillon models, is a regular production piece not limited to any set number of examples. And that’s another wondrous aspect of this watch.
