VIDEO: The Ulysse Nardin Blast is a pyrotechnic expression of haute horology
Ulysse Nardin has charged into the fray in 2020 with the release of the new Ulysse Nardin Blast, launched just before Geneva Watch Days. While the brand has an extensive archive of marine chronometers that have inspired a number of nautical-themed wristwatches, the design language of the Blast collection is unashamedly expressive in its ambition. The boldly styled 45mm case is a relatively slim 11mm thick, offering a statement piece that still wears comfortably on the wrist. As you might expect from the Le Locle watchmaker, the case construction is complex, and comprises a rose gold upper case, a black DLC-coated titanium middle case and a polished ceramic bezel. Housed within this angular, multi-faceted case is the in-house UN-172, an automatic winding tourbillon with a healthy 72 hours of power reserve. The gyrating tourbillon cage is visible at the 6 o’clock position, while 12 o’clock is reserved for the rose gold micro-rotor, another visually exciting feature on the face of the watch. The Ulysse Nardin Blast has a recommended retail price in Australia ranging from $71,050 to $87,150 for the Blast Gold, depending on the model, and will be available from authorised UN dealers across the country.
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This week involved not one, but two Time+Tide events and, of course, a very significant one for the industry, which was Geneva Watch Days. We were there, with Marcus, our Creative Director, and a good friend, Mike Christensen, running the show — there are some delicious, funny and quirky videos in production from the event that we’ll be sharing very soon! Here is one shot to whet your appetite for a brand the boys checked in on on their travels: Hublot and the Big Bang Unico Sky Blue. The first event of ours was in Sydney to celebrate the arrival of a brace of Louis Vuitton’s finest Geneva Seal watches. If you’ve never had the chance to lay your eyes on these rare birds, we recommend you do, here. Simply because the chance of a new discovery is high, and the chance to have your eyebrows raised is also likely. This effect was in full force on Monday night, when 25 guests convened in a typically lavish Louis Vuitton apartment-style space to experience them on the wrist. I was meant to be MC-ing, but given that we’re still barely permitted to leave our houses, let alone our state, hosting duties were…
Since the days of the ’90s Chicago Bulls, led by the great Michael Jordan, basketball has become more and more of an international sport around the globe. Players from all over the world are recruited to play with the best of the best in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Australia is no exception, in fact today some of the best players in the league are Aussie born and bred. Not only have these athletes proven they have game on the court, but on their wrists as well. Let’s take a look at the wrist game of some of the Australians in the NBA. Kyrie Irving Of all the players listed in this article, Kyrie Irving definitely has the largest and most photographed collection of the group. His collection is exclusively precious metals, comprised of only solid gold sport watches striking a nice balance of bling and beater (at least for someone with his contract). The below are some of the highlights of his collection. Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph Cased in an 18K pink gold case, you’d be mistaken for thinking this watch is precious and fragile. With glareproofed sapphire crystals on the dial and caseback, black ceramic pushers and…
Girard-Perregaux is not holding back at the Geneva Watch Days, launching their complete but limited Infinity Editions, a tempting collection set around the dark opulent theme of gold, polished black onyx and titanium. At first, it seems an incongruous marriage of past and future: the rarely seen deep gloss black of onyx associated with jewellery and Rolex dials of the ’70s, paired with what is still considered, in our traditional halls of Haute Horlogerie, futuristic titanium. Unusually and fascinatingly, Girard-Perregaux has darkened both limited editions of existing references and debuts their Free Bridge model. Join us as we visit the dark side of a traditional maison, where the darkness of the Girard-Perregaux Infinity Editions symbolises the depth and infinite mysteries of the universe. Cosmos Infinity Edition The mesmerising movement of two rotating globes in solid onyx, each one hand-painted in lacquer, mixed with gold dust by a micropainting technique involving a one-haired brush. What more can we say to hold your attention? This Infinity Edition of the Cosmos is dark of visage within a case of grade 5 titanium, with these two remarkable dark globes of craftsmanship stealing the show in a big way, yet there is an infinite amount…
The beads-of-rice bracelet, a bracelet design only a few years ago lost to the winds of time — a memory of stretched-out and rattly bracelets on a well-worn 35mm vintage gents watch. Or the mythical Gay Frères kind, one of the most sought-after. I’m embarrassed to admit that I once threw one in the trash, short of knowledge. As with many details of horological nature, the BOR bracelet has again come full circle, but tighter of tolerance, with a solid feel and on the cusp of becoming ubiquitous. If your memory is of the charmingly loose and jangly feeling of your granddad’s 1965 watch, you will not be ready for the solidity of BOR, version 2020. But what are the best beads-of-rice bracelets? We rate three of the best, from popular to quirky, with the most hi-tech version not on the watch you’d expect, proving that there are beads-of-rice for every taste. The bold beads – DOXA SUB 200 DOXA, for many is The Dive Watch, forever associated with the books of Clive Cussler, the iconic Jacques-Yves Cousteau and the huge popularity of scuba diving in the ’60s and ’70s. DOXA have a strong following in the watch community with their…
As a distillation of what a Japanese firm does best, the Grand Seiko SBGP005 offers a compelling line of thought – if you’re looking for a great watch on the more affordable side of things, do you pursue the usual mechanical suspects or high-end quartz? With a case based on the iconic 44GS design, an enchantingly deep blue dial and one of the finer quartz movements on the planet, the Grand Seiko SBGP005 is a watch that makes a strong case for the luxury quartz timepiece. The highly polished steel case measures 40mm in diameter and only 11.1mm thick, which adds up to an almost universally wearable set of proportions, no matter your wrist size. Securing the watch is a steel three-link bracelet with a folding clasp, which has been finished with vertical fine brushing. Powering the Grand Seiko SBGP005 is the in-house 9F85 movement, which offers accuracy of +/-10 seconds per year, and also has the clever feature of an independently movable hour hand while the movement is running. This makes it easy to adjust between time zones without losing any accuracy while the time is being set. So, if you’re in the market for a watch with a…
During the pandemic, many have used the time at home to catch up on a recommended TV series or film they may have missed in busier times, or re-watch some comforting favourites. In my seventh or eighth run-through of The West Wing television series, I almost spilled my beer in excitement when I spotted an Omega dress watch on my favourite fictional president (Bartlet 2020?). This hobby has made watch lovers increasingly aware of what actors are wearing on their wrists. Just the other week I got a message from a buddy asking me what was on Sam Neill’s wrist in Jurassic Park III (an Oris if you were curious). The mark of a true watch enthusiast is when you find yourself rewinding and pausing, even at the risk of annoying your friends and family, to get the perfect screengrab of a watch worn by a character in film/television to post in your watch group — initiating a race among your #watchfam to name the reference spotted on your favourite character. The latest watch spot in pandemic movie night … Brad Pitt’s TAG Heuer in Moneyball. The movie Moneyball, based on the book ‘Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game’…
Since time immemorial, Ulysse Nardin has been renowned in the maritime world for their marine chronometers and nautically themed, complicated wristwatches. In fact, for the latter part of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the Le Locle watchmaker created bespoke timekeeping devices for the navies of over 50 different countries. Now though, UN has set its sights slightly higher than sea level, trading aquatic inspiration for the aeronautical, and in doing so, creating an all-new timepiece with an explosive new design language. Introducing the Ulysse Nardin Blast. Taking visual cues from what is surely the most awe-inspiring aircraft ever created – the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk – the Blast is an angular symphony of wrist-worn menace. Its extroverted 45mm case, which measures a mere 11mm thick, features a multifaceted case construction that utilises both an upper middle and middle case layer hewn from grade-5 titanium. The Blast is available in four different iterations –one in 18k rose gold, two in ceramic (black or white) and one made wholly of grade 5 Ti. The modish cases offer and arresting blend of laser etched satin finishing that’s strikingly juxtaposed with mirrored polishing, which can be seen on the…
The trailer for The Batman just dropped, and anyone worried that it’s going to go all Twilight via Robert Pattinson should have their fears properly allayed. It’s as grim and gritty as ever, and the beatdown he puts on a henchmen in this short clip is nothing short of vicious. But while the trailer for The Batman is brimming with the dystopian squalor we have come to know and love from the franchise, we’re beginning to wonder what watch he’ll be sporting on his wrists as he gets his hands dirty cleaning up the city. In Christian Bale’s time as Batman, he was spotted wearing the cool and classy Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso (a watch we think was perfect for his character), but will Pattinson bring the same sartorial elegance, or something less black tie and more matte black Batmobile? Something that has been spotted on screen on the wrist of Pattinson is the sporty and sleek Chanel J12, seen in his lead role in Cosmopolis. The specific J12 reference he was wearing in that film was the grey Chanel J12 Chromatic Classic made in ceramic titanium. But for The Batman, he clearly needs something even less eye-catching, something like Chanel J12 GMT…