Ulysse Nardin Watches

Mechanical watchmaking is full of compromise. There’s only so much that can be done with wheels and springs in a space smaller than a matchbox, and that leads to some little quirks and eccentricities that are all part and parcel of owning one of these little ticking devices. But has Ulysse Nardin managed to conquer the trickiest quirk of all?

The words ‘dive watch’ and ‘Rolex Submariner’ practically mean the same thing these days. It’s the default choice, and for good reason, a major player in the establishment of the category and just a really great watch to boot. Successive facelifts and improvements have rightly kept it at the top of the food chain for decades. But just because it’s a good choice, doesn’t mean it’s the only choice; here are three more dive watches you should check out before you buy a Submariner.

Sunday 1 January 2017 will mark the first day of the year of the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac. In a practice that’s starting to become something of a tradition in world of Swiss watches, a number of manufacturers have released watches to commemorate the dawning of the new zodiac year, as the monkeys of 2016 give way to the roosters of 2017.

One of the side effects of the oversized watch trend is that they can often have a fair bit of heft to them. Often, this simply adds to the appeal—but if you’re looking for a good bit of wrist coverage without the weight, Ulysse Nardin has got the answer. The Executive Skeleton Tourbillon is not only a beauty to behold, with its skeleton dial and spinning tourbillon, but is also pretty lightweight for its size thanks to its use of silicon parts.