The Gentleman Magazine Issue 15 | June 2019 | Page 19

It is linked by an impressive chain that upon emerging from the
mooring chock, seems to be visually linked to the prominent
windlass located at 12 noon on the dial. Every element counts
in this timepiece designed for watch-lovers with exceptional
toys wishing to always keep a jewel at their side that will remind
them of their very own flagship.
FULL STEAM AHEAD!
With the Marine Mega Yacht, Ulysse Nardin has introduced a
revolutionary information display designed to optimize yachts’
choice of anchorage points when mooring alongside the shores
of the world’s oceans. To craft this watch’s manually wound
Manufacture mechanical caliber (regulated by a tourbillon),
Ulysse Nardin has used its very best watchmakers, who have
worked with supreme commitment alongside those from the
Christophe Claret manufacture, a brand universally recognized
for designing innovative watch complications in its workshops.
Innovative and completely visible through its transparent case-
back, the movement is designed to resemble the engines found
in a vessel’s engine room.
A GLIMPSE OF THE ENGINE ROOM
This powerful beating heart of the watch has a diameter of
37 mm, features 504 components, and is wound by hand. It
guarantees a power reserve of 80 hours at a cruising speed
of 21,600 vibrations per hour, with the tourbillon moving
at 60 rotations per hour (or one rotation every 60 seconds).
Its first role is to provide an analog time display, giving a
three-dimensional presentation of the phases of the Moon.
It contains a mechanism that displays the height of the tides
in real time in relation to a specific location, in addition to
indicating the seasonal coefficients. Once the mechanism has
been adjusted by the action of the winding-crown, the position
of this is measured in a window opened up in the side of the
watch-band in the same way as the screen of a Chadburn
Telegraph. Because watchmaking is above all an art form, the
anchor features a contemporary design fashioned in the form
of a plowshare, and is linked to the chain by an anchor ring.
Although this may appear to be entirely decorative, the anchor
chain actually moves in response to the movements of the
winding-crown so as to indicate the power reserve. Keen to be
as realistic as possible, Ulysse Nardin has perfected an authentic
miniature windlass, visible at 12 o’clock. Through the action of
a set of wheels in contact with the winding mechanism, the
windlass turns to simulate the raising of the anchor, even when
the winding process has been fully completed.
Since the use of GPS systems and other navigation aids
dispenses with the need to calculate longitude at sea with a
sextant and a marine chronometer, Ulysse Nardin’s team of
researchers focused on what was needed for the modern Mega
Yacht owner instead. In the case of this model, the answer was
to include a display of the phases of the Moon with the aid of
a precise 3D reduced-size representation of Earth’s satellite. In
order to make a special impact, the surface is reminiscent of
the Moon’s actual surface, reproduced using an ultra-precise
engraving. It is made up of two half-spheres: one treated in
blue PVD (for the period of the new moon) and the other
rhodiumized (to simulate the illuminating effect of the Sun).
Its adjustment in relation to the annual calendar is undertaken
through the winding-crown. A telegraph window opened in
the side of the watch-band indicates its position (S: Set position
for setting the hands/TM: Tide and Moon position/W: position
for winding the movement). In the intermediate position, the
Moon phase and tide volume indication is regulated by turning
the crown counter-clockwise (one turn of the crown represents
four days), while in the clockwise direction the operator
regulates the level of the tide depending on his location (one
turn of the crown represents a 0.25 turn of the disk, equivalent
to 9.5 hours).
This watch is certainly the only one of its kind and should offer
its 30 future owners a way to follow the maneuvers made by
the crew of their yacht, the name or motto of which may be
engraved in the plaque positioned on the side of the watch-
band to make it truly unique.
Now let’s talk about the anchor, which features the historical
logo of the Ulysse Nardin Manufacture. This piece of
equipment, such a vital element for the safety of a ship and its
crew, appears in profile.
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