ULYSSE NARDIN

Ulysse Nardin was born in the Swiss town of Le Locle in the year 1823. He studied as a "remonteur" and later opened his own workshop, following in his father's footsteps. The Ulysse Nardin firm was founded in 1846. Its timepieces, which were signed by their creator and showcased high-quality craftsmanship, were little more than a counter. It was the start of a business that would survive more than 150 years. Nardin's earliest watches were marketed in Central and South America through Lucien Dubois, a Paris go-between who was Nardin's sole customer for two years. Nardin moved to a larger facility in 1860, and the company was renamed "Ulysse Nardin, fabricant d'horlogerie sur les Recues 33." To calibrate his pocket chronometers, he also purchased a high-precision astronomical regulator. This is Jacques-Frederic Houriet's well-known regulator, which he built in 1768. It is presently housed in a museum in the town of Le Locle. Minute repeaters, very intricate timepieces, and pocket chronometers have earned the House a worldwide name, to the point that, in the early 1860s, the United States became a viable market for the nascent firm's products.

At the London International Exhibition in 1862, Nardin was awarded the "Prize Medal," the highest prize, in the field of "complex watches, pocket chronometers." This honor propelled the watchmaker to the top of the international pocket chronometer rankings. Three years later, the firm relocated to its current address at 3 rue du Jardin. The company grew as a result of its status as a top chronometer manufacturer. Unfortunately, Nardin died of a heart attack in 1876, leaving his firm in the hands of his 21-year-old son, Paul-David Nardin. Paul-David Nardin demonstrated his leadership abilities by winning a Gold Medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1878, receiving two Swiss patents in 1890, winning First Prize at the Chicago Universal Exhibition in 1893 with a magnificent silver and gold chronometer, building nine pocket chronometers with tourbillon escapements, and so on. By 1915, the firm's standards had risen to the point that Ulysse Nardin received first place out of 60 maritime chronometers entered at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. In the same testing, the business took three of the top five spots out of a total of 217 deck watches.

Needless to say, Ulysse Nardin went on to win a slew of other prizes, cementing its status as a master craftsman of extremely precise and delicately crafted clocks. The Neuchatel Observatory released its last official report about the performance of chronometers in 1975, which puts the firm's achievements in appropriate context. (When quartz clocks were widely accessible, the performance of mechanical timepieces became irrelevant.) According to official reports, Ulysse Nardin received: 4,324 certificates of performance for mechanical marine chronometers out of a total of 4,504 awarded (approximately 95 percent); 2,411 prizes, including 1,069 First Prizes and four series prizes awarded to chronometers at the top of the list; 747 First Prizes in the categories of deck watch, pocket chronometer, and wristwatch; and finally, Ulysse Nardin and his team participated in various exhibitions.

There are 14 Grands Prix in all (First Prizes). The "Prize Medal" and the "Progress Medal" are two types of medals. Ten gold medalists, 2 Silver Medals and 2 Prix d'Honneur. The 1970s were not kind to Ulysse Nardin, as they were to many other renowned Swiss brands, and the company struggled. Ulysse Nardin was bought by an investment group led by Rolf Schnyder in 1983, and the legendary Astrolabium Galileo Galilei series was born. The watch, which was named after the famous scientist, astronomer, and humanist, was a significant advance over the perpetual calendar and allowed the company to reclaim its former grandeur. In February of 1989, the watch was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records. Since then, Ulysse Nardin has released the San Marco, a limited-edition minute repeater timepiece in gold or platinum, as well as the Tellurium Johannes Kepler and the patented GMT watch for frequent travelers. The maritime Chronometer 1846 was introduced as a wristwatch in 1996 to commemorate the company's 150th anniversary, and the innovative Perpetual Ludwig was named after its designer, the clever and skilled watchmaker/scientist Dr. Ludwig Oechslin, the guy behind the Astolabium series.

The single-button chronograph "Pulsometer" was released in 1998 to honor Ulysse Nardin's birth in 1823, but it was overshadowed the following year by the GMT Perpetual, which combined two distinct and exclusive Ulysse Nardin innovations into one watch. Without a sure, the year 2000 and beyond will bring even more pleasant developments from this distinguished watch manufacturer, but one thing is certain: the company's commitment to manufacturing only the highest quality watches will stay constant. Indeed, company president Rolf Schnyder recently stated of his staff, "Their faith, dedication, talent, and passion are important to us in our effort to expand the frontiers of mechanical watchmaking and to retain Ulysse Nardin in its preeminent position for the next 150 years."

(First picture is founder Ulysse Nardin)