Surf’s Up With Ulysse Nardin’s New Divers And Beau Lake Limited Edition

Ulysse Nardin’s connection to sea exploration began in the 19th century, when the brand crafted precision marine chronometers to aid sailors’ navigation on the open seas. Today, of course, modern seafaring navigation doesn’t require onboard mechanical marine chronometers, so there is no longer any demand for them (except for collectors).

We’re at about the century mark for water-resistant wristwatches, and for decades top brands have consistently improved upon their water-resistant and diver watches.

One of those brands is Ulysse Nardin. Counting the three new diving watches detailed below, the brand offers 38 different timepieces in the Diver collection. The breadth of this collection and its myriad style options offers a timepiece to suit almost any taste and level of marine activity. 

The largest of the new pieces, the Diver Chronometer 44mm (ref. 1185-170-3/BLUE), offers complications not usually associated with diver “tool” watches. In addition to the essential unidirectional rotating bezel for timing dives, the 44mm watch has a power reserve indicator and a combination small seconds-date indicator at 6 o’clock.
 

The case is titanium with a blue PVD (physical vapor deposition) coating. The bezel is also blue, with 18K rose gold numerals, indices, and outer ring. The watch’s hands and hour indices are also rose gold, with a rich coating of glow-in-the-dark Super-LumiNova. A blue rubber strap with a blued titanium buckle completes the elegant yet rugged look of the timepiece.
 

Finally, with a price of $13,300, the sapphire caseback showcases the calibre UN-118 manufacture automatic movement. 

Second in size is the Diver 42mm watch (ref. 8163-175/GREY-5N) in a rich grey that Ulysse Nardin calls “shark grey.” Powered by the calibre UN-816 automatic movement, the watch has 18K rose gold accents on its bezel, and its hour indices and hands are coated with Super-LumiNova. Also, its sandblasted grey dial features a relatively undersized date at 6 o’clock so that it doesn’t distract from the hands or bezel.
 

Overall, the watch, priced at $10,400, has a stealthy look to it, with its grey matte satin-finished case, grey rubber bezel, and grey alligator strap. Stealthiness is essential for sharks on the hunt, making “shark grey” quite an apt name for the watch’s color. 

This limited edition is almost identical to the new Diver Chronometer we already discussed, but the Ulysse Nardin x Beau Lake model bears both brand names on the dial. Plus, the $16,300 limited edition watch comes with a rosewood-wrapped, custom 11’6” Malibu paddle board featuring Ulysse Nardin’s anchor logo. All of Beau Lake’s products “blend vintage aesthetics with high performance,” according to the brand. And the Malibu’s design inspiration comes from “Gibson guitars and ‘50s surf culture.” Also included are a matching Ulysse Nardin-embossed paddle and a travel bag.