Ulysse Nardin Perpetual Ludwig

Review by Ludwig

Summary

• The Hunt:

  I first saw this watch at Chatel in Carmel, where I was dropping by to pick up a birthday present for myself (a Minerva Avus II/Aviator '45, but that is a tale for a different day). I immediately fell in love with the Edwardian/H.G. Wells look of the watch, as well as its extremely clever design. Hugues Beck, the ever-helpful proprietor, spent some time with me explaining the movement, and its features. I was hooked. Frankly, I had never before seen a watch that hit me with this sort of emotional impact. I decided that further research, and a cooling off period, were in order, and I barely escaped the store on that occasion without buying the Ludwig.

  This turned out to have been a serious mistake.

  This watch tormented me in my dreams. It drove me on a seemingly endless quest to buy Yet Another Watch (the dreaded Watch Acquisition Syndrome), to somehow take its place in my soul. Those of you who have had the disease will understand. I would have saved serious time, anguish, and money, if I had just gone ahead and got the watch of my dreams to start with.

  Finally, after several months, it was clear that the only way to get the monkey off my back was to boldly embrace it. I called up Chatel, and negotiated its purchase for a price that in earlier days I would have thought an insane amount of money to pay for a mere watch. I drove down to Carmel, picked it up, and lived happily ever after.

  Or at least I should have. Some minor issues surfaced with the watch which required it to be sent back to Switzerland for repair. I got it back in 8-9 weeks, and I was kept posted of its progress by my dealer, but the withdrawal pains touched off by its absence started the W.A.S. again...

  I did learn from this experience, though. Now, if I find a watch that I really like, and it passes the 2 week scan-as-screen-wallpaper test, I pretty much surrender to my addiction and buy the darned thing :-)

  
  
• Am I still happy?

  Absolutely! After 6+ months, I still love this watch. I have a hard time not smiling when wearing it. I may have to buy some nice clothes, so that it is not embarrassed to be seen with me.

  
  
• Would I buy it again?

  Yes I would, though I would also give serious thought to the platinum and rose gold versions. I can't quite decide which is the nicest looking.

Specifications

• Movement:

  The Ludwig's movement is the Ulysse Nardin Calibre 33, issued for the 150th anniversary of U.N. in 1996. I believe that it is based on the Lemania 1354 chronograph movement, though some believe it to be an ETA 2892A2. (If anyone knows for sure, please let me know.) It is autowinding, 31mm in diameter, 6.95mm high, with 34 jewels and 223 parts.

  The ball bearing central rotor is made of white gold, and weighs 4.05 grams. It is hand-engraved, and has a lovely deep blue Ulysse anchor logo done in enamel embedded in it.

  The movement is covered by U.N.'s patent #680-630-2. It is C.O.S.C. certified, and comes with the rating certificate. The movement does not hack, but will stop (or even run backwards) with a wee bit of backpressure on the crown.

  The watch was named after, and designed by, Ludwig Oechslin, U.N.'s "Master of Innovation". He also designed the Trilogy of Time and the GMT+ for U.N. I also hear that he designed the Marine Chronometer 1846 power reserve complication.

  

  The movement is technically quite interesting. It is the only perpetual, other than the UN Trilogy pieces Planetarium and Astrolabium, that I am aware of that can have its calendar adjusted easily forwards and backwards with a simple twist of the crown. When you set the time back (when travelling westward, for example), the date even properly rolls back. The way the calendar-setting works is that the quick-adjust position of the crown moves forward/backwards the date/month/year, while the time-setting position of the crown moves the day of week whenever you advance/retard the time through 24-hours. This also allows the user to adjust the watch for the year 2100AD himself, instead of sending the watch in for adjustment. (I factored this cost savings into my purchase decision :-)

  Bear in mind that most perpetuals, such as the JLC Master Control Perpetual , cannot be adjusted backwards at all.

  The large date is another cool feature of the Ludwig. The design is different from the large date of much-discussed Lange 1, and was designed independently. It consists of two disks, one a ring for the ones-digit, the other a Maltese cross for the tens-digit, which rotate on the same level to form the date. The date changes quite rapidly, at almost exactly midnight.
  

  
  
  
• Functions:
  • Hours, minutes, small seconds.
  • Oversized date displayed in two digit windows. Month, day of week displayed in separate windows.
    
  • Year - two digit display, in two digit windows.
    
  • All functions are adjusted through the crown, which operates a quick-set function which allows the entire calendar system to be adjusted forward and backwards very easily.
  
  
• Case:
  18kt yellow gold. Diameter 38.5mm, height 12.5mm. Anti-reflective domed sapphire crystal. Water resistant to 5 atm. Caseback is has sapphire display back, and is attached to the case with 6 screws. Also available in 18kt rose gold and 990 platinum. There were 150 watches made in each metal. Ref. # 331-22.
  
  
• Strap:
  Dark brown crocodile, very thickly padded, with U.N. yellow gold buckle. I replaced the buckle with the U.N. yellow gold deployant clasp (list price $950) to celebrate its return from its recent involuntary tour of Switzerland.
  
  
• Dial and hands:
  Silver-colored, beautifully engraved dial. It has a very 3-dimensional look. There are applied gold chapters at the 5 minute points. The serial number of the watch appears as "No. XX" right under the center of the dial in small script. The Ulysse Nardin name, and raised anchor logo, are in the upper right quadrant, right under the large date. The words "150th Anniversary" occur near the bottom of the dial, under the year indicator. The hands are awesomely-blued, and very elegant looking. The crown has the U.N. logo embedded within it.
  
  
• Warranty:
  1 year.
  
  
• Price: $25,000 U.S. list price, $950 list for the deployant buckle.

Impressions

• Pros:
  • Accuracy - it is running +2 seconds per day. I have been wearing it during the day, and storing it in a Scatola 1RT winding box when not wearing it.
  • Looks and finish - the polishing and finish on the dial and case are insane. It draws the eye to it. The 3D look of the dial can absorb your attention for minutes at a time.
  • Usability - incredibly simple to set, and to use. A single crown allows you to set all of the watch functions. And no nasty adjustment pushers to mar the lines of the case, or compromise the water resistance of the watch.
  • Robustness - I have tried it quite a lot as a daily-wearing watch, and had no troubles with it. It isn't particularly fussy, or fragile.
  • Service - shortly after I purchased the watch, I ran into a problem with a sticking rotor when winding in a Scatola winding box. My dealer, Hugues Beck at www.chatel.com, bent over backwards to resolve my problems, and constantly kept me updated as to the status of the repair. I even got an email from Rolf Schnyder at Ulysse Nardin following up on the repair. Very impressive response.
  • Y2K compliant :-).
  
  
• Cons:
  • Reliability/quality control - a watch in this price range simply should not have had any problems at all. I would not buy a watch like this on the grey market, now that I have seen what a difference world-class post-sales support can make when you encounter a problem.
  • The asymmetrical dial may not appeal to some. Personally, I love it.
  • The layout of the dial may not appeal to you - the date/day/month/year each appear in their own separate windows, in a positioning that can be confusing. I don't mind it, as it puts the large date apart and in a location where it is easy to pick out.
  • The watch is a tad on the thick side, in proportion to its width, and so may not be appropriate for wear in settings where you are likely to bang it up. The stiffly-padded strap may make matters somewhat worse, as it only adds to the perceived bulk of the watch. Still, it's not a huge watch - I wear a Panerai Luminor Marina on a frequent basis, which is much larger, but it is stainless steel and 1/10th the price, so I'm not quite so concerned about dinging it up. :-) Be warned, though - this thickness issue led me to eventually pick up the much slimmer-in-feel JLC Master Control Perpetual.

Manufacturer's Info

• Name: Ulysse Nardin SA
• Address: 3, rue du Jardin - CH-2400 Le Locle - Switzerland
• Phone: (0) 32 931 5677
• Fax: (0) 32 931 5691
• Email: usa@ulysse-nardin.com
• Web: www.ulysse-nardin.com

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