Gold and Titanium: Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon

A masculine tourbillon for urbanists.

You could say Ulysse Nardin took its first step towards the future Blast Tourbillon series when the company unveiled the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon watch to the public back in 2016. It had effectively no dial, and the design geometry was shaped by a central rectangular.

A skeleton by Ulysse Nardin appeared four years later that did away with earlier nods of respect towards classic design: the elongated Roman numerals were replaced by short markers, and rounded lugs were swapped for ones with sharper corners. Moreover, the rectangular dial frame was paired with a double-X formation. This is how the first Blast Tourbillon was introduced to fans of modern design in 2020.

Now the series is welcoming new editions combining rose gold and a rich blue hue to form the frame — a first for the line. Blue can be considered Ulysse Nardin's signature tone. It may have initially only served as a reminder of the company's history, closely related to marine chronometers, but it also began to be associated with silicium technologies in 2001.

The company pioneered the use of silicon in watch movements and hasn't strayed from this path. The manufacture UN-172 movements housed in this model features a balance spring, escapement wheel and anchor in silicium. It's a modified version of another signature movement: UN-171 from the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon.

The only difference is it's no longer manually wound. The watch equipped with an automatic movement displays an elevated platinum micro-rotor above the flying tourbillon down at 6 o'clock on the dial side.

UN-171 had a power reserve of 170 hours, and the transition to automatic winding has shortened this spec to three days.  The tourbillon echoes the external movement bridge's double-X geometry with an X-shaped cage.

The silhouette of all "Blasts" including the Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Blue & Gold is inspired by the contours of "invisible" Stealth aircraft. The novelty is 45 mm in diameter and has been given a dual-material case, part 18-karat rose gold and and part sandblasted titanium with a blue PVD coating.

The same metal lends the inclined bezel its texture. Integrated by three sharp-edged lugs is a blue rubber strap with a velvet texture, equipped with a folding clasp made of rose gold and blue PVD titanium.