Ulysse Nardin’s Blast Moonstruck: Legacy of Master Watchmaker Ludwig Oechslin
Ulysse Nardin introduces the ultra-design astronomical Blast Moonstruck on the eve of the new lunar year, reproducing the sun’s visible trajectory and the lunar cycles.
With the dawn of the lunar New Year, Ulysse Nardin unveils the Blast Moonstruck watch featuring the sun’s visible trajectory and lunar cycles, descended from the trilogy of astronomical timepieces created nearly forty years ago by the master watchmaker Ludwig Oechslin.
Ulysse Nardin has always maintained a reputation for marine chronometers timepieces. To partner with Master Watchmaker Ludwing Oechslin, therefore, made sense, resulting in a trilogy of astronomical or celestial watches between 1985 and 2009. Now more than ten years later, Ulysse Nardin presents a new version of the third watch in the trilogy, the Moonstruck Worldtimer, the Blast Moonstruck.
The new black ceramic and titanium 45 mm case is sleek and modern, while the rose gold accents add a touch of luxury to the sophisticated design. There is no bezel on this watch which gives you plenty of space to view the many functions.
Ulysse Nardin’s new Blast Moonstruck features the sun’s visible trajectory from Earth, the lunar cycles, as well as world time, second-time zone, and the moon’s effect on the tides. It also approximates the Earth’s rotation and time around the globe.
The Dial
In addition to a sleek case design, the Ulysse Nardin Blast Moonstruck features an array of intricate complications on the dial, starting with the center with its 3-dimensional micro-engraved pictorial depiction of the Earth (as seen from the North Pole). Two concentric elliptical rings surround the micro-engraved landmass structure, representing the movements of celestial bodies (Sun and Moon) around the Earth. These cosmic elements revolve around the watch’s center from an earth-centric point of view, which illustrates the rotation of the Sun and Moon.
The elliptical ring near the center of the watch indicates the moon’s position in relation to the Earth and the Sun, with moon phase indicators representing the moon’s rotation. The outer ring represents the sun’s motion around the globe, which rotates one complete cycle per day to follow the 24-hour course of the sun. However, the moon rotation cycle isn’t set to a 24-hour day calendar but is based on the synodic rotation cycle of 29 days, 12 hours, 41 minutes, and 9.3 seconds, representing one lunation. The moon masks itself every 24 hours through a unique angling technique to ensure accuracy in its depictions of the waxing and waning phases.
High and Low Tides
Instead of the graphical depiction of tides like in earlier models, the Blast Moonstruck uses the different phases of the moon to indicate the tide situation. The waxing phase of the moon (duration between the new moon and the full moon) indicates a high tidal coefficient, whereas the waning phase of the moon represents a low tidal coefficient.
Worldtimer and Dual Time
The outermost bronzite disk displays the world’s cities for the world timer. With each revolution of the sun, the sun passes over the 24 reference cities printed on this outermost ring of the 24-hour day/night indicator. Additionally, the watch also features a two-pusher dual-time mechanism. This dual time mechanism allows the wearer to change the primary display in leaps of hours by using two pushers on the case’s left side.
UN-106 Caliber
The Ulysse Nardin Blast Moonstruck is fitted with the UN-106 automatic movement, developed and manufactured in-house. An openworked rose gold oscillating weight and silicon escapement power the movement. In addition to having a 50-hour power reserve and a frequency of 4 Hz / 28,800 beats per hour, this movement features 335 meticulously hand-crafted components and 42 jewels.
Availability and Price
The Ulysse Nardin Blast Moonstruck is a limited edition watch; however, no production numbers have been communicated. The watch comes with a choice of a black alligator, velvet, or rubber strap with a folding clasp in black titanium and pink gold. The suggested retail price is 75’000 CHF, 71’300 EUR, or 73,900 USD.
Find out more on www.ulysse-nardin.com
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