New: Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon

Independent and Integrated Manufacture Ulysse Nardin release their latest iteration of the Lunar New Year watch in the form of the Blast Tourbillon Dragon. The watch is specially crafted for the Lunar year of the Dragon.

Press release information with commentary in italics.

New: Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon

The Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon retails for SGD 142,400 including tax. Price is correct at the time of the release.

Commentry

“Enter the Dragon!” Hot on the heels of last Friday’s Freak X Carbonium® love story, Ulysse Nardin released a new watch just in time for the Lunar New Year. It is a tradition for watch manufacturers to release limited/special edition watches for the Lunar New Year and each featuring one of the 12 zodiac of the year. This coming Lunar New Year, it is the year of the Dragon.

This year the Manufacture have departed from their usual Classico line of watches with enamel dial and moved on to the Blast Tourbillon that features a 3D Dragon in Rose Gold that is vivid and lifelike (栩栩如生).

The Dragon that Ulysse Nardin have crafted strongly resembles one that was on the ancient Chinese Emperor’s robe. In ancient China, Dragons with 5 claws were an exclusive symbol of the Emperor and without doubt, Ulysse Nardin have created the Blast Tourbillon Dragon befitting only for the modern Kings and Queens.

Release Details

THE INDEPENDENT AND INTEGRATED MANUFACTURE ULYSSE NARDIN EMBARKS ON AN ELECTRIFYING JOURNEY INTO THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON WITH A BLAST OF CREATIVE ENERGY, THRILLING CRAFTSMANSHIP AND HOROLOGICAL PROWESS.

Since its debut in 2020, the Blast Tourbillon has established itself as the symbol of Ulysse Nardin’s unconventional know-how and design. To mark the Lunar New Year, this innovative edgy creation has been entwined with the ancient magic of Chinese folklore, where the majestic Dragon meets the alluring Pearl. When these two symbols come together, as in countless tales, they signify a harmonious blend of power, providence and prosperity.

So it is with the new Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon: the dazzling mythical creature, hand-sculpted in 5N rose gold, coils its way around and through the skeletonised X structure, as though slithering out from within the movement itself. Before it, protected between its five-clawed hands, the mythical pearl sits in prime position atop the cage of the flying tourbillon.

RELEASING THE INNER DRAGON

In 2012, during the last Year of the Dragon, Ulysse Nardin presented the immaculate 88-piece limited edition, the Classico Enamel Champlevé Dragon, featuring a beautiful dragon artwork in enamel. Fast forward to 2024, and this creature has exploded dramatically into life in three-dimensional form. The rose gold dragon, engraved and micro-painted entirely by hand, is a testament to elite artistry and skill, demanding four days of craftsmanship. Every 3D aspect is modelled and rendered with utmost precision, from the scales of its rippling tail to its gleaming whiskers and the individual details of its claws.

THE ART OF INVENTION

Audaciously structured behind the dragon and the skeletonized dial, the Blast Tourbillon’s manufacture movement, Calibre UN-172, is as unorthodox as it is ingenious. As ever with Ulysse Nardin’s most advanced timepieces, the flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock benefits from the Maison’s pioneering expertise in silicon fabrication. Introduced for the first time in 2001 with the revolutionary Freak, this material used for the escapement wheel, pallet fork, and balance spring adds further performance and resistance benefits.

DESIGNING THE FUTURE

The rose gold upper case, with its angular facets and its opulent variations in satin-brushed and polished finishes, is paired with a bezel and case middle in DLC-blackened titanium, all mounted on an integrated black alligator strap with a 5N rose gold and black PVD titanium folding clasp.­­­­­­­­­­

For those who seek the extraordinary and the daring, the Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon is an embodiment of in-house innovations, métiers d’art and the magic of the Year of the Dragon. Fusing ancient mythology and cutting-edge horology, it invites you to celebrate the power and prosperity tha­­­­­­t this iconic symbol represents.