Ulysse Nardin has built a wonderfully lateral position among the finest Swiss watchmakers. With a strong focus on the hybrid of modern and classical designs and its high-tech horology, Ulysse Nardin developed an astronomical watch together with the designer Ludwig Oechslin. The watch is visually differentiated from other watches’ counterparts and competition. Despite its strong reputation and history, it’s clear that this company isn’t mired in the past.
In early February 2022, Ulysse Nardin officially introduced the new ultra design of the wristwatch called “Blast Moonstruck”, the new model that descended from the trilogy of astronomical watches created nearly 40 years ago by the master watchmaker Ludwig Oechslin. Ludwig proposes that the existence of this watch aims to show how the moon, the sun, and other celestial movements appear from the Earth’s perspective.
THE BASICS:
Brand: Ulysse Nardin
Model: Blast Moonstruck (Ref. 1063-4002A/1A)
Case Material: Titanium and Ceramic
Case Size: 45mm
Water Resistance: 50 m
Crystal: Sapphire Crystal
Movement: Calibre UN-106
Strap Options: Rubber Strap with Top-Leather
What’s so special with the Moonstruck?
To begin, the Blast Moonstruck follows its descended trademark, which simulates the moon rotation by following the sun’s apparent movement around the globe as we observe it from the tidal chart. It is well designed to make the movement of the rotation between the sun and the moon more understandable and deeply poetic by having a timepiece’s geocentric display simple to comprehend, even for a beginner with no prior understanding of astronomy.
Aside from that, like other astronomical watches that incorporate comprehensive astronomical information, the Blast Moonstruck aspires to be a miniaturised extrapolation of the formidable turret clocks constructed toward the close of the Middle Ages. The Blast Moonstruck accomplish its aspire due to its design which is an easily readable and understandable display, making it a successor of the astronomical instruments of the past. Thanks to its sophisticated mechanism, the timepiece assumes the display of the time in a place chosen from among the 24 principal time zones used across the world, making it possible to read the time anywhere in the world.
Aside from that, the Blast Moonstruck also features a Dual Time mechanism and is fitted with a moon phase complication, which, combined with the complication allows real-time following of the sun. It provides its brilliance while adding relief and life to the dial.
This scientific portrayal of tremendous oneiric potential will benefit not just great leaders in their pursuit of the ultimate watch but also sailors, with whom Ulysse Nardin has had an intimate association since its establishment in 1846.
To accentuate this sensation of being at the heart of the universe based on observation of the watch, the designers, together with Oechslin, chose to place the part of the northern hemisphere seen from the North Pole at the centre of the instrument’s sapphire crystal. To amplify the 3D illusion, the domed crystal with the micro-engraved landmasses on the inside is set in the protective sapphire crystal box. The box is encircled by an 18-carat rose gold ring engraved with the 31 days of the month, which has for a pointer a small triangle loaded with luminescent material for extra appeal.
While Oechslin’s astronomical wristwatches are among the most complex ever created, the Moonstruck was not designed to be an overly difficult clock but rather a timepiece with a straightforward and efficient display capable of making celestial physics understandable to everyone.
This 45mm diameter black ceramic and black DLC-treated titanium astronomical watch, worn on an alligator, velvet or rubber strap that is also black, surely meets the expectations of this ambitious project. Aside from that, the watch is Water-resistant up to 30 metres and with a power reserve of 50 hours. Currently, the Blast Moonstruck has limited production, and the price started from around RM337,500.
