The bombastic flagship watch from Ulysse Nardin: a suitably emphatic launch with which to announce the brand’s arrival to MR PORTER.

As we welcome Ulysse Nardin to the fold, it seems right and proper to introduce it with its newest model, a watch that was announced to press at Geneva Watch Days at the end of August and launches worldwide with MR PORTER as part of Watches & Wonders. It is a 45mm skeletonised tourbillon watch in a combination of rose gold and PVD titanium with an integrated black rubber strap. As you can see from the pictures, it is also the latest Ulysse Nardin range (the Blast comes in four iterations) whose design is constructed around an oversized “X” motif – in this instance, the X crosses the open worked dial on the front, and is visible on the back as well.

The X is a device introduced by Ulysse Nardin over the past few years, both in its design language as we see here, as well as throughout its branding. It has also, not coincidentally, named its less-complicated version of the iconic Freak model the Freak X. The overall impression is of a brand obsessed with the emphatic, interested only in superlatives, and committed to a forward-looking aesthetic that shuns curves for angles. That is a little bit of a caricature – remembering its 174-year history, Ulysse Nardin does still make plenty of “regular” watches, such as its entry-level diver, as solid a watch in that category as you could wish to find. 

But back to the Blast (the Blast! You half expect it to be fitted with a countdown timer…). What you don’t get from the pictures or the specs is a sense of the watch as it sits on your wrist. Size aside – it’s undoubtedly a big watch, but worth noting it’s not a thick one, at 11mm tall – it isn’t quite as over the top or one-dimensional as the rhetoric would suggest.

You need to see the light play off the case to appreciate the work that’s gone into it. The shoulder facets, where the case flows into the lugs, are given a particularly fine polish. One of my colleagues remarked that it was almost Art Deco. While at first glance I disagreed on the grounds that revealing the inner workings of the watch adds a neo-industrial, technical feel to the whole watch, on reflection I can see what he meant. The geometrical symmetry is all there, not to mention the combination of black and gold. In the metal, I found that what looks heavy-set in pictures is in fact much more deftly executed.

With a case and dial design that’s working so hard for your attention, you can find yourself overlooking the movement – which is a shame, as there’s plenty going on. To start with, it’s so neatly laid out to complement the overall design; never a given, but increasingly the way of things, as open worked watches become more and more popular. The flying tourbillon (ie, one that rotates without an upper bridge to hold it in place) at six o’clock is almost understated, but draws your eye for its purple-blue silicon components, a true Ulysse Nardin signature, as one of the brands to pioneer the use of silicon for its heat-resistant, antimagnetic properties and ease of manufacture.

Balancing the tourbillon at six is the micro-rotor at 12 – a narrow, chunky slab of gold-plated platinum, which, despite its size, has the weight needed to wind the three-day barrel behind it. It’s a clever design that allows maximum visibility of the movement without compromising on power reserve or everyday ease of use.

Materials: rose gold and titanium with rubber

Diameter: 45mm

Height: 11mm

Water-resistance: 50m

Power reserve: 72 hours

Price: £49,150