Ulysse Nardin Blast Dual Time 42 mm

In 2020, with the launch of the Blast collection, Ulysse Nardin once again established its technical supremacy in the world of watchmaking, delivering a compendium of complexity, craftsmanship, and revolutionary design. The introductory model, Blast Tourbillon, carried the signature X at the centre of its design, accompanied by a rectangular bridge, creating an aesthetic that has become an instantly recognisable signature of the collection. All timepieces within the Blast collection flaunt this motif in various ways. The Blast Tourbillon was an instant hit, laying the groundwork for the other Blast iterations released in the years that followed. Today, it is a collection where the brand continuously experiments with different and hard-to-produce complications to bring unique and complex watches that stand out. Additionally, a few comparatively simple watches (if you can call a Blast that,) like the Dual Time and Skeleton X, ensure versatility is offered in spades.

Blasting With Extraordinary Complications

The Ulysse Nardin Blast collection hosts several haute horlogerie models, where unique complications and designs serve as ultimate lodestones. In 2021, Ulysse Nardin released the Blast Hourstriker, a timepiece that houses more than just one complex watchmaking function. In addition to tourbillon, the Hourstriker boasted a striking mechanism that triggers an on-demand chime. This complication, attempted by very few watchmakers, is ingeniously displayed on the Hourstriker’s skeletonised dial, creating a spellbinding visual spectacle.

Another indelible timepiece within the Blast collection is the Blast Moonstruck. Designed by the genius watchmaker Ludwig Oechslin with the brand maven Rolf Schynder in 2009, Moonstruck under the Blast collection takes on a bold look with a black ceramic and black DLC-treated titanium case. The beautiful depiction of the motion of the Sun and Moon on the watch’s dial creates a celestial reverie on the wrist. The Blast Moonstruck is as much a gem of watchmaking as it is a piece of aesthetical beauty.

On the heels of Executive Free Wheel Tourbillon, the brand released Blast Free Wheel Marquetry in 2023. The watch is exceptionally designed, with movement components floating on the dial. The use of blue shade and the mosaic-like motif work magically against the signature Blast case. Two more iterations of Free Wheel populate the Blast collection, rendering it a wholesome platform for horological mastery.