Brand ambassadors are a common phenomenon in the modern elite watch industry. Well-known watch brands collaborate with celebrities from all walks of life, including music icons, Hollywood stars, and world-class athletes. However, few brand ambassadors can boast several rows of razor-sharp teeth. The latest ambassador for Ulysse Nardin is an exception to this rule, as he is an adult male great white shark weighing 990 pounds.
The shark, equipped with a tracking tag and released off the coast of Nova Scotia by a group of marine biologists and Ulysse Nardin's longtime partner OCEARCH, was named Ulysse in honor of the watchmaker. It will help scientists better understand the habits and migration patterns of these majestic and often misunderstood creatures. To celebrate this addition to the Ulysse Nardin team, the brand announced a special iteration of the recently updated series of dive chronographs with a stylish great white-themed colorway. The new Ulysse Nardin Diver Chronograph 44mm Limited Edition Great White, with its vibrant look, sturdy construction, and reliable in-house movement, is a durable and beautiful tribute to one of the ocean's largest predators.
As the name suggests, the titanium case of the Ulysse Nardin Diver Chronograph 44mm Limited Edition Great White has an impressive width of 44mm. With a substantial height of 16.1mm, it should make a bold statement on the wrist, especially with its predominantly matte and satin-brushed finishes. Although the only real polished highlight visible in images is between the teeth of the notched bezel, Ulysse Nardin slightly tempers this imposing profile with a stepped lug design.
However, the overall shape should be familiar to fans of the brand: the signature ribbed rubber bezel insert in bold optical white and matching accents on the screw-down pushers. Interestingly, this model forgoes the sapphire caseback of the standard Diver Chronograph 44mm in favor of a solid caseback featuring an engraving of a great white shark (Ulysse Nardin was unable to provide images of this caseback before publication). In terms of performance, this case is identical to the standard model with a high water resistance rating of 300 meters.
The dial of the Ulysse Nardin Diver Chronograph 44mm Limited Edition Great White is where the shark-inspired design shines brightest: the rough textured surface in medium gray resembles shark skin. The brand complements this neutral tone with royal blue on the recessed subdials and the 6 o'clock date window. Otherwise, the design fully mirrors the standard 44mm Diver Chronograph formula with broad, split petal hands, large applied rectangular indices, and azure highlights on the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock subdials. The integration of the date window at the 6 o'clock position remains a major feature of this dial, fitting into the overall color scheme and seamlessly integrating into the 6 o'clock subdial to maintain overall visual symmetry.
Ulysse Nardin equips the Diver Chronograph 44mm Limited Edition Great White with its in-house automatic chronograph movement UN-150. Since its introduction in 2013, the UN-150 has been the foundation of many of the brand's chronographs and remains an impressively modern and efficient movement eight years after its release. With a balance wheel, hairspring, and anchor made from high-tech silicon, the UN-150 delivers a reliable 52-hour power reserve at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. Ulysse Nardin pairs the watch with its signature rubber strap featuring a white bezel and a titanium link at the 6 o'clock position. In addition to this unique brand touch, the strap adds another visual accent - a stylized silhouette of a great white shark at the 12 o'clock position with Super-LumiNova luminescent coating.
While it may not be the brand's most innovative release this year, the clean gray-white-blue color scheme combined with the more aggressive matte case makes the Ulysse Nardin Diver Chronograph 44mm Limited Edition Great White one of the standout options in the lineup and a bold tribute to the world's most famous shark.
Only 300 pieces of this model will be produced, and the watches will be available for pre-order in the U.S. in October 2021, with worldwide sales starting in early 2022. The MSRP for the Ulysse Nardin Diver Chronograph 44mm Limited Edition Great White is $13,300. For more detailed information, visit the brand's website.