At the heart of the refined architecture of the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon timepiece is the UN-171 manufacture movement, its complex mechanics stripped to a bare minimum. The essential beauty of the inner workings is fully revealed by its bold, aerial design. A design which takes the oversized Roman numerals, sword markers and raised rectangular bridge of the Executive collection.

Nestled in the pure lines of the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon’s mechanical movement is a flying tourbillon, made in-house and comprising silicium parts. Yet another impressive feature of the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon is the power reserve – extended to a life-saving 7 days.

Last, we come to what I believe is the star of the series, the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Military watch. Contrary to the previous two models, this watch doesn’t include a Grand Feu enamel dial. It is also the greatest watch of the three, with a 44mm steel case in a sand-blasted finish. What distinguishes the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Military from the compatriots is that this could be considered a “true” marine chronometer, in the sense that high accuracy, strong legibility, and also an over-engineered movement take precedence over all other concerns for this particular timepiece.The Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Military is very similar to some preceding Torpilleur model we covered recently, sharing the identical movement and even the exact same name, with the inclusion of “Military” being the crucial distinction. This Military variant is 2mm larger than the last version, opts for Arabic instead of Roman numerals, also lacks both the date and power reserve complications. The tiny seconds monitor at 6 o’clock offers a red serial number ranging from 1 to 300, as the Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Military is a 300-piece limited edition. Just underneath the serial number are the initials C.W. which stands for “Chronometer Watch. “The Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur Military is powered with the UN-118 in-house motion, which includes an escapement in DIAMonSIL, a blend of silicon with man-made diamond. This extremely hard but light substance is the result of a collaboration between Ulysse Nardin and Sigatec in Sion, Switzerland, that concentrate on the production of both micro-mechanical silicon parts. This DIAMonSIL escapement operates with basically no friction, requires no lubrication, and ought to offer lengthy service intervals and greater precision with time. Even the silicium oscillator of the UN-118 movement can also be produced in house by Ulysse Nardin and comes with a patented inertial balance wheel using screw adjustment.
The substantial character of the 45mm Executive Skeleton Tourbillon is deceptive: this piece is in fact ultra-light. The titanium case with its blue ceramic bezel is barely felt on the wrist, and pioneering silicium parts contribute to its featherlight weight while achieving precision performance. To securely attach this distillation of avant-garde creation to the wrist, the blue carbon effect leather strap is attached to the case by three distinctive claws.