ll

Since the days of the Bourbon kings in France, blue was considered a royal colour, and its use was subject of exact regulations and restrictions. Today, in more democratic times, a private-owned company like Ulysse Nardin does not have to ask for royal grant to use blue as main colour on watch dials. However, it is only a gesture of awareness for tradition, that finally, the “blue theme” is crowned with a magnificent timepiece, worthy of a king’s attention: the “Royal Blue” Mystery tourbillon.

“Mystery” watches have a long tradition, and their popularity is the result of a watchmaker’s ability to hide the mechanism’s complexity, so that the spectator has to ask himself “how does the energy reach the watch hands?”. Consequently, parts made of transparent, or ‘invisible’ material have been a classic component of such “mystery watches”.

In the case of the “Royal Blue”, the mystery is to see the tourbillon seemingly floating in the watch, without any apparent connection to the hands. The trick is relatively simple in theory, but complicated in realization: the bridges and plates are made from synthetic sapphire. The “Royal Blue” is not the first tourbillon showing this design approach. However, it is the first sapphire watch with a “flying” tourbillon, meaning that the tourbillon cage is attached to the movement only on one point on its rear, while the axis is turning freely, without any support on the front.

Another “first” is the colouring of the sapphire bridges. In my imagination, gemstones are always connected with a certain colour; diamonds are white, rubies are red, and sapphires are blue. Consequently, I always found it somehow strange to speak of “sapphire crystals” on watches, which do not have any colour at all. That I am not alone with this, is proven by the watch industry itself: Technologically, it makes absolutely no sense to add a red colorant to the synthetic ruby material used for the bearings in a movement. However, people expect a red stone, whenever a ruby is mentioned. Additionally, the contrast with the silver or golden metal of the movement is attractive as well. The “Royal Blue” now allows its sapphire parts, at least some of them, an appearance we normally connect with “sapphire”: they appear in a beautiful, shining blue, while still keeping their transparence. The front cover bearing of the tourbillon cage is also made of – this time darker – synthetic sapphire.

The watch itself is result of an already traditional co-operation, which brought us watches like the “Triple Jack”, the “Circus” and the Hourstriker. Ulysse Nardin and Christophe Claret teamed up again to create the “Royal Blue”. And it weren’t UN, if there wasn’t another interesting uniqueness, aside the sapphire bridges and the flying tourbillon: If you look at the pictures, you will notice the large circumferal teethed ring under the bezel. Some will also see a similarity with the “Freak”, which has a similar feature. In the “Royal Blue”, the ring is part of the watch’s winding system, and is the transmission wheel from the stem to the rochet. This makes it possible to place the mainspring barrel at 12, just opposite the tourbillon, which offers a very nicely balanced look. The three little pinions at 9, 12 and 3 are there to guide the transmission wheel.

Regarding the watch’s overall design, some elements are typical for UN, such as the hands, which were originally designed for the Sonata by Rolf Schnyder himself. Others are not so typical, such as the ring of diamonds inside the bezel. The twelve sapphires (this time no synthetic ones!) serve as hour markers.

Contrary to the depiction here, the watch is offered with a folding clasp. However, folding clasps made from platinum have a problem: The material is hard and doesn’t have the elasticity to make a clasp ‘snap’ closed and hold it firmly. Accidental opening is quite frequent. Therefore, the UN clasp offered with the “Royal Blue” is made from two materials: The folding machanism is made from 18k white gold, while the parts visible from outside are made from platinum. This system has proved to be very good and secure, and other high-end brands are using it, too.

Royal Blue Tourbillon – Technical specifications:

Ref.   799-80   Platinum 950

Movement:       Caliber UN-79, 12 ¼’’’  (16 jewels, main plate in sapphire)

Power-Reserve:           approx. 130 h

Winding:          Manual winding

Functions:        Flying Tourbillon

Display of the hours and minutes

Setting of the time and winding of the movement:       through a circular rack mechanism

Case:    Platinum 950

Diameter:         42 mm

Inside Bezel set with 48 diamonds 0.66 ct and 12 blue sapphires 0.16 ct

Water-resistance:         50 m

Crystal: Anti reflective sapphire crystal

Case-back:       Anti reflective sapphire crystal

Bracelet:          Alligator leather strap, with platinum/white gold folding buckle

Limitation:       Limited edition of 99 pieces in Platinum 950