The Ulysse Nardin Marine Chronograph celebrates the brand’s 18 gold medals in chronometry by making a watch that really doesn’t cut any corners with a ton of attention clearly paid to every detail. It’s truly a watch where the more I learn about and examine it the more impressed I am by just how much watch it is. It is extremely detailed and well executed throughout and I will attempt to call out some of those details, but I would be remiss if I didn’t also point you in the direction of this old timezone review written by Michael Disher that really does a great job of highlighting the details and intricacies.

Case: The 40 × 43.25 × 13.5 mm case is extremely sporty, practical with 100 meters of water resistance and screw down pushers, wearable with the short downturned lugs and smaller titanium caseback, and very well refined with consistent polishing throughout, a very refined coin edged bezel, a robust and refined bracelet with locking butterfly clasp, and no shortage of heat blued treatments throughout, including the caseback screws.

Dial: The milky and very subtly textured white/silver dial is extremely legible and continues to impress the more you view it. The large applied Arabic numerals are treated to the same deep heat blued finish as the hands and signature, the tachymetre scale is neatly applied to the angled rehaut for maximum legibility and dial cleanliness akin to the original Heuer Carreras, and the 4:30 date is very discrete and well executed as to no be an eyesore. I particularly love the handsets: The hour and minut hand are simultaneously, elegant, classic, and sporty with a unique shape functional lume, the chronograph sweep seconds hand is treated to the same heat blued application and features a sporty red tip for increased legibility, and the chronograph counter hands have this very cool and sporty red, lume-filled treatment reminiscent of those from 1960’s Universal Geneve chronographs like the Nina Rindt. The running seconds at three is differentiated by a single heat blued stick hand that I think works really well with the overall legibility and consistency of the color scheme. The applied anchor logo in the signature is the cherry on top. There is a lot going on in this dial, so many little details, but what’s perhaps most impressive is that it remains extremely clean and very legible.

Movement: The UN-35 movement is a modified ETA 2892-A2 treated to an upgrade in finishing. Currently running exceptionally well at approximately -1 s/d across six positions and all functions working properly, truly honoring the 18 marine chronometer medals.

Includes: Full set including outer signed box, inner wooden box, documents folder with manual, service booklet, hang tag, extra unsigned leather strap and deployant, and card dated March 29, 2004.

There aren’t many chronographs that have this degree of functionality and usability, especially at this price point, and especially with this degree of finishing and attention to detail.