Showing posts with label US Navy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Navy. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Anchors Aweigh...

Unbeknownst to me (and I suspect anyone reading this), Ulysse Nardin (at least according to Ulysse Nardin's press release) has some deep-rooted, long standing relationship with the US Navy.  

Courtesy of Ulysse Nardin
And I have to be honest, I find all of this to be, well, I think it would be polite to call it contrived.  In fairness, I do a lot of marketing work for a growing number of brands.  I get, appreciate and understand the need to try and draw parallels and connections that will hopefully bear the fruits of actual sales.  But (and to be clear, this is just my read on the press release), it seems like a bit of a stretch on the part of UN to suddenly fall in love with the US Navy. and if I am being honest, it feels a bit disingenuous.  So owing to that, I am going to put up the press release exactly the way I received it,  and leave you to draw your own conclusions. 

Switzerland, July 4th 2018 - “Honor, courage, commitment”, as they say in the US Navy. Ulysse Nardin is celebrating over a century of dedication to nautical precision and values shared with the United States Navy by launching a special edition of its Executive Tourbillon: the “Stars and Stripes”. Created in homage to the American flag with its 13 white and red stripes and 50 white stars on a deep blue background, each piece in this limited line of 50 pieces, - one for each state in the Union – is as unique as its wearer. The Ulysse Nardin Executive Tourbillon “Stars and Stripes” will be launched on the 4th of July in celebration of America’s Independence Day.

The US Navy, known for mottos such as “We shall not perish” equips its sailors with the most precise instruments known to man. In choosing its nautical supplier in 1902, it looked no further than Ulysse Nardin for its superb accuracy and traditional craftsmanship. Winner several times over of the Washington Naval Observatory’s competition to equip its torpedo boats, Ulysse Nardin’s instruments have been an essential part of US naval ships for more than a hundred years.

With an ironclad reputation for excellence, Ulysse Nardin has allowed itself to take disruption to a new level with the Stars and Stripes. The arachnid-like
skeleton movement reveals the delicate ballet of perfectly-meshed parts, each working in symbiosis with the others. Open-worked movements, the apex of high watchmaking, are attempted only by expert horologers. A movement of this caliber has been stripped of all unnecessary elements, each piece angled and polished to perfection. Roman numerals add a touch of elegance and the titanium case ensures durability. The UN-171 manufactured model, with a tremendous and unequalled 170-hour power reserve (nearly seven days), is also an object of beauty topped with a blue ceramic bezel, blue crown and blue carbon effect leather strap. Painted using a micro-painting technique that at requires a paintbrush the width of a single eyelash, stars adorn the top and stripes decorate the cover of the cylinder. At its center is the distinguishing executive rectangle and each oeuvre is one of a kind.

As they say in the US Navy, peace through strength, freedom through strength and “vis per mare”: strength from the sea. With the Ulysse Nardin Executive Tourbillon Stars and Stripes, the journey begins!

Monday, January 11, 2016

Oris Commemorates the Life of Carl Brashear


A man of honor

Courtesy of ORIS
Sort of big news, so I will let Oris share it in their own words -

Oris is extremely honoured to introduce its first bronze watch remembering the extraordinary life of Carl Brashear, the U.S. Navy’s first African American master diver.

The Oris Carl Brashear Limited Edition is based on Oris’s hugely successful Divers Sixty-Five and celebrates a man who conquered not only challenges of race, but also of disability. 

Courtesy of Oris

Brashear joined the Navy in 1948 as a 17-year-old, and despite facing discrimination on account of his race he graduated from the Navy’s diving programme in 1954. In 1966, he lost the lower part of his left leg in an accident during a mission to salvage a hydrogen bomb. After an exhausting period of rehabilitation, he became the U.S. Navy’s first amputee diver in 1968, and then qualified as a Master Diver in 1970, the first African American to do so.
 
Courtesy of Oris

After a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy that lasted more than 30 years, Brashear retired in 1979. He died in 2006 aged 75. His extraordinary story was the inspiration for the 2000 film Men of Honour, in which Brashear was portrayed by Oscar- winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr.

The watch marking Brashear’s life and character is the first Oris watch to be made in bronze, a naturally aging material used in deep-sea diving helmets of the 1950s. It takes its aesthetic from the Oris Divers Sixty-Five, but at 42mm in diameter. Bronze is initially bright and shiny, and then darkens as its copper content reacts with carbon dioxide and moisture. This means each of the limited run of 2,000 pieces will develop a unique patina over time – and a unique relationship with their owner.

The unidirectional rotating bezel is also made of bronze, with a raised minute scale for tracking dive times, a look that recalls a number of diver’s watches in the Oris archive. The stainless steel case back shows Brashear’s helmet and his very personal claim. Under the watch’s dark blue dial is an automatic mechanical movement, and the watch is water-resistant to 100 meters.

The Oris Carl Brashear Limited Edition presents a unique opportunity to own Oris’s first bronze watch, but more importantly to pay tribute to a man whose convictions changed the course of history and to support the Carl Brashear Foundation. A man of honor. 


Product Features
Oris Carl Brashear Limited Edition Ref. No. 733 7720 3185 LS, Ø 42.00mm Limited to 2,000 pieces
  • Automatic movement Oris Cal. 733, based on Sellita SW200, with date at 6 o’clock
  • Multi-piece bronze case and screw-in bronze crown. Water resistant to 10 bar/100m
  • Diver’s unidirectional revolving bronze top ring with 60-minute timer. Zero marker filled with Super-LumiNova®
  • Bubble-curved sapphire crystal domed on both sides and with anti-reflective coating inside
  • Screwed stainless steel case back with special engraving and engraved limitation number
  • Dark blue, curved dial with applied rose gold plated indices, filled with Super- LumiNova®. Hour, minute and second hands rose gold plated and filled with Super-LumiNova®
  • Dark brown leather strap with bronze pin buckle
  • Swiss retail price CHF 2,600