Ulysse Nardin, a brand that helped define watchmaking in the modern era, has opened their first boutique in the United States here at The Villa Menlo Park. As a company that was revived by a legendary watch industry entrepreneur and is now owned by a consortium including the executives who operate it, the company fits right in with The Villa’s portfolio of independent brands.
The company is well remembered for its role, both in introducing the Freak, the first true superwatch of the modern era, and in pioneering advanced silicon parts fabrication in high-end watchmaking. Since those days, the company has completely reworked its lineup of timepieces, introducing a fresh modern aesthetic to its Blast collection of complicated timepieces as well as its popular Marine and Diver collections. The new look is highly technical with creative use of color. A diversified collection of Freaks, with its characteristic incorporation of the movement into the rotating minute indicator, connects the modern brand with its storied past.