Ulysse Nardin

I still cannot realize that one day,in a few years, now, it will become a vintage. This watch is so timelessly modern!

17 years ago, it was an UHO ( Unidentified Horological Object ). What? An alarm watch which sounds like a minute Repeater? On 24 hours? With a 24 hours alarm countdown? Which you can set to the minute? With a grande date and a second time zone you can set forward and backward??? 

There was nothing like the Sonata at that time, in 2003 when it was unveiled, and still nowadays, the only existing watch, the only rival is a certain Patek introduced in the catalogue one or two years ago six times more expensive than the Ulysse Nardin... 

And what about the style, the design? Daring, mad, innovative, with this concave bezel and this dial bending smooth parts and Cotes de Genève, without forgetting the skeletonized leaf shaped blue hands. 

The only thing which has aged a bit is the case, but I can and I will live with that, as the rest is just a feast for the eyes AND the ears! 

This Sonata is one of these rare watches which provides such an intense pleasure, a medication against horological fatigue, with a bit of nostalgia, though, as the early 2000's were clearly inspired and inspiring, due to the genius and the talent of some magicians / wizards and visionary men, such as Rolf Schnyder, Lucas Humair, Ludwig Oechslin, Pierre Gygax and some others. 

17 years, that makes a lot of pages written in our common book, a lot of moments, good, bad or sad, lived together. A lot of souvenirs. Almost a whole life. Which makes this watch so important to me. Oly these old companions have this special flavor, to us.

And, that will make some of you laugh, but this is a wath which brings me luck. I always wear it when I have something important, challenging, to do. Or... When I travel, as it is a perfect travel watch with its unique combination of complications.

Happy birthday to mine, still alive and... Ticking. 

Best,

Nicolas

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