Fewer and fewer collectors are carrying out a reality check when buying new watches. Yet, this is essential before deciding whether you like a watch or a brand. A big mistake, says Joern Kengelbach. He conducted his own personal experiment with the limited edition Wempe Signature Collection x Ulysse Nardin Diver NET at a pool in Berlin.
‘Incredible watch, what an incredible watch!’ Wearing my white dinner jacket, I carefully hop to one side, because a guest can barely contain his excitement as he runs past me to inspect this magnificent piece in the evening sun. Well, I reckon, I had been wearing the latest Wempe Signature model, which was created in collaboration with Ulysse Nardin, on my wrist all afternoon, but it has been a while since I have seen a collector this excited. It is all the more surprising when it turns out that this collector (and his wife) are both die-hard Rolex fans. However, that should not really be that surprising, either, as Wempe is the Genevan brand’s oldest concessionaire here. They just know what’s good, I think to myself. But that is not the case. What surprises me during the conversation I later have with this customer: fewer and fewer people are having a reality check. Instead, they often allow themselves to be distracted and lulled by digital impressions or, even worse, some opinions that have nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with reality. Oh, am I writing for a digital platform? Okay, touché – but all the more reason for my plea to collectors: go out, get your hands and wrists on new watches, because that’s what matters, as this afternoon will show.
I could simply write: A numbered model limited to 75 pieces, i.e. not a simple one-out-of-so-and-so-many, plus a genuine in-house manufacture movement, silicon balance spring and many other exciting features, which are described in our detailed news article, should be incentive enough for collectors to take a closer look at this exceptional timepiece. However, the year is 2024 and not 2020 (when just about everything with three hands that was not a railway station clock sold like hot cakes). The new reality is that collectors’ safes are full and the world has become more complex.
This afternoon proves it: the great advantage of the many digital watch presentations operated by all platforms worldwide, including many brands, turns out to be its greatest disadvantage, especially when it comes to lesser-known brands. While more and more people and collectors are on the lookout for a few sold-out models, only a few are looking at really good models from brands that are sometimes centuries old, such as Ulysse Nardin, an exceptional manufacture that offers amazing timepieces.
Therefore, my guiding principle before any watch review now is: the all-important question is not what a watch looks like on Instagram, but in reality – and especially on your own wrist. Of course, now everyone is thinking, ‘That is pretty obvious.’ But that is exactly what an increasing number of people seem to really want to know and, above all, fewer and fewer are actually doing it. Is it laziness or good marketing by the companies?
In any case, I travelled to Berlin to take a closer look at the sixth model appearing in the Wempe Signature series, which was launched in 2022, and, above all, to try it on in person. As Swisswatches already mentioned in its editorial on the latest collaboration with Girard Perregaux, Wempe not only has a long tradition of genuine double-signed models, but has also been a watch manufacture in its own right since 2006. The team around the head of the watch division, Bernhard Stoll, and his colleague Uwe Beckmann, who also runs the Wempe boutique in Frankfurt, would never want to see a Wempe logo on anything that would not be an interesting model to collectors for good reason.
Berlin, Germany
This brings me to the uniquely close ties Ulysse Nardin and Wempe have. With the relaunch of the Ulysse Nardin brand in the 1980s, Wempe became its first German concessionaire. And, Hellmut Wempe, the father of the current Managing Director, Kim-Eva Wempe, gave Ulysse Nardin credit for helping the Hamburg-based company with components for its famous on-board clocks during the difficult 1950s post-war period. Few people know: Wempe is still one of the leading manufacturers of marine clocks today. Many a cruise ship is equipped with Wempe timepieces. I will get to Hellmut Wempe’s very personal connection to Ulysse Nardin later on.
The presentation of the exceptional diver’s watch is taking place at the Hotel Oderberger in Berlin. This only seems unusual at first glance, as we all know that the sea is a long way from Berlin. But the Oderberger was once the city swimming pool of the Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood, now known as something of a party district. The hotel pool, which is also open to the public, dates back to 1902. This is a double reference to the beginnings of the Swiss manufacturer Ulysse Nardin, whose logo is an anchor for good reason. Because it was precisely at that time that it attracted the attention of the world’s most important seafaring nations: within the first decade of the last century, the brand’s marine chronometers were used by over fifty navies and shipping companies around the world. Since 1906, for example, the American Naval Observatory has been one of its customers. According to the archives, the manufacture holds more than 4,300 awards from various observatories for particularly accurate chronometers.
In the hotel lobby, I meet Hellmut Wempe’s grandson, Scott Wempe. Scott could be my son (yep, youthful as he is), but I’m writing this because what I really appreciate about him is that he knows exactly how to wear the right timepiece for every occasion. However, there is the subtle difference that he has better access to truly spectacular models as a member of the Wempe family. On his wrist today: the Ulysse Nardin Classico by Hellmut Wempe, with a personal dedication (‘HW’) as well as his grandfather’s last birthday on the enamel dial. Could the close and personal relationship between these two exceptional maisons be described any better than by this timepiece? We quickly took a photo, and are now moving on from a unique piece to a watch limited to 75 pieces. Thus, we return to the reason for this adventure.
I will admit it up front: I am not really a fan of orange, I am actually not a fan of carbon fibre on the wrist, I cannot really wear watches with a diameter of over 40 millimetres. And yet this model fits like a glove, which I realise twenty seconds after trying on number 3 (all models are individually numbered, which is discreetly revealed by a small, beautifully engraved plaque on the side of the case). I would not have thought that this watch would go with almost anything: swimming trunks by the pool, a dinner jacket, a shirt, even a wetsuit, which I brought along for this occasion to the amusement of the Wempe staff. I take the reality check seriously.
Before conducting my personal dive test, however, I have a meeting with the Managing Director of Ulysse Nardin, Matthieu Haverlan. He was appointed director of the entire brand in February. Not even yet forty years old, he is a man of the trade who not only knows the Swiss watch industry inside out, but is also a serious collector himself, as far as one can say that about Patek Philippe customers these days. You can read our full conversation here.
So, off into the water. Unfortunately, the pool water is as cold as the North Sea when I jump in wearing the watch on my wrist. 150 guests are expected in the evening and as not all of them will be wearing swimming trunks like me, they seemed to have switched off the heating in the middle of summer. I am grateful to have brought my wetsuit.
Looking at the watch warms my heart all the more. Two things immediately stand out, which the Wempe customer mentioned at the beginning will later confirm: despite its large diameter, the watch is a real hit because it fits perfectly on the wrist. What’s more: the case with lugs made of an unusual mixture of nylo and carbonium is perfectly balanced in terms of weight despite its size. I always say: the wearer forgets the perfect watch after a minute on the wrist. No, not because it is so arbitrary, but because the weight of the model does not interfere with normal movement. I don’t even notice it, even though I swim a few lengths and the resistance of an object on my arm weighs even more heavily.
Weight and wearing comfort are one thing, the aesthetic is quite another. Based on the press images, I had suspected that the watch would look very inharmonious on the wrist. There is a lot going on on the dial: matt black and sandblasted with a satinised ‘X’, it is reminiscent of damp asphalt. Depending on the light, this does not only look cool, but also actually makes our photographer, Ragnar Schmuck, work up quite the sweat. The luminescent hour indices and the rhodium-plated hour and minute hands are coated with white Super-LumiNova, while the rhodium-plated hands for the small seconds and power reserve are coated with orange Super-LumiNova.
Something that is particularly striking on the wrist: despite everything, the watch is extremely easy to read. The double anti-reflective sapphire crystal also contributes to it – a detail that I can only recommend to many manufactures.
While I am slowly starting to feel like the dolphin man in Friedrich Liechtenstein’s song ‘Belgique, Belgique’ in the water, performing comical underwater contortions to present my arm to the still-dry photographer, there are plenty of opportunities to take a closer look at the watch during the breaks. Here too, the reality check makes all the difference. Just take the unidirectional rotating diver’s bezel. Good readability is one thing, but the detents are not only perfectly milled from a solid piece, they can also be easily adjusted with cold, wet hands. But what I like best is the slightly shimmering effect of the marbled bezel. No, it is neither classic carbon fibre nor ceramic, which is almost a commonplace material these days (these bezels are very popular, but usually very loud and not as discreet as I like). Ulysse Nardin has really dug deep into its box of tricks here to upgrade an important component, while still maintaining 100 percent functionality.
And even though my colleague already wrote about it, you have to let this effort sink in: the carbonium used is an exceptionally strong and lightweight material that consists of the same carbon fibres that are used in the production of aircraft wings and fuselages. However, carbonium is made from the offcuts from aircraft production and therefore has a 40 percent lower environmental impact than other carbon composites. For me, this is upcycling par excellence. And ultimately, it is precisely this material mix that not only ensures a high scratch resistance and the casual colour combination, but also around 50 percent less weight, which significantly benefits the aforementioned wearing comfort.
Now, out of the pool, into a dinner jacket. Some might think, what does the waiter want at the pool, but honestly: what do you wear to an indoor pool event on a summer evening if you do not want to appear like a misguided hotel guest in swimming trunks and slippers? This combination is obviously owed to the suit test. Even though we are wearing less and less formal clothing these days, we can learn a thing or two from James Bond. A sports watch that you cannot wear for a drink at the hotel bar after work is not really worth the money.
Speaking of values, inner values. Wempe’s head of the watch division, Bernhard Stoll, disclosed to me in advance that in his opinion, in addition to its ‘power colour’, the watch particularly scored points for its mechanical high-performance precision. I will fully explore what this means during my first whisky on the rocks (the orange zest is more of a fun detail, as it matches the watch’s colour).
The Wempe Signature Ulysse Nardin Diver Net features the UN-118 base calibre from Ulysse Nardin. Unfortunately, base calibre sounds far too harmless, because many a larger manufacture would lust after such a base: ten years after the introduction of the legendary first Freak with ‘Dual Direct’ escapement, the automatic calibre UN-118 with a date and power reserve display was launched on the market. It is equipped with an anti-magnetic silicon balance spring, as well as an escapement wheel and lever made of patented DiamonSil. This mix of materials not only ensures 60 hours of running time with just one mainspring barrel, but also a significantly higher rate precision than many standard calibres. The escapement of the calibre 118 is manufactured in collaboration between Ulysse Nardin and its subsidiary Sigatec in Sion. In addition to watch manufactures, this company also supplies medical technology and biotechnology companies.
Anyone who wants to find out more about the movement should read the many technology blogs on the Internet. Nonetheless, DiamonSil is a really exciting combination of silicon and synthetic diamond. Some experts believe that this material could develop into the Holy Grail of watch components, as it is extremely light and at the same time so hard that there is practically no friction. Lubricants for the escapement can be completely dispensed with. While I’m trying to snatch the first hors d’oeuvres from the flying buffet to keep myself fuelled, I read up on the internet: to create this composite material, the parts are first made from silicon and then a diamond layer is virtually vapour-deposited using the CVD (chemical vapour deposition) process. This is done in a special reaction chamber at 2,300 degrees Celsius. If you are not overly interested in that many technical facts, just know that this technology has prompted the company to extend the warranty to 5 years. Check completed!
While Wempe heirs Scott and Chiara Wempe are introducing the new watch and joining Haverlan in welcoming the guests, I primarily focus on the audience. Do the customers notice details such as the specially slotted screws for fastening the bracelets? How do they react to a brand that has almost 180 years of history, but is still yet to be discovered?
We must not forget the crazy pace at which new watch models are being introduced these days. Do you feel the same? With ten new watch models being released every week, you slowly lose track of everything. It’s a pity, really. Because collectors are currently experiencing what is worth paying attention to, especially with small brands, at Ulysse Nardin – and special thanks are due to multi-brand retailers such as Wempe, to whom many brands that now prefer to rely on mono-brand boutiques owe an important part of their success. The Signature range has the potential to shift the collectors’ attention to the things that really matter: technical sophistication paired with passionate watchmaking and great design. And what if I really do not want to go to the next business meeting with an orange-coloured watch? A genial sales consultant passes the second rubber strap through the crowd. It is black and comes free of charge. Damn, I think, the number 74 is still available, and check my account balance. A guest comes running past me and exclaims: ‘Incredible watch!’
