Hands-On: Ulysse Nardin Diver X Cape Horn and Nemo Point
Dive watches priced below US$10,000 are one of the saturated and competitive segments in watchmaking. The category is dominated by two dive watch icons, the Rolex Submariner and the Omega Seamaster, both of which set the bar high with high-spec, in-house escapements equipped with high-tech hairsprings and next-level chronometer certifications. Ulysse Nardin smartly steered away from the conventional dive-watch look with last year’s new Diver X. Created to mark the brand’s newly-forged partnership with Vendée Globe, a non-stop solo yacht race around the globe, the Diver X Cape Horn and Diver X Nemo Point are a contemporary take on the standard Diver Chronometer 44mm, dressed up in new materials and colours but retaining the same basic specs, namely a 300 m rating and an in-house movement with a proprietary escapement. The Diver X Cape Horn Dubbed the “Everest of the Seas” because of its reputation as the toughest sailing competition in the world, the Vendée Globe is such an arduous journey that the eight races since 1989 have claimed three lives. Competitors have to travel over 40,000 km, a round-the-world trip that takes between two to four months. Unsurprisingly, the twin Diver X editions are aggressively styled and technically robust. Form and function Each named after key points along the Vendée Globe route, the Cape Horn and Nemo Point have the longstanding, symmetrical layout of a Ulysse Nardin diver’s watch – originally inspired by the dial of the br...
Time+Tide
