This month’s special timepiece is brought to you by Ulysse Nardin, a very special Suisse Orlogier. We picked up our Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Blue Wave 43mm from a friend who wanted to get rid of a few pieces in his collection and were very surprised as to the exquisite quality of the watch itself. We always wanted to carry a blue watch in our inventory and felt that the Maxi Marine played of the blue theme very well especially as ours came with a blue gator band which made it ideal for those days when you have to wear a blue suit.
We reviewed this watch in three different segments: Functionality, Quality of Craftsmanship and Wrist Presence.
Functionality: Rather simple and beautiful as most Ulysse Nardin are, this one is rather simple as well but features a chronometer, power reserve indicator and its normal time function. The movement keeps excellent time and did not lose any seconds or minutes throughout our time of ownership. We felt like this one was actually as decent as our Panerai watches, which was refreshing seeing how poor our Rolex submariners were in keeping time. There was one downfall to the functionality as we felt the power reserve would die very quickly and make us readjust the watch just after one day of sitting there.
Quality of Craftsmanship: The casing on the watch is simply second to none and the numeral on the side indicating the serial number in the series is beautiful. The blue dial shines just right on the wrist and band fits so well on the case that it works all so well together. The watch truly shines in its details. The roman numerals, the engraving on the crown and the dented bezel gives it a unique look differentiating from IWC models. The open case back gives a view of the beautiful UN movement which holds both gold and stainless steel elements.
Wrist Presence: At 43mm, the watch just sits right making it not too large but rather noticeable. It is easy to wear with cuffs and a suit. It works well for a business watch but ends just there as it feels awkward without a suit making it hard for us to rank it among our top watches. It looks too dressy when casual or wearing short sleeves and simply doesn’t hold the same “right” wrist presence as Panerai or Audemars Piguet which works well in any situation but offer the ability to change bands easily. We rank this watch a total of 7/10 in general and a 9/10 for a business watch.
The cost for the watch new is $8,800 but can be had on the secondary market between $4,000 and $5,000 which makes it comparable to the likes of the Panerai 104, ooo, 005 and 88GMT which are all better models in our opinion and much easier to resell in the long run. We would however select it over a Submariner as they are ordinary and predictable but the Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine is very exclusive and very unique making it a great 2nd watch to have in your collection.
