News: Ulysse Nardin Classico Rooster
Sunday 1 January 2017 will mark the first day of the year of the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac. In a practice that’s starting to become something of a tradition in world of Swiss watches, a number of manufacturers have released watches to commemorate the dawning of the new zodiac year, as the monkeys of 2016 give way to the roosters of 2017.
Ulysse Nardin’s contribution comes in the form of the Classico Rooster, a limited edition watch of just 88 pieces. The rooster is renowned for crowing at the crack of dawn, so there couldn’t be a more appropriate animal to symbolise excellent timekeeping—but some might think that the humble farmyard bird isn’t the most graceful animal to decorate a watch. The Classico Rooster, however, certainly does an excellent job at making the rooster look both elegant and beautiful.
The watch’s enamel work was undertaken at Donzé Cadrans, an established company acquired by Ulysse Nardin in 2011 to specialise in the brand’s enamelling. The incredibly intricate dial features a champlevé rooster—an enamelling technique where delicate troughs are carved into the dial so that they can be filled with enamel. The rooster’s body is sumptuously decorated with blue and white within a gold outline, and of course, the animal’s distinctive crest is picked out in a vibrant red. The elegant tapered gold hands have a luminous coating, and the 40mm case complements the dial perfectly in elegant rose gold.
Inside the watch sits the COSC-certified in-house calibre UN-815 which beats at 28,800vph and offers a power reserve of 42 hours. The Ulysse Nardin Classico Rooster will be on display to get a close-up look at SIHH 2017 if you happen to be attending, and will retail at $41,700 (just over £34,000).
