Ulysse Nardin Takes Astronomical Watches to New Heights with the All-New Blast Moonstruck
Ulysse Nardin has often found itself a bit behind the scenes. The brand has truly found a little niche in pieces that are visually differentiating from those of it’s counterparts and competition. The all-new Blast Moonstruck is no different. Featuring a dizzying array of complication geared towards outer space, the brand showcases what it can truly offer to the Astronomical space of the watch industry.
THE BASICS:
Brand: Ulysse Nardin
Model: Blast Moonstruck (Ref. 1063-400-2A/1A)
Case Material: Titanium and Ceramic
Case Size: 45mm
Water Resistance: 50 m
Crystal: Sapphire Crystal
Movement: Calibre UN-106
Strap Options: Rubber Strap with Top-Leather
THE JUICE:
Ulysse Nardin has a unique, and storied history with Astronomical watches, however not much of it is recent. The first Moonstruck was released in 2009, followed almost a decade later by the ‘Executive Moonstruck” - all by designer Ludwig Oeschlin - a notorious Astronomical Watchmaker. The designs were coherent, if not a bit colorful. The Blast Moonstruck is defintiely a step away from the more colorful design language, even if it’s still a highly-complicated watch.
The Evolution of the Ulysse Nardin Moonstruck.
The Blast Moonstruck is mostly monochromatic despite some rose-gold bits to make the dial more coherrent than previous iterations of the watch - a feature I greatly appreciate. And personally, I feel it’s needed as the watch is packed full with space-inspired complications. Obviously, the moonphase, followed by tidal cycle, time, and earths positional location to the sun and moon at the center of the dial - in a raised center sapphire dome..
Interestingly, the time is located behind the positional ring, making the astronomical complications the forefront aesthetic of the watch. This isn’t new, as the previous iterations also did this however the Blast Moonstruck offers a lot more clarity to the time. Previously, the hour and minute hand was displayed with a tipped handset highly skeletonized to almost wired edges. With the Blast, the handset is solid and lume filled and easily picked out at the center of the dial.
The UN-106 is still a Worldtimer, and it’s blatantly obvious from the rehaut and the many countries displayed there. The time can be set by pushers on the left of the case which jump the hours forward and backwards by one hour increments. Instead of a traditional date window, the date is a displayed as a ring around the etched earth sapphire dome at the center of the dial. The sun and moon are displayed in opposing rings - another unique feature is the moon will have various degrees of brightness depending on it’s position. Despite all of these complications, the UN-106 maintains a 50-hour Power Reserve.
Overall, this is a solid next step for the Moonstruck series of watches from the brand. Personally? I’m a huge fan of Astronomical watches, so to see more be released in a (technically) non-limited edition is not only exciting, but I hope to see it more frequent than every decade or so. I think the Moonstruck would do well with the Freak style rollout that Ulysse Nardin has ramped up in the last few years.
How much is the Ulysse Nardin Blast Moonstruck?
The watch is technically not limited (though UN releases so few watches each year, I can’t imagine this watch is high in numbers), and come with a price tag of $81,000 USD.
Read more about the watch at ulysse-nardin.com