DEPLOYANT – Luxury watch reviews & horological lifestyles – Luxury watch reviews & horological lifestyles
The Ulysse Nardin Classic Perpetual Ludwig was first launched in 1996 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the brand. Despite more than 170 years of history, Ulysse Nardin is hardly the household name for watch lovers, but its accomplishments in watchmaking should not go unnoticed; especially to watch enthusiasts. Award winning watches like the Freakishly Innovative or the Grand Deck Marine Tourbillon are two examples that come to mind. This year, some two decades later, a re-edition of the watch is released based on the original design, and we thought it fun to compare the old 1996 version with the new 2017 model.
The Ulysse Nardin Classic Perpetual Ludwig 1996 edition.
Conceived by Ludwig Oeschlin for the late Rolf Schnyder, who was then owner of Ulysse Nardin, this watch marks a turning point in innovation for the Perpetual Calendar complication. The watch was named after its maker, Ludwig Oechslin who was popularly known as Ulysse Nardin’s ‘Master Innovator’. He also designed the Trilogy of Time and the GMT+ for the maison.
The dial is individually numbered for a limited edition of 150 pieces in each metal.
The same legacy movement
The Ulysse Nardin Classic Perpetual Ludwig 1996 and 2017 both use the legacy movement, the Ulysse Nardin Calibre 33, which is based on the ETA 2892A2. A powerful movement that has the torque to pile complications on top without affecting the reliability and running accuracy. It is self-winding, 31mm in diameter, 6.95mm high, with 34 jewels and 223 parts. The UN Trilogy with astronomical complications is also based on the same caliber.
It uses the Ulysse Nardin Caliber 33, an innovative interpretation of the Perpetual Calendar complication, and allows the date, month, day and year to be adjusted both forwards and backwards.
The movement was well-known for its innovative adjusting system. Apart from the Ulysse Nardin Trilogy pieces Planetarium and Astrolabium, the Ludwig is one of the only, if not the only perpetual calendar, that allows its calendar displays to be adjusted back and forth via the crown. This might sound like not much, but it is a feat especially for perpetual calendars. When it was premiered, this was a great innovation. Today, a few other perpetual calendars offer this feature, amongst them the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon and the Moser Perpetual 1.
The Ulysse Nardin Classic Perpetual Ludwig 2017 edition in stainless steel.
In the 1996 edition, the ball bearing central rotor is made of white gold and hand-engraved. The newer version uses the same rotor design and has the same dark blue Ulysse Nardin anchor in enamel. It however looks less embellished as its predecessor possibly due to the brushed machine finish as opposed to the original hand finished edition.
The caliber 33 as seen from the caseback. The 1996 edition features a rotor in 18 K white gold, which appears better finished relative to the new edition.
The UN Anchor on blue enamel makes remains a mainstay on the movement side.
Same display
The non-symmetrical digital display is a fixture of the Ludwig. It consists of a day display […]
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Article from: DEPLOYANT – Luxury watch reviews & horological lifestyles, by Chester Lau
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