hammerhead

Ulysse Nardin Hammerhead Shark Limited Edition Maxi Marine Diver Watches

Look closely at the dials of these watches and you'll notice that the standard wave pattern has been replaced with a series of repeating hammerhead sharks. As far as I can tell, these limited edition watches are literally just made in honor of the ancient fish. Ulysse Nardin feels a connection with hammer head sharks and wanted to solidify that in wrist watch form. The Hammerhead Shark collection includes four different watches. Each is a combo of either steel and titanium or rose and titanium. Each combo comes on either a metal bracelet or a rubber strap. The titanium and steel models are each limited to 999 pieces each, while the titanium and gold models are limited to 350 pieces each.

Aside from a the shark theme and imagery, the bezels have a unique design to them, but the rest is classic Maxie Marine Diver. The watches are 45mm wide, 200 meters water resistant, and have Ulysse Nardin automatic movements with the date, subsidiary seconds dial, and a useful power reserve indicator. I quite like the two-tone version in rose gold and titanium - it has a nice sporty look that feels luxurious without being too showy.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: diver, hammerhead, limited edition, maxi marine, shark, ulysse nardin, watch

Urwerk UR-203 Watch Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Not too long ago Urwerk came out with a watch that they nicknamed the Hammerhead. Given this name because of its widening dial that makes room for the minute scale near the front of the face. In the tradition of Urwerk, time it told via an ingenious system of rotating hands that display the hour and follow a linear minute scale. The spinning central system has three such hands, each with four hour indicators on them. Urwerk calls these "satellites." The proper hour pivots into position to face you so that you can read the time. Seen in a visually pleasing, almost lime-green tone. Thus, in the image here it is about 7:30. The first such was was the UR-202, and seen here is the follow-up model, the UR-203. The 203 has some interesting differences, most notable are a few different complications, and a case in platinum that is covered in in black. An odd thing really - having a precious metal case that is covered so as to disguise the metal below. Urwerk doesn't seem to mind that no one knows the watch is in platinum. It is enough for them that the wearer does.

Reading the time is easier that you might expect - a reasonably alternative to hands. If you notice the little needle coming out of the hour indicator like a precision hand, you'll be impressed that the hand retracts back into the unit when it is time for the satellite to spin back around the case. One of the coolest things about the 203 is the view from the back. The automatic winding movement spins a duo of turbines on the rear of the watch. These spin as you move around the timepiece - showing that the automatic winding is functioning. A very nicely stylized part of the watch. There is a level on the rear of the watch (simply to use and refined to the touch) that will lock the automatic rotor in place. Two red bars appear in a window on the rear when winding is locked. Why would you want to lock the winding? So that the watch can put up with more shock resistance during strenuous activity. You can then unlock the rotor when you are done with your golf swing for example.

Gallery: Urwerk UR-203 Watch