I didn’t ask anyone “is Ulysse Nardin popular here?” But rather asked questions such as “what is the best selling luxury watch? Which is the most popular? Which are in the most demand? What brand do you see the most on people’s wrists? Etc…” Ulysse Nardin was a response most of the time. That’s pretty cool actually, and I rarely get to do such research in the field. The bottom line is that Russia is a very important market for Ulysse Nardin, and Ulysse Nardin is a very important luxury watch brand in Russia. So why is that?
That is a good question. Why Ulysse Nardin is so popular in Russia seems to have to do with the brand’s entrance into the market right after the Soviet Union fell. With a strong placement near the government center, Ulysse Nardin quickly established itself as an important status symbol of the country’s new elite. As a brand they are among the few that readily admits their clients (globally) are politicians, business people, and sometimes criminals. It goes without saying that the latter nebulous group is a huge consumer of luxury goods, and Ulysse Nardin is comfortable enough with their position to openly admit they have a large range of customers.
What I think that Ulysse Nardin does particularly well in a market such as Russia is that they have a strictly Swiss product but aren’t afraid to cater their products to local tastes. Russia has a range of limited edition Ulysse Nardin watches, but also the core collection is something that appeals to them. The Maxi Marine Diver is among the most popular pieces. The brand’s iconic sport watch, the Maxi Marine Diver celebrates the brand’s nautical personality (no doubt you noticed the anchor in the logo) but is also a bold statement unto itself.
The design of the dial is taken from historic Ulysse Nardin marine chronometer clocks that were produced for professional use. This is a layout many collectors are familiar with that includes a subsidiary seconds dial and a power reserve indicator under 12 o’clock. For the Maxi Marine Diver, this traditional layout has been adopted for a sportier look that includes very bold hour indicators and hands. Overall, this type of dial proves not only useful, but remarkably legible. The lume is fantastic, and while I typically don’t like partially skeletonized hour and minute hands, they work very well on this type of dial.
Ulysse Nardin has produced seemingly endless versions of the Maxi Marine Diver, often in the form of limited edition models. It is interesting, because it seems as though anywhere you go in the world you’ll find slightly differed versions of the watch that display new colors or little design tweaks. Ulysse Nardin isn’t at all afraid to experiment with ideas when it comes to the Maxi Marine Diver, take for instance the limited edition model they did with HBO for Game of Thrones. It can be dangerous for a brand to play with too many concepts when it comes to variations on a model. Hublot for instance received a lot of flack in the past for coming out with a limited edition Big Bang each week, it seemed. On the plus side, it does offer a brand the ability to offer a huge amount of variety while respecting a core design. None of the many Maxi Marine Divers really disrupts the core formula of the design, so when it comes down to it, I think it is really about Ulysse Nardin playing with a solid formula.
Most Maxi Marine Divers come on a rubber bracelet with that distinct ceramic (or other material) link in the strap. Versions of the watch on a bracelet are rare, and while I don’t really prefer one over the other, I do really like what the bracelet does to the design. It makes the watch a bit more classy versus sporty, and helps the design look a lot more substantial on the wrist. This particular bracelet goes a bit further by integrating with the color tones on the case. Instead of being a solid 18k rose gold bracelet, this one uses center links made out of polished black ceramic. In execution it makes the design look great. I for one really enjoy how gold and black go together, so this watch overall is right up my alley. more »
