In one of the most compelling collabs in recent memory, Swiss luxury watchmaker Ulysse Nardin has teamed up with French sound system manufacturer Devialet for a new chiming watch. Given that a minute repeater requires significant acoustic engineering, it follows that Devialet could offer its expertise on a watch such as the new Classico Hour Striker Phantom, which sounds the time on demand, on the hour and half-hour. Both companies are technologically forward-thinking, which is further reflected in the new timepiece’s design.
For the time being, we’ll have to take the brand’s word for it that the watch offers a “unique sound experience.” Devialet’s founder Emmanuel Nardin (yes, he is in fact related to the founder of Ulysse Nardin) co-developed the Hour Striker Phantom watch, and it’s said to differ from traditional chiming mechanisms in a number of technical ways. The result is a watch that chimes at 85 decibels. This is loud, and you’ll be able to hear it above a din — but it might also be somewhat startling in, say, a quiet office. Luckily you can easily turn it on and off. The brand claims it’s “the best performance ever recorded on a striking watch.”
Among other things (including marine chronometers and technical, avant-garde Freak watches), Ulysse Nardin is known for its striking (chiming) watches. This one, however, has a much more contemporary feel than the many classically styled striking watches in the brand’s Classico collection. In polished titanium and measuring 43mm wide, the dial features a pattern found on the Devialet Phantom speakers which references vibratory waves. The Ulysse Nardin X Devialet Classico Hour Striker Phantom watch is limited to 85 pieces with a price of $72,500 each.
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