The first dive watches date all the way back to the 1950s, so it might seem that by now, the limits of what is possible, in terms of innovation, technical creativity, and performance would have been reached. Unless pushing boundaries is part of your DNA. For the independent Swiss watch manufacturer Ulysse Nardin, limits are meant to be transcended, and for the latest edition of its Diver collection, the brand has gone beyond what is expected and even believed to be possible. Creating the new Diver [AIR], the lightest mechanical dive watch ever made. High horology, high technology, high performance. These are the three aspects to know about the Diver [AIR]. Three strengths that, on their own, are already impressive, now together for the first time in history. The Diver [AIR] is the impossible, made possible.
Ulysse Nardin ventured into the diving scene much earlier than most, creating its first waterproof instrument in 1893, its first dive watch in 1964, and the Aqua Perpetual, in 2001, the first and only water-resistant dive watch to 200 metres featuring a perpetual calendar.
In 2021, the brand introduced the Diver X Skeleton, a timepiece that revolutionised the industry by combining skeletonisation with a dive watch. In fact, today, many collectors acquire a dive watch as a robust, everyday timepiece that can withstand impact, and they often also add a high horology piece to their collection—a prized jewel worn with care. Ulysse Nardin envisioned a watch that seamlessly combines the best of both worlds.
That was a breakthrough, but this is Ulysse Nardin, and so laurels are definitely not for resting on. To truly make this the ultimate high horology sport watch, it could be even better. Stronger, sleeker—but most importantly, lighter.
The new Diver [AIR], a skeletonised high horology sport watch designed for the extremes, that is going to have its weight cut in half.
For perspective, the Ulysse Nardin Diver 44mm released in 2019 weighs 120.5g, as would be expected for a sturdy, robust dive watch. The Diver X Skeleton from 2021 cuts an impressive 15g off that mass for a total weight of 105.8g, which, considering how much empty space there is inside that skeletonised calibre, demonstrates how much of a challenge cutting back on weight really is. And yet the Diver [AIR] manages to lose an incredible 68.6g from the Diver 44mm and comes in at less than half of the Diver X Skeleton, which seems, frankly, unrealistic.
Here’s how.
Building upon the foundation of the Diver X Skeleton UN-372 movement, Ulysse Nardin developed a new, innovative, high- tech calibre, the UN-374, which had to be entirely rethought and redesigned. To achieve the Diver [AIR]’s exceptionally light weight of just 52g, including the strap, and under 46g without it, material had to be removed from the Diver X Skeleton’s calibre, while ensuring the watch’s reliability and performance remained uncompromised.
To do so, Ulysse Nardin’s designers endeavored to remove material in the movement, to counterintuitively make it, somehow, even stronger. More robust. As mass was reduced, what was left was also reconfigured to bring further resilience to its structure. This was done by using the slender bridges to form triangles, a rigid shape found in engineering and architecture to resist bending and warping, an expertise Ulysse Nardin has developed for over thirty years since its first skeletonised watch.
Despite the space inside the watch being 80% air and just 20% material (the watch movement), the highly skeletonised calibre UN-374 can withstand an impact of an impressive 5’000g. It has also been tested for general knocks and vibrations, cycling thousands of shocks over several days, and not just in the lab, but in real-world use too, putting the watch through its paces to prove it can be worthy of the Ulysse Nardin name.
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