We’ve seen a number of new releases to commemorate the Lunar New Year, which in 2024 becomes my personal favorite – the year of the Dragon. While the watches we’ve written about so far (here, here, and here) have had a variety of artistic interpretations – and price points – the Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon definitely takes the crown for the most precious of pricing.
As you might guess from the name, the Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon started life as their accomplished Blast Tourbillon which first debuted in 2020. Combine that with an evolution of their last Year of the Dragon design (back in 2012), and you’ve got a fully 3D sculpture that wraps its way through and around the X architecture of the dial side. And this is quite the five-clawed dragon sculpture. Not only is it rendered in 5N rose gold, it takes three days to engrave it, and another full day to apply the red, orange, and yellow colorations to it.
If that wasn’t enough, the dragon on the Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon is guarding a pearl (often associated with dragons in Chinese mythology) that takes up pride of position on top of the flying tourbillon cage. It’s a bit of subtle elegance that softens the power of the dragon, as well as the hard-edged technicals of the design (fully listed down below).
Given the amount of work, it should not be surprising that the Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon is an 88-piece limited edition. The full price list is down below in the specs, but for those of us here in the States, you’re looking at $100,600, so it’s definitely a symbol of a prosperous year. ulysse-nardin.com
Ulysse Nardin Blast Tourbillon Dragon Tech Specs
- REFERENCE: 1725-400-2A/1A
- MOVEMENT & FUNCTIONS
- UN-172 Manufacture skeleton self-winding movement
- Flying Tourbillon
- Hours, minutes
- Platinum micro-rotor at 12 o’clock
- Balance spring, escapement wheel and pallet fork in silicon
- 137 components / 25 jewels
- Frequency 2.5 Hz / oscillations 18,000 alt/h
- 3 days power reserve
- CASE
- Rose Gold 5N satin-finish & polished
- Black DLC titanium middle case and bezel
- Glassbox
- 45 mm
- DIAL
- Skeleton dial with double X in black
- Hand engraved and micro painted 3D miniaturized dragon in rose gold 5N
- A pearl in mother-of-pearl adorns the cage of the flying tourbillon
- STRAP
- Black alligator strap
- Black rubber “velvet” strap
- 5N rose gold and black PVD titanium folding clasp
- PRICE
- 95’400 CHF (incl. VAT 8.1%)
- 101’800 EUR (incl. VAT 21%)
- 100’600 USD (tax excl.)
- 753’900 CNY (incl. VAT 13%)
- 141’000 SGD (incl. GST 8%)
