This watch will have you wondering how it even works

Sometimes a watch movement comes along, stops you in your tracks, and makes you wonder how on Earth it even works.

That’s exactly what happened when the latest novelty from Ulysse Nardin dropped into my inbox. Called the Blast [Free Wheel Maillechort], the watch has a movement with its components seemingly scattered around on top of the dial.

But look close, and you’ll see how the sides of the case are sapphire crystal, and the components of the flying tourbillon movement are proud of their background. It’s like they’re sitting inside the world’s most beautiful glass exhibition case, viewable from the sides as well as the front.

The dial is made from maillechort – an alloy made of copper, zinc and nickel – known for having a warm tone and obvious texture. For this watch, the texture gives the dial a gritty aesthetic, as if the components of the movement have been placed thoughtfully among the tightly-packed gravel of a manicured garden. It’s a colour that contrasts beautifully with the dark blue, velvet-effect rubber strap and movement detailing.

Ulysse Nardin boasts how the unique movement – which underwent two years of research and development – “seems to defy not only the laws of physics, but also the very principles of watchmaking construction.”

Made of 45 components, the tourbillon is fitted at the six o’clock position and features an escapement with a pallet fork fixed to its centre and supported on two blade springs each less than a quarter of a human hair in diameter. They are subjected to a bending force that guarantees a perfectly even impulse on the balance wheel, UN says, regardless of how much of the watch’s seven days of power reserve remains.

A key aspect to this watch’s design is how its components appear to float – or fly, in watch speak – above the dial. How the double-barrel system seems to levitate at the 12 o’clock position is particularly impressive.

The 45 mm case is made from polished and satin-finished gold and water resistance is a modest 30 metres. Limited to 50 pieces, the Blast [Free Wheel Maillechort] is priced at £111,380 / €128,100 / US$126,600 (approx. AU$230,800).