Ulysse Nardin debuts the lightest mechanical dive watch ever made

Ulysse Nardin has just debuted its latest novelty at Watches and Wonders, and the new watch marks a significant milestone for the brand. The Ulysse Nardin Diver [Air] is the world’s lightest mechanical dive watch ever made, and the brand has achieved this by removing materials from its calibre movement.

Ulysse Nardin launched its first ever dive watch in 1964 and more recently in 2021, the brand launched its Diver X Skeleton which combined skeletonised and dive watch features together in one timepiece. Now, the brand is continuing to make history with its new Ulysse Nardin Diver [Air].

The Ulysse Nardin Diver [Air] is a skeletonised high horology sport watch that is extremely lightweight – the brand claims it’s the world’s lightest mechanical dive watch to date. It weighs just 52g including the strap, which was achieved by removing material from the calibre movement.

Powered by the UN-374 movement, the Ulysse Nardin Diver [Air]’s calibre was originally based on the Diver X Skeleton’s UN-373 movement. But thanks to this redesign, it’s cut the watch’s weight in half, which leaves a huge amount of space inside the watch, with 20% of it being movement and 80% of it being air!

Despite the weight being reduced, the Ulysse Nardin Diver [Air] is still built for the extremes and works exceptionally well. It’s been minimised to the essentials, including hollowed out bridges, a flying arrangement mainspring barrel and winding rotor.

The Ulysse Nardin Diver [Air] is crafted from titanium, and the side parts of the 44mm case is made from Nylo-Foil. The bezel insert is made from CarbonFoil which is upcycled carbon fibres from IMOCA boats. The dial of the Ulysse Nardin Diver [Air] still has a skeletonised pattern, and has been decorated with black hour markers and hands, filled with white Superluminova so it glows in the dark.

It seems that every year at Watches and Wonders, several watch brands compete to be the thinnest or lightest model on the market, and it seems that Ulysse Nardin has taken the crown this year. The Ulysse Nardin Diver [Air] is a pretty impressive feat, and it’s still got the looks too.