Ulysse Nardin - The Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN Geneva Saturday, May 12, 2018 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • Manufacturer: Ulysse Nardin
    Year: Circa 1990
    Reference No: 910-22
    Movement No: 91.4.002
    Case No: 002
    Model Name: Astrolabium Galileo Galilei
    Material: 18K white gold, yellow gold crown
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. UN-97, 33 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: 18K white gold Ulysse Nardin integrated bracelet, max length 200mm
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K white gold clasp
    Dimensions: 40mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed

  • Catalogue Essay

    The Astrolabium Galileo Galilei is one of the three models which make up the “Trilogy of Time” series by Ulysse Nardin. A remarkable watchmaking project, the Trilogy had as a goal to develop extremely intricate astronomical pieces targeted to a highly educated audience. It was conceived in the early 1980s when Rolf Schnyder - who had bought Ulysse Nardin - was struck with fascination at an early astronomical clock. A meeting with watchmaker Ludwig Oechslin followed, and Oechslin was tasked with shrinking the astronomical clock to wrist size. The result was the first Trilogy of Time wristwatch: the Astrolabium. In fact, this was one of the first line of watches to reinterpret the wristwatch more as a living sculpture and object of design, rather than a tool to tell time. The Astrolabium was launched in 1985, featuring a plethora of astronomical indications such as sunrise/set moonrise/set, moon phases, eclipses (both solar and lunar), the star chart, indeed all information usually found in an astrolabe.
    The second watch of the series was the Planetarium Copernicus - launched in 1988 - featuring an heliocentric view of the solar system up to and including Saturn; finally, the Tellurium Johannes Kepler focuses on earth and the position relative to it of sun and moon.

  • Artist Biography

    Ulysse Nardin

    Swiss • 1846

    Founded in 1846 in Le Locle, Switzerland, Ulysse Nardin is a widely acclaimed Swiss watch manufacturer that earned recognition for its precision chronometers during the early to mid-twentieth century. Ulysse Nardin himself was a trained watchmaker under the guidance of his father, Leonard-Frederic Nardin, as well as master watchmakers Frederic William Dubois and Louis Jean Richard-dit-Bressel. Collectors in particular seek this brand's oversized vintage chronograph wristwatches, including the reference 7536-2.

    View More Works

133

Ref. 910-22
A very fine and extremely unusual white and yellow gold automatic astronomical wristwatch with bracelet

Circa 1990
40mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and bracelet signed

Estimate
CHF20,000 - 30,000 
€17,100-25,700
$21,200-31,800

Sold for CHF26,250

Contact Specialist
Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Sale
+41 22 317 81 81
aghotbi@phillips.com

The Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN

Geneva Auction 12-13 May 2018