Watchmaker Ulysse Nardin competes in a race around the world-Barron’s | Gmx Pharm

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Last week in the sailing capital of Newport, RI, Brand Ulysse Nardin observed the sponsorship of the 11th Hour Racing Team and their efforts to win next year’s Ocean Race, a round-the-world endurance sailing competition departing from Alicante, Spain, On January 15, 2023.

The Swiss brand had already signed on as Official Timekeeper for the ocean race, which will cover 36,000 miles (36,000 miles) through some of the most inhospitable waters on the planet, stopping in nine international cities over a six-month period. The race, which dates back to 1973, was previously known as the Whitbread Round, The World Race and Volvo Ocean Race before being renamed the Ocean Race in 2019.

“Our colleagues in Switzerland have partnered with the Ocean Race, a sustainability-oriented sailing race,” said François-Xavier Hotier, Ulysse Nardin’s President for the Americas, before setting off for a sail in Narragansett Bay. “We thought, ‘Okay, it’s good to be a timekeeper for this amazing race, but how do we get people on the boats so they understand the difficulties of these types of adventures?’

So the company went one step further and sponsored the 11th Hour Racing, the only US team in the race, sailing on Mālama, a 60 foot boat based in Newport (International Monohull Open Class Association).

Charlie Enright and Mark Towill, co-founders of the 11th Hour racing team and veterans of two around the world races, built the first IMOCA 60 specifically commissioned for a packed entry next year, marking the first time IMOCAs are allowed to be in competition. malamaa Hawaiian word that can protect and care in August 2021.

“This boat is a rocket ship,” says Towill, who wore Ulysse Nardin’s New Ocean Race Diver ($11,500). “On a traditional sailboat you are outside and feel the elements of wind and waves on your face. This boat goes so fast we designed everything below deck. ”

The boat’s foils, which protrude from the sides, lift the boat out of the water to maximize speed, reaching speeds of up to 38 knots (44 miles per hour).

The 44mm special edition Ocean Renn Diver, limited to 200 pieces, is part of Ulysse Nardin’s ongoing effort to improve sustainability and include upcycled and recycled materials in their watches and a network of suppliers of outside of the watchmaking industry.

The Ocean Race diver’s unidirectional rotating bezel is made of Carbonium, a carbon composite manufactured by French composites company Lavoisier, and the same fibers used for aircraft fuselage and wings. Creating carbonium from offcuts of aircraft parts further reduces environmental impacts compared to other carbon composites.

The side case and fall-back are made with a combination of 40% Carbonium and 60% NYLO, a polyamide material made from recycled fishing nets by the French company Fil & Fab. The stainless steel case components are made with at least 80% recycled automotive steel sourced from Voestalpineboehler in Austria. The fabric strap is also entirely recycled from fishing nets and converted into spools of yarn by French company JTTI.

The ocean diver is packaged in a water-resistant R-PET bag slipped out of the sea by Helly Hansen, another ocean racing partner.

Ocean Race Diver is powered by the UN-118 automatic movement using advanced silicon technology, with 95% of the movement components sourced within a 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) radius manufacturing– HALF of them from recycling channels, specifically recycled steel and brass used in all Ulysse -Nardin movements.

Designed in white, gray and black with lime green accents, the Ocean Race diver features 300 meters and features a power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock and a small seconds hand. The back of the sapphire crystal case shows the movement and is embellished with a white transfer of the ocean race logo.

Sustainability is also an integral part of the mission of 11 Hour Racing. Its name refers to the final hour on the clock, counting down time in the race to restore the planet’s health. As part of the Schmidt Family Foundation, 11th Hour Racing promotes environmentally responsible practices and partners with companies like Ulysse Nardin who have shown a commitment to these values ​​while helping spread the critical message of ocean governance.

“We try to be a professional sports team and do it in a way that represents our values ​​and leaves the world and the ocean in a better place,” says Towill. “Sustainability is at the core of everything we do.”