As I mentioned in my previous articles, Ulysse Nardin is one of my favorite brands. I used to have several models at the past and I wear my Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine Black Ocean almost for every occasion with joy.
The one that we have here today is the Ulysse Nardin El Toro GMT Pepetual.
The 43mm diameter case is made of 18K solid gold. As an Ulysse Nardin classic, the serial No. plaque is attached on the right side of the case. The experimental design details which dominates the time piece’s style in general, can be seen particularly in the case details as well.
The lugs are designed to custom fit with the end of the strap. Slightly curved case form and tall lug design perfectly balances the watch’s weight and provides great wearing comfort.
It seems, Ulysse Nardin spent a great effort to fit GMT and Perpetual Calendar features in to a unique looking sporty case. The most notable outcome for this effort is the robust case structure which is WR100M rated unlike the common dress complications.
The fixed 24h bezel has gold filled numbers engraved featuring a moon shape figure on the 12 o’clock position. Both the bezel and pushers are made in blue ceramic.
Double side sapphire crystals allow the beautifully finished caliber to be seen.
The independent dual time zone hand can be advanced or regressed by pressing the blue ceramic pushers located on the case. Each of these pushers features either a plus or minus sign to facilitate the use of the independent dual time zone hand. The minus pusher is located right below the winding crown at 4 o’clock and the plus pusher is located at 8 o’clock right below the plaque where the serial number is engraved.
The dial form is a bit complicated. The lower half of the dial features a T shaped window design mainly housing the GMT and Perpetual Calendar functions. While being quite unique, the design is surely not for everyone. Interestingly, the Côtes de Genève decoration which we are familiar with the movements is used on the dial. The silver colored dial perfectly suits with the blue accents and nicely shines with the help of Côtes de Genève pattern.The Big Date style date window is located at 1 o’clock position featuring a matching blue background date disk.The big, skeleton hands filled with SuperLuminova show up as one of the unique design details.
The beating heart inside the Ulysse Nardin El Toro GMT Perpetual is the patented perpetual automatic calibre UN-032 with quickset for all perpetual calendar functions, a home time/dual time mechanism, 34 jewels and which provides a power reserve of 45 hours when fully wound. The beautifully decorated calibre is fully visible via the display case back. The watch is waterproof rated as 100M.
The El Toro is offered on an elegant alligator strap in blue with 18K solid gold deployant buckle. The leather strap feels a bit stiff but I am sure it’ll break in after some use.
I believe the rubber strap will match better with the sporty look of this watch than the alligator one.
When we look at the El Toro, we have a lot of positive details about the watch like being an ultra sporty perpetual calendar and being 100M water resistant allowing you to swim with it etc. The brand itself is almost enough for getting the watch. However there is one single reason for me to say it’s not for everyone: The Design.
A watch with such an experimental and bold design can not be suitable for the majority of the fellow watch enthusiasts.
If you are after a complication watch that you can wear on your daily basis with comfort and you are good with bold designs with a lot of wrist presence, than El Toro is a spot on for you. We suggest you to try the rubber band version as well when you stop by the beautiful Quadran Boutique for a coffee.
