Ulysse Nardin Marine Diver Titanium Automatic Rose Gold Men's Watch 265-90-3C/93

GMT- Printemps-Ete 2010

Usefulness is no longer enough, and nor are high-tech features. Design has entered the scene, noble materials have made their appearance, and now mechanics is weaving a path amid the waves. All these emotional parameters contribute to enhancing the added value of these masculine accessories capable of reflecting social success in an even more striking manner than a beautiful watch. Some watchmakers have certainly grasped this and have decided to go beyond merely creating an iPhone app. In parallel, watchmaking is the source of inspiration for Le DIX by Celsius, the self-winding cell phone.
Not content with making a Monaco V4 available to tens of millions of iPhone owners via the Apple Store, Jean-Christophe Babin last year launched not a line of mere cell phones, but instead "communication instruments" issued in limited series. TAG Heuer being synonymous with both design and motor racing, these two themes naturally pervade the Meridiist in steel and black PVD-coated titanium, inspired by the legendary Lamborghini Murcielago and thus produced in a limited edition of 1963 (the year the car-making firm was founded). With its 400 hand-assembled mechanical parts, the Meridiist is distinguished by its 28-day operating autonomy (7 hours in conversation mode). Incoming calls are shown on an OLED display on the top of the phone's body which can also show a 1/100th of a second countdown. This 155-gram high-tech gem also features an MP3 player and a 2 mega-pixel camera, and owners have a broad choice of leather cases and diamond setting options, including a 7.42-carat version set with 1,232 diamonds.

Symbolically launched at Baselworld 2009, the Chairman phone by Ulysse Nardin features an even more distinctly "horological" DNA. Also hand-assembled and endowed with a 30-day power reserve (8 days' autonomy in conversation mode), this steel or rose gold cell phone is equipped with a crown and an oscillating weight on the back of the case serving to recharge its batteries. The birth date of Ulysse Nardin also serves to define the size of the limited editions: 1846 per material. Produced in partnership with SCI Innovations Ltd (USA), the Chairman is intended to be in the vanguard of technology, featuring fingerprint recognition, high-definition video, an 8 mega-pixel camera, the Google Android telecommunications platform, a full-screen digital keypad, along with a range of pre-installed applications.

Unveiled at Baselworld 2010 (in an area specially designed for smart phones!) by Celsius X VI II*, the ultra limited-edition Le DIX with a flying tourbillon caused a sensation among fine watchmaking connoisseurs. Its birth has been accompanied by some well-known names in the industry, including Richard Mille on the Board of Directors, Edouard Meylan (son of former Audemars Piguet CEO George-Henri) in charge of marketing, and specialised consultant Hugues-Olivier Bores (former marketing director of Patek Philippe). After four years of research and development, this horological cell phone is as much a work of art as a technical feat. Perhaps it should indeed be called a pocket-watch phone? Generously revealed for watchmaking devotees who are often frustrated by not being able to admire the mechanism on the back of the watch they are wearing, the exclusive mechanical movement was developed in partnership with BNB. The flying tourbillon is fitted with extremely effective tiny shock-absorbers. The 120 hour power reserve is automatically replenished by three hours each time the grade 5 titanium case is opened, thanks to its cleverly named "Papillon" patented micromechanical winding system. Other micromechanical features include a mechanical battery-ejection system, a main connector protected by a mechanical-locking flap, and screen-flap closing cushioned by a set of spring-mounted ball bearings. Its 547 mechanical components are all meticulously hand-finished and housed in an equally complex case crafted in grade 5 titanium subtly enriched with inserts in ebony (for the 18-piece limited edition) or carbon fibre (28-piece edition).