Ulysse Nardin Chronograph 1940s - Valjoux 23

This super-rare and collectible Ulysse Nardin chronograph from the 1940s features a 35mm stainless steel screw-down case and a stunning galvanic dial with gilt print.

Léonard Frédéric Nardin was a watchmaker from Le Locle, Switzerland. His son Ulysse founded his own manufacture in 1846 and initially made pocket watches, for which he received several awards for quality. The first Ulysse Nardin wristwatches were made in the early 20th century. These historically and artistically valuable pieces are extremely rare today.

Here you can see a beautifully preserved Ulysse Nardin chronograph from the 1940s. The black galvanic dial with the elegant gilt print is undoubtedly one of the highlights of this watch. The dial features an intricate layout with many fine elements: applied arabic hour numerals, two sunken sub-registers, minute track, tachymeter and telemeter scale. At the same time, the symmetry of the dial and the unicolor gold lettering ensure a calm look. The gold hands have the popular and elegant leaf shape (feuille hands).

The 35mm stainless steel case of this Ulysse Nardin has a screwed back. This is a special feature, because most wristwatches from that time had a pressed (snap-on) back and were therefore not waterproof. A screw-down case with round chrono pushers was the first step towards a waterproof chronograph.

This old timepiece is powered by the robust Valjoux 23 VZ caliber. It is a manual-wound chronograph movement, which is a part of the famous Valjoux 72 family. "VZ" stands for "Valjoux Zähler", which is German and refers to the chronograph complication.

Condition report
Dial: outstanding black galvanic surface with perfectly preserved gilt lettering - signed "Ulysse Nardin Locle Suisse" at 12 o'clock and "SWISS" at 6 o'clock.

Case: slight signs of wear - engravings on the back: "Ulysse Nardin Locle", "ACIER INOX SWISS" and the case number 615xxx.

Movement: manual-wound caliber Valjoux 23 - timegrapher: rate: -20s/day, amplitude: 265, beat error: 0.9.

Summing-Up
An extremely rare chronograph with a complicated dial, reliable movement and screw-down case back. The condition of this vintage Ulysse Nardin will satisfy even the most concerning collector.

Movement number: 123xxx
Case number: 615xxx

Int.Exe.: 53227