Early history
Ulysse Nardin was born in 1823 in Le Locle, Switzerland.[16] During the long and snowy winters, inhabitants used to produce timekeeping instruments to survive, as they couldn't live from farming alone.[17] Ulysse Nardin first trained as an apprentice horologist under his father, Léonard-Frédéric Nardin, and perfected his skills under the tutelage of Frédéric-William Dubois and Louis JeanRichard-dit-Bressel, two master watchmakers who were experts in precision watches and whose fame extended beyond the mountains of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.[2]
In 1846, at the age of 23, Ulysse Nardin founded his own company in Le Locle where its headquarters are still located.[16] Despite Ulysse Nardin growing up in the Jura mountains, he was fascinated by the sea and produced nautical timekeeping instruments. His company became one of the first to manufacture marine chronometers[1][2][18][19] and high-precision seafaring instruments for commercial ships and navies throughout the world. His pocket and marine chronometers became reference products in civil, military and scientific realms.[16]
Ulysse Nardin acquired a high-precision astronomical regulator, built by Jacques-Frederic Houriet in 1768, to rate his pocket chronometers.[20] It is now in a museum in Le Locle. Minute repeaters, complicated watches and pocket chronometers carried the reputation of the company.
At that time, famous horologists were French and English. Ulysse Nardin went to London to challenge the best pocket chronometers makers. At the 1862 International Exhibition in London, Ulysse Nardin was awarded the Prize Medal in the category of "complicated watches and pocket chronometers".[2] The prize was the highest distinction for watchmaking in the United Kingdom. In 1867, Ulysse Nardin obtained the first series of certificates from Neuchâtel Observatory for its marine chronometers.[2] In 1876, Ulysse Nardin died at age 53, and his son Paul-David Nardin succeeded him as the head of the company[1] which continued to expand. In 1889, Ulysse Nardin won a Gold Medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition, was awarded two Swiss patents in 1890, won First Prize at the Chicago Universal Exhibition in 1893, and many more.[21]
In 1902, the company started to deliver marine chronometers to the United States Navy.[22] The brand regularly won Washington Naval Observatory competitions and became the official supplier for the US Navy's torpedo boats.[23][24] The company has since provided timepieces to the navies of the United States, United Kingdom, Russia and Japan. Since the 1870s, over 50 navies and international shipping companies had been equipped with Ulysse Nardin marine chronometers.[8]
In 1975, the Neuchâtel Observatory published the last official edition on the performance of chronometers from 1846 to 1975. According to this report, Ulysse Nardin was awarded 4,324 performance certificates for mechanical marine chronometers out of 4,504 submitted (95%).[1][2][8]
