Hi everyone, I'm new here, but frequent many other watch forums. I was wondering where to best find information on this watch. (and possible source for parts) It is missing crown and stem, crown should be onion style crown I believe. Movement looks very similar to an H. Moser I've seen. I have no info on this Ulysse Nardin, and would like to learn more about it.

Thanks!

Tim

HiTim,

Ulysse Nardin is a well known and highly regarded brand. They made military issue pocket watches and chronomiters, however, unless there are some military markings on it, I would assume your watch was a commercial private purchase item.

A crown can be found, but the missing stem may have to be made, for I know of no sources for this part.

Given the type of numbers on the dial, the hands should be of the pierced skeleton type made to hold radium.

Best regards,
Greg

Thank you Greg! I do not have the watch here yet, it is in transit to me. I will ask my local watchmaker about making a stem, as I believe he does offer that service.

I do not know if any military markings at all. Is there any known companies that are a source for a crown and/or hands? That's where I'm not sure where to start looking.

Tim

I forgot to add pic of movement. Any additional info is appreciated.

Tim

A crown and correct hands for your watch would most likely have to come from a scrap watch. It's unlikely that new old stock parts can be found. Watchmakers often accumulate boxes of parts watches and if you are lucky the parts you need can be scavenged in the shop. If you are not so lucky, then post a picture in the "wanted" section or look for an appropriate scrap watch on eBay. The watchmaker making the stem will want to have the replacement crown prior to cutting the threads.

Best regards,
Greg

As Greg mentioned it is not a military watch but if you fix it up it should be a nice example of a Ulysse Nardin wrist watch. Here is a link to a thread that has a photo of a nice WW I military Ulysse Nardin trench watch WW I military trench watches I am not sure whether your watch originally came with hands that were like the ones you see on this military watch since it has radium paint on the numbers and in the skeleton hands to enable a soldier to read it at night without turning on a light or striking a match. As for the crown I would think it likely that it could be similar or the same given the comparable vintages. I'm sure if you watch Ebay for a few months you might see a few Nardin's that are similar to yours and you can see what kinds of hands yours should have. Also, since it is a Swiss watch, if you are not successful in locating the correct parts in the U.S. you might have more luck asking watchmakers in Europe as to whether they might have the correct parts you will need.

Another place to possibly find some information could be Ulysse Nardin themselves. They are still in business though these days they sell only very pricey watches. Here is a link to their website Nardin

Thank you Jim! Yes, I have considered contacting Ulysse Nardin directly. I have done so before for Glycine, and Glycine sent parts for free. Not all watch companies do that! Not all watch companies have vintage or comparible parts either, but might be worth asking them. Apart from lack of lume on dial, and possibly incorrect hands, the watch is very close to military. I am waiting for it to arrive to me currently, so I can't confirm anything else about the watch itself.

Tim

Is the movement marked anywhere? I don't see anything in the photo. Also, I don't see a marking as to its jeweling - how many does it have? I'm absolutely not an expert in Nardin watches so I am of no help in this regard, but if it is not marked it would be good to assure yourself that the movement is a Nardin and original to the dial rather than a replacement.

I think the UN folks would be of assistance if you contacted them. www.ulysse-nardin.com

Thanks Matthew and Jim. I have emailed Ulysse Nardin, with no response as of yet.

Watch is in transit to me, so I won't have all info in way of markings until it gets here, so I'll try to be patient.

Tim

Tim,
Here is the name and number of someone at Nardin that helped me... She was very helpful and as you can see they keep records older than your watch... If you want to see the whole thread it is in the Military Timepiece Forum...
Good Luck

Posted August 03, 2005 20:09
I didn't realize you could get help from the Manufacturers... Ulysee Nardin was kind enough to research this one.

Dear Mr. Barros:

I am pleased to share the following results of the archival search that was performed on your behalf:

The year of production is 1908 (December 24th in fact!). The Caliber is Ulysse 12". A total of 90 such pieces were produced.

Your timepiece is indeed lovely!

Best Regards,

Lin

_________________
Lin Coyle
Executive Assistant
Ulysse Nardin, Inc

Sorry the phone number was cut off... _______________
Lin Coyle
Executive Assistant
Ulysse Nardin, Inc.
6001 Broken Sound Parkway
Suite 504
Boca Raton, FL 33487
Phone (561) 988-8600
..

Thank you kindly John.
I will attempt to contact Lin Coyle, and see what info they may have. Do you know if there is a direct email address to this person?

Tim

Well, I got my watch. I got reply from Ulysse Nardin too, but not alot of info.

"Dear Tim:

Based upon the pictures and information that you provided, our vintage
expert searched the archives and was unable to find any reference to this
particular piece. This is due to a gap in our archives. He has however
provided the following information:

This is a standard movement. The enamel dial cannot be fixed. To overhaul
or restore this timepiece would probably exceed the actual value of the
timepiece.

I trust this information has been of assistance to you."


I notice on mine that it would have originally had swivel lugs, as I can see the holes filled for these, and that the wired lugs are an old modification having been done. Mine would have looked exactly as the Signal Corps version, minus the fact that mine has blued steel hour/minute hands and lack of Signal Corps on the dial.



The movement is only marked with 299619 under dial, and what appears to be a single number "1" on the back side of movement. Case inside back is marked with "BBR" where the R appears backwards, and also marked with 139049 on both outer case back and inner case back (or dust cover).

I still can't figure out what calibre this is. I will try to get picture of dial side of movement tonight for keyless works. I need to figure things out, as the watch arrived in pieces and when I put it together, I realized that the intermediate wheel and winding pinion are missing. (on top of not having stem and crown) Ugh.

Tim

It's driving me crazy. :-)







If I can figure out calibre, I might be able to track down some parts.

Any ideas? TIA

Tim

Mystery movement solved. Someone was able to determin what it is. 13 ligne Orion (one on left of image). Now I may be able to find parts a little easier.



Tim

In addition to the differences you mention, yours does not have radium numbers. As such it seems unlikely that it would have originally have had radium filled skeleton hands. The blued spade hour hand still on it may very well be the original one as Nardin used spade hands on many of their watches of that era. Before you invest in finding and buying radium filled skeleton hands you may want to do a little further digging for more information on your watch. Here is an auction (disclaimer: it is not mine and I have nother to do with it) for another non-military 24 hour dial Nardin watch of about that vintage - maybe a couple of years newer but likely pretty close: http://cgi.ebay.com/ULTRA-RARE-ULYSSE-NARDIN-CHRONOMETE...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Given that the numbers on the dial are of the outline form, and not solid black, the dial was made for the numbers to be painted in with radium. That's why the outlines of the numbers are printed on the dial instead of solid black numbers, such as the watch on eBay has. It's always possible that the manufacturer used regular spade hands with this dial, mix and match, but radium was in demand at that time and the watch does have a radium type dial.

Best regards,
Greg

Thanks guys. Clearly possible that my watch is not military. As for radium on dial, I do not know the history on the watch to determin if maybe someone had removed left over radium from the dial itself. It could have had it before. I've seen these same hands on other enamel dial watches with similar cases etc..

I'm glad I've found some more info about it, the hard part now is getting the few parts I need to complete it.

Tim