Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton One More Wave Review

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the watches released by Ulysse Nardin. Over the course of the last 25 years I have owned a few pieces from the brand and have worn countless others. The Freak series as well as the older Marine Acqua watches were always favorites of mine. In recent years, Ulysse Nardin has updated their dive watches into the Diver X collection, which I'm also a huge fan of. In particular the Diver X Skeleton watches are stunning, we even reviewed the Diver X Skeleton OPS just over a year ago and raved about it.

Before we go into the watch that Ulysse Nardin just sent us, let's first go over a quick history of the brand. If you'd like a much more detailed overview of the brand, please read out review of the Blast Hourstriker where we go much more in-depth into the history of Ulysse Nardin.



Ulysse Nardin was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland in 1846 by Ulysse Nardin. Nardin established his workshop at the young age of 23 and soon focused his attention of producing highly accurate nautical instruments, mastering the art of creating marine chronometers. These clocks were housed in wooden boxes and were crucial for sea travel allowing precise longitude to be determined at sea.

By 1862, Ulysse Nardin chronometers had already won a gold medal at the London World Fair, firmly establishing the brand's reputation for producing world beating timepieces. Ulysse Nardin passed away in 1876 and in his absence, his son, Paul-David Nardin, took over the company. Under Paul-David, Ulysse Nardin would go on to dominate chronometry competitions for the next century. Ulysse Nardin became the go to producer of marine chronometers for the world's navies, with 77% of all certified marine chronometers tested by the Neuchatel Observatory being produced by Ulysse Nardin.

Like other manufacturers of mechanical watches, the 1970s were a time of trouble for Ulysse Nardin. During this time quartz technology from Japan was becoming more and more affordable and the watch market was overrun with cheap highly accurate quartz watches with greatly diminished the desire for much more expensive mechanical watches. In 1983 entrepreneur Rolf Schnyder acquired Ulysse Nardin and had a great vision of where the brand could go. With the help of master watchmaker and inventor, Dr. Ludwig Oechslin, Schnyder started a mechanical renaissance for the brand.



Starting in 1985, Schnyder and Oechslin released a trio of highly complicated astronomical watches known as the Trilogy of Time. This showcased what Ulysse Nardin was capable of producing and showed the brand's commitment to highly complicated mechanical watches. Following the Trilogy of Time, Ulysse Nardin released their most important watch in 2001. That year the Freak was released, which used its entire movement, especially the carousel to tell the time. On top of how out of this world the Freak was, the watch also pioneered the use of silicon components in the escapement. A quarter of a century later, much of the watch industry has adopted the usage of silicon in watchmaking.

In the years since, Ulysse Nardin has continued to expand its offerings of in-house calibers and have constantly been pushing what is possible in the watchmaking world. The Freak has grown into a full collection of watches from more affordable pieces to full blown high horology spaceships for the wrist. They have also added new lines like the Diver X and the Blast collection, which is their range of watches featuring high complications.

To get the full story behind the watch we are going to be looking at today, we also need to go over the history of One More Wave. One More Wave was founded by retired Navy SEAL Alex West in 2015. This non-profit organization was set up with the main goal of providing surf therapy to wounded and disabled veterans. One More Wave believes the ocean environment and surfing has powerful therapeutic benefits to those suffering from physical and psychological injuries. In the ten years since One More Wave was founded, the organization has awarded hundreds of surf therapy grants.



One More Wave simply doesn't just get veterans back into the water, but their core work is in customizing surfing equipment tailored to each approved veteran's needs. Donations to One More Wave allow the organization to produce and gift these special surfboards to their veterans and get them into the ocean. One More Wave also covers the other costs associated with surf therapy and connects veterans to their global community of volunteers and mentors. The surf therapy is only one part of the equation, the other and arguably larger piece of their help to veterans is removing them from a sense of isolation. When a veteran joins the One More Wave family they are instantly surrounded by a large and caring support system.

Ulysse Nardin has long been a strong supporter of One More Wave, with their president of the Americas, Francois-Xavier Hotier (FX), being on One More Wave's board of advisors. The partnership is much larger than Ulysse Nardin just donating money to One More Wave, the collaboration has resulted in three watches. The first watch was the Diver Deep Dive One More Wave, which was a large dive watch capable of 1,000 meter of water resistance. The second was the Diver One More Wave, which is a blackened titanium dive watch incorporating the colors of One More Wave. Finally the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave was released, which uses the fantastic Diver X Skeleton base and merges it with the hues found on the Diver One More Wave.



We were fortunate enough to have FX and the team at Ulysse Nardin along with One More Wave come to Austin to do the global launch of the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave a few months ago. I told FX that I was a bit nervous if the Austin watch scene could support a charitable event. I put him in contact with Jeff and Preston who head up the Austin chapter of the Watch Society who wear able to put the event together. At the end of the night, the event was a huge success with both a Diver One More Wave and Diver X Skeleton One More Wave being auctioned off with proceeds going directly to One More Wave. Ulysse Nardin also gives a portion of the profits from the sale of any One More Wave watch back to the organization.

Initial Thoughts

As you can probably tell by now, the watch we're going to be taking a look at today is a partnership piece between Ulysse Nardin and One More Wave. The model we'll be focusing on is the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave. I had seen and worn the watch previously at the launch event, but I really didn't get to spend much time with it. When Ulysse Nardin sent us the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave I was given ample time to get to live with the watch and basically have it act as part of my collection. Hopefully I can express how life with the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave was during this review.



When the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave arrived, the first thing that grabbed my attention were the super bright sea foam green highlights found on the watch. The color used here is directly taken from the One More Wave logo and provides a nice splash of color to the otherwise black and grey hues found on the watch. This color is used for hash marks on the bezel, lumed areas of the hour and minute hands, the crown guards, case back and also the One More Wave logo on the bottom strap articulating piece.

Naturally the next thing I noticed about the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave during my initial time with the watch was the skeletonized dial and movement. Ulysse Nardin has over three decades of experience skeletonizing watches, so it's no shock that the Diver X Skeleton is a stunning piece to look at (through). The heart of the watch is the in-house caliber UN-372 which has 187 components and features a silicon oscillator and Silicium escapement wheel, anchor and balance spring, further showcasing Ulysse Nardin's belief in the use of silicon in a movement. The brand then adds a minimalistic dial on top of the movement so that the time can be deciphered.

The final thing I took away from my first time with the Diver X Skeleton was just how comfortable the watch is. The Diver X Skeleton One More Wave is primarily made up of titanium, carbon and sapphire, so it's no surprise the watch only weights 105 grams when attached to the rubber strap and titanium deployant clasp. The grey rubber strap is also extremely supple and a hallmark of dive watches from Ulysse Nardin, the bottom strap is also fitted with a titanium piece that allows the strap to articulate and really fit your wrist perfectly. When combining the lightweight case and awesome strap, the Diver X Skeleton is just a real treat on the wrist.



Technical Specifications

Now that we've gone over the history of Ulysse Nardin and One More Wave along with my initial thoughts on the watch, let's now go over the technical specifications of the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave. The watch is crafted out of black DLC titanium and has a case diameter of 44.4 mm with a lug to lug length of 49.7 mm. The watch weighed in at 105 grams on the rubber strap and titanium deployant clasp. At its thickest point the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave is 15.8 mm tall.

The highly domed sapphire crystal sits recessed into the bezel of the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave. The sapphire also has an anti-reflective coating that does a great job of minimizing most reflections. Underneath the crystal clear sapphire is the skeletonized dial and movement of the watch. The main bridge of the movement is formed into the "X" pattern which is so essential to the Diver X collection. Ulysse Nardin then covers the bridges with a polished and satin finished "X" which really catches the light and draws your eye in. Around the outside of the dial is a thin black ring which houses the minute track printed in Sea Foam Green as well as the applied polished hour markers. The Super Luminova on the hour markers appears white in normal lighting and then glows a strong bluish green in low light.



There are three centrally mounted hands on the Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton One More Wave being the hour, minute and seconds hands. The large hour and minute hands are outlined in black with a strong black bar going through the center of the hands. These hands are coated with a sea foam green lume which glows a matching bluish green to the hour markers. The seconds hand is done in black and has a lumed tip which once again matches the other dial elements in low light.

Finishing off the dial elements are an applied Ulysse Nardin logo at 12 o'clock and "Swiss Made" printed in sea foam green at 6 o'clock. The real star of the show when it comes to the dial is the visible movement beneath the "dial". From the dial side of the watch you can see much of the movement beating away beneath. The Silicium balance wheel in constant motion will probably draw your eyes in first, but you can also see the mainspring barrel as well as the gear train fully from the front of the watch. Much of the movement's wheels and gears can be seen along the central axis of the watch peaking out through the skeletonized bridges and plates.

Moving on from the dial is the stunning uni-directional Carbonium bezel. Carbonium is a high tech material created from recycled aerospace carbon fiber. The look of the Carbonium bezel is similar to some patterns of forged carbon, but having a somewhat liquid look to it. The bezel requires 120 clicks to complete a full rotation and has a great bezel action resulting in satisfying clicks with each turn. The bezel is nicely scalloped and the sides of the bezel are polished, adding some visual interest.



The bezel is set with a dive timer with 0, 15, 30 and 45 being represented by an Arabic numeral. Each other minute between 0 and 20 is represented by a hash mark with 5, 10 and 20 being larger and done in Sea Foam Green while the others are smaller and done in white. 25, 35, 40, 50 and 55 are also done in the large Sea Foam Green hash marks. All the bezel markings are coated in matching lume to the dial elements which glow a bright bluish green in low light.

Looking closely at the case, you can see that besides the bezel there are no polished areas on the case of the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave. The black DLC titanium case has been media blasted to a satin finish. On the left hand side there is a plaque denoting the individual number of the watch out of the 50 piece limited edition run. Looking at the profile you can also see the short lugs down turn slightly to form to the shape of your wrist.

On the right hand side of the case is the large screw down crown and crown guards. The crown guards are done in a soft-touch material and once again are in the sea foam green color of the One More Wave logo. The crown is nicely scalloped like the bezel and is topped with an Ulysse Nardin anchor logo done in grey. The screw down crown aids in the 200 meters of water resistance that the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave boasts.



Once un-screwed you can manually wind the automatic movement in the resting position. Since there are no calendar functions found on the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave, there is only one crown position. Pulling the crown out to position one allows you to set the time, but does not stop the seconds hand. Pushing the crown back in causes no jump in the minute hand either. Screwing the crown back in takes no extra care and is easy to get to catch.

Flipping the watch over shows off the display case back which is attached to the case with six polished back screws. Ulysse Nardin and Limited Edition are engraved on the case back bezel in sea foam green, while the reference number and 200 M are engraved in light grey. The sapphire crystal display back features the One More Wave logo in its center. The in-house caliber UN-372 automatic movement is topped with a blackened rotor in the shape of an "X" with the Ulysse Nardin logo done in sea foam green on the bottom of the rotor.



Being a dive watch, the finishing of the movement is rather reserved. The "X" shaped bridges have a satin brushed finish. The exposed screws on the movement are done to a high polish and contrast nicely to the satin finished bridges. You can also see some circular graining on various parts of the plates and gear wheels. The UN-372 beats away at 21,600 vph (3Hz) and has a 72 hour power reserve. On our timegrapher the movement showed an accuracy of +5 seconds per day when averaged out over several positions. The functions of the watch are hours, minutes and seconds.

The Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton One More Wave has a lug width of 21 mm and comes on a grey rubber strap. The strap flares out a bit from the lugs and starts out at 22.5 mm and tapers down to 18 mm at the black DLC titanium deployant clasp. The bottom strap has a black DLC titanium insert that allows the strap better articulation to form to your wrist. This piece is brushed in finish and features the sea foam green One More Wave logo. The clasp is brushed in finish and features Ulysse Nardin branding. Both pushers are required to be depressed to release the clasp. The bi-folding clasp is extremely minimalistic and adds the smallest amount of weight to the watch.



On The Wrist

When watches like the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave show up, I tend to typically wear them exclusively. I feel like I'm still in the honeymoon period with my Porsche Design by IWC Ocean 2000, but ever since it came back from restoration and repair there have been non-stop amazing watches in for review. The Diver X Skeleton One More Wave is one such watch and has dominated my wrist time almost exclusively.

As I mentioned earlier, the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave is just over my Goldilocks weight of 100 grams at 105 grams, but truth be told, you really can't tell with such a small weight difference. The lug to lug length of 49.7 mm is a hair under my preferred 50 mm of lug to lug length as well. These differences are so small, that the watch pretty much wears right in my ideal size and weight preference. Also being crafted out of high tech black DLC titanium with a carbon bezel aligns perfectly with the type of watches I collect. The bright sea foam green highlights and expertly skeletonized dial make the watch pretty much perfect for me as well.

Even during the longest of periods of wear, the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave never became a bother on the wrist or caused any fatigue. The watch pretty much completely disappeared on wrist and was only there when I needed it or wanted to check it out. This made the watch the ideal wrist companion for running boring everyday errands. Also I'm a sucker for dial side movement, so being able to glance down at the balance and see it beating away was always a little treat.



To test the legibility of a watch I use a little test where I try to see how easy it is to tell the time at just a glance while driving. In this test dive watches do the best with their large hands and markers along with a high contrast dial. On the other hand, skeletons and complicated watches do the worst since legibility isn't as important to them. Going into this test I wasn't really sure how the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave would do since the watch is both a dive watch and a skeleton. The legibility results were a bit of a mixed bag to be honest. In the straight up legibility test the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave fell a bit behind what you would expect from a typical diver since there really isn't much contrast between the dial (or lack thereof) and the hands and markers. It took a second to get your bearings and then was a snap to tell the time. On the other hand, low light time telling couldn’t have been easier. The amount of lume used by Ulysse Nardin on the dial and bezel elements along with how strong they glow made telling the time in lower light conditions a breeze.

While there are strong hints of color on the Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton One More Wave, the majority of the watch is black and grey. This meant that the watch fit in perfectly with my normal dress of a black t-shirt, shorts and sneakers. This is a casual watch, so if you are looking for a more formal watch, this might not be the watch for you. Luckily that isn't the case for me, since my lifestyle is pretty laid back. While wearing the watch out running errands as well as going out to dinner and drinks, the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave seemed to get a lot of attention. While it wasn't quite the level of interest I see when wearing a Freak, there were a lot of people interested in the watch. I had more than a few people comment on the watch and ask questions about it. All the feedback was positive with most comments being about the skeletonized dial and movement. People also loved hearing the story of One More Wave.



Value and Position in the Market

Now it's time in the review to talk about the price of the Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton One More Wave. The watch retails for $30,600. For that price you're getting an amazing looking fully skeletonized movement cased in a dive watch capable of 200 meters of water resistance. The watch also uses high tech black DLC titanium and Carbonium in its case construction and the use of silicon in its movement the Ulysse Nardin is so well known for. The Diver X Skeleton comes from one of the most respected names in watchmaking, Ulysse Nardin, and supports a great cause in the work that One More Wave does. Let's now take a look at other watches with similar features and specifications and see where the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave sits value wise.

Oddly enough, the first watch we are going to compare to the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave is another watch from Ulysse Nardin being the Diver AIR. The Diver AIR is a brand new release from Ulysse Nardin and is also crafted out of Titanium and Carbon as well as Nylon. The Diver AIR has a case diameter of 44 mm and also has 200 meters of water resistance. The Diver AIR is powered by an in-house automatic movement from Ulysse Nardin and has 90 hours of power reserve. The claim to fame with the Diver AIR is that it is the lightest mechanical wristwatch with at least 200 meters of water resistance at right around 50 grams. The Diver AIR is very similar in looks to the Diver X Skeleton, except it takes the skeletonization and minimalism a step further and also costs a bit more at $38,000.



Next up we have the Submersible S Brabus Carbotech from Panerai which has a 47 mm case crafted out of Carbotech. The Submersible has the well known Luminor style case design with the famous crown protector as well as a skeletonized dial. The Submersible is powered by an in-house automatic movement with 72 hours of power reserve. The Submersible does have a bit more water resistance at 300 meters. The Panerai is also a lot more expensive than the Ulysse Nardin at $49,600.

Moving on is the Aquatimer Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month from IWC which has a 49 mm Ceratanium case. The Aquatimer is a large watch and uses its expansive semi-skeletonized dial to display IWC's perpetual calendar system in a digital format. The watch is powered by an in-house automatic movement with 68 hours of power reserve and has 100 meters of water resistance. The Aquatimer is much more expensive than the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave at $57,600.



Finally we have the RM 032 Ultimate Edition from Richard Mille which has a 50 mm case crafted out of grade 5 titanium and carbon TPT. The RM 032 is also a very large, but lightweight, watch with a skeletonized dial featuring a flyback chronograph function. The watch is powered by an in-house automatic movement with 50 hours of power reserve. The RM 032 does offer a full 300 meters of water resistance and is exponentially more expensive than the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave at $250,000.

The niche of luxury dive watches with a skeletonized dial is rather small, so there aren't a ton of options to compare the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave to. As you can see though, the watch does provide great value when compared to the other watches above. Some of the other watches do provide added functions like a flyback chronograph or perpetual calendar, but either way they are still much more expensive than the Diver X Skeleton. The Diver AIR, also from Ulysse Nardin, is probably the best comparison and it really comes down to which watch appeals to you the most. The Diver AIR is lighter and offers a bit more power reserve, but also costs a decent amount more and doesn't come on a traditional strap/clasp.



Closing Thoughts

So in the end, is the Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton One More Wave for me? I was already a huge fan of the Diver X Skeleton series from the time I had previously spent with the OPs version a year ago. The One More Wave variant changes the color palette up dramatically and also was created to support the great work that One More Wave does. The greys and blacks of the watch go perfectly with my typical dress and the pop of sea foam green adds a bit of fun to the watch. Ulysse Nardin has really perfected the art of both skeletonizing the dial as well as the movement and that is on full display here. They also use some polishing on the dial to really accentuate the exposed bridges of the movement. The Diver X Skeleton wears right near my perfect dimensions of a 50 mm lug to lug length as well as a 100 gram weight, while being crafted out of my favorite case materials titanium and carbon. For all of those reasons, yes 100% the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave is for me.

So then would I recommend the watch to somebody looking for a higher end dive watch? This is really a multiple part answer. If this person was planning to dive with the watch, then the reduced legibility of the skeletonized dial and movement probably aren't the best choice. Ulysse Nardin offers a host of other dive watches with high contrast dials that would be a much better dedicated dive watch. On the other hand, let's be real and most people who wear dive watches won't get much past wearing their diver in a pool. In that case, the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave would make a perfect wrist companion. The watch has a ton more character than the standard black dial dive watch and wears like a true dream. I do think the Diver X Skeleton series really needs to be seen in person to be appreciated, so if you like the design of the watch and feel it might fit in your collection I highly recommend you find one to take a look at in the metal.



In closing, I'd really like to thank Ulysse Nardin for sending us this Diver X Skeleton One More Wave to review. Like all of the previous pieces from the brand that we have reviewed, the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave is an exceptional timepiece crafted to the highest of standards. I've really got used to wearing it around over the last few weeks and will miss it when it goes back to Ulysse Nardin. Hopefully sooner rather than later we'll get in another piece from Ulysse Nardin to review.

For more information about the Diver X Skeleton One More Wave please visit : Ulysse Nardin

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: 3723-170LE-2A-OMW/3A

Retail Price: $30,600

Case Size: 44.4 mm

Lug to Lug: 49.7 mm

Thickness: 15.8 mm

Weight: 105 grams

Case Material: Black DLC Titanium

Bezel: Carbonium Uni-Directional 120 Clicks

Strap: Grey Rubber Strap with Titanium Deployant Buckle

Movement: Swiss Made In-House Caliber UN-372 Automatic Movement

Functions: Hours, Minutes and Seconds

Power Reserve: 72 Hours

Water Resistance: 200 Meters