Ulysse Nardin Executive Skeleton Tourbillon: History, Movement, and Buying Guide
The Ulysse Nardin Executive Skeleton Tourbillon , introduced in 2016 , is the brand's high-complication dress watch — a 45mm flying tourbillon with a fully openworked movement, manual winding, and an extraordinary 170-hour (seven-day) power reserve that places it among the longest-running skeleton tourbillons in Swiss production. It bridges the Executive collection's heritage of formal timepieces with the mechanical transparency of Ulysse Nardin's avant-garde silicon technology. The Calibre UN-171 uses silicon components — escape wheel, pallet fork, balance spring, hairspring — that identify themselves by their characteristic purple-blue color visible through the skeleton architecture. The flying tourbillon at 6 o'clock rotates once per minute with no upper bridge, appearing to float in the openworked case. At its 2016 launch price of CHF 38,000 — considered aggressive for a flying tourbillon skeleton from a credible in-house manufacture — it was positioned as the most competitively priced watch of its complication tier in Swiss production.
The Executive Collection: Positioning and History
The Executive line within Ulysse Nardin serves a different purpose than the Freak, the Blast, or the Marine family. Where the Freak makes a statement about horological philosophy and the Blast makes a statement about sport and aggression, the Executive line makes a statement about the wearer's position: formal, authoritative, appropriate in a boardroom as much as a collector's salon. The Executive Skeleton Tourbillon achieves this through restrained case proportions — despite the 45mm diameter, the case profile is clean and lacks the aggressive crown guards and angular lugs of the Blast — and through a movement architecture that displays complexity without visual noise.
The Executive Skeleton Tourbillon was introduced alongside the broader Executive Skeleton line in 2016, as Ulysse Nardin worked to define a haute horlogerie tier that could coexist with the Freak's avant-garde identity without competing directly for the same buyer. The Executive watch targets an experienced collector who has worn conventional dress complications — a Patek perpetual calendar, a Lange Lange 1 — and is ready to add a skeleton tourbillon with in-house silicon technology to their collection. The Freak targets a different aesthetic sensibility; the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon targets a different biographical stage.
Calibre UN-171: The Seven-Day Flying Tourbillon
The Calibre UN-171 is the movement that makes the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon unusual within its category. A seven-day power reserve in a flying tourbillon requires a significantly longer mainspring than the standard 40–70 hour movements that dominate the category, and achieving this in a dress-appropriate case depth requires careful engineering. The UN-171 beats at 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz) — slower than the brand's UN-118 or most contemporary automatics — a deliberate choice to conserve energy across the extended power reserve. The 170-hour reserve is achieved through a long mainspring barrel combined with the energy efficiency of the slower beat rate and the silicon escapement's elimination of lubrication friction losses.
The silicon components — escape wheel, hairspring, balance spring, pallet fork — appear in their characteristic purple-blue color through the openworked movement architecture. This color is not paint or treatment; it is the natural optical property of silicon components of specific thickness, produced by thin-film interference (the same optical effect as a soap bubble's iridescent colors). It is unmistakable in person and distinguishes the UN-171's silicon components from the metal of the surrounding bridges and plates.
The flying tourbillon cage at 6 o'clock rotates once per minute. "Flying" designates that no upper bridge supports the cage above the movement plate — the cage is cantilevered, appearing unsupported. This is mechanically more demanding than a conventionally bridged tourbillon (the cantilever structure must be stronger to resist the cage's rotation forces without a stabilizing upper support), but optically more compelling: the rotating cage appears to float free within the skeleton architecture, visible from both the dial and caseback.
Case, Dial Architecture, and Materials
The 45mm case is produced in titanium (standard), rose gold, and white gold depending on the reference, with a 50m water resistance that places it within formal watch conventions. The bezel is fixed and polished; some references feature a blue ceramic bezel that introduces color contrast without compromising the formal silhouette. The case height is approximately 13mm — slim for a skeleton tourbillon, enabled in part by the UN-171's architecture and the absence of an automatic winding rotor. Manual winding keeps the movement thinner than an automatic of equivalent complication.
The dial is not a dial in the conventional sense — it is the movement itself, visible through the openworked case. Applied hour markers in gold (on rose gold references) or rhodium ring the chapter ring at the case edge. Leaf-shaped or dauphine hands in the appropriate metal indicate hours and minutes. The flying tourbillon at 6 o'clock occupies the position where a small seconds subdial would conventionally appear. The overall legibility — despite the complexity of the visible mechanism — is maintained by the traditional hand and chapter ring architecture, which gives the eye familiar reference points within the mechanical display.
| Variant | Case Material | Price Range (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Skeleton Tourbillon (standard) | Titanium | ~$35,000–$50,000 |
| Executive Skeleton Tourbillon | 18K rose gold | ~$65,000–$90,000 |
| Executive Skeleton Tourbillon | Platinum | ~$85,000–$115,000 |
| Stars and Stripes (50 pieces) | Titanium | USD $46,000 |
| Executive Skeleton Tourbillon Lady | Rose gold / white gold | ~$55,000–$90,000+ |
Introduced: 2016 | Case: 45mm | Titanium, rose gold, platinum | 50m WR
Movement: Calibre UN-171 | Manual winding | Flying tourbillon | 2.5 Hz (18,000 vph)
Power reserve: 170 hours (7 days) — one of the longest in its category
Silicon components: Escape wheel, pallet fork, balance spring, hairspring | No lubrication required at escapement
Launch price (2016): CHF 38,000 | Current range: ~$35,000–$115,000 depending on material
Executive Skeleton Tourbillon vs. Blast Tourbillon
The Executive Skeleton Tourbillon and the Blast Tourbillon occupy different positions within Ulysse Nardin's tourbillon offering. The Blast Tourbillon uses an automatic movement (platinum micro-rotor visible at 12 o'clock), a 45mm aggressive sport case with ceramic crown guards, and positions at EUR 44,000–63,500 depending on configuration. The Executive Skeleton Tourbillon uses a manual movement with a seven-day power reserve, a formal dress case without crown guards, and positions at $35,000–$90,000. The choice between them is not about complication tier — both have flying tourbillons with silicon technology — but about lifestyle positioning. The Executive Skeleton Tourbillon is for a formal context; the Blast Tourbillon is for a sport context.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Ulysse Nardin Executive Skeleton Tourbillon?
The Executive Skeleton Tourbillon is a 45mm manual-winding dress watch with a flying tourbillon and fully openworked movement, introduced in 2016. It uses the Calibre UN-171 with silicon components (self-lubricating, non-magnetic, purple-blue in color) and achieves a 170-hour (7-day) power reserve — one of the longest of any skeleton tourbillon in Swiss production.
What makes the Calibre UN-171 unusual?
Its 170-hour (seven-day) power reserve for a flying tourbillon skeleton is unusually long. The slower beat rate (18,000 vph) combined with silicon escapement efficiency and a long mainspring barrel achieves this reserve. The silicon components — escape wheel, pallet fork, balance spring, hairspring — are visible through the skeleton architecture in their characteristic purple-blue color.
How much does the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon cost?
The titanium version starts at approximately $35,000–$50,000. Rose gold examples range from $65,000–$90,000. Platinum is $85,000–$115,000. Limited editions (Stars and Stripes, 50 pieces) ran approximately $46,000 in titanium. The original 2016 launch price was CHF 38,000.
What is a flying tourbillon?
A flying tourbillon is a tourbillon in which the rotating cage has no upper bridge supporting it from above — it is cantilevered from a single lower pivot, making the cage appear to float unsupported within the movement. The conventional tourbillon (Breguet's 1801 original) has a bridge above the cage; the flying tourbillon removes it for visual effect and increased mechanical difficulty.
Is the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon still in production?
Yes, the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon remains in current production as of 2026, available through Ulysse Nardin authorized dealers and boutiques. Unlike the discontinued El Toro and Black Toro, the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon continues as an active catalog reference.
Sources: Ulysse Nardin (ulysse-nardin.com), Monochrome Watches, aBlogtoWatch, WatchTime, Fratello Watches.
