Ulysse Nardin

Ulysse Nardin Marine Diver "Black Sea" extreme field test

 

“We need more shovels!” - “And bring another two sand boards!” - “Quick, it could tumble down!” Frantically I was digging away the sand from under the hillside wheels with my spade. The truck was stuck in a critically inclined position, around it were several people, armed with shovels, sand boards and good advice, trying to mitigate the situation, and to get the truck upright again. A steep slope dropped off to the immediate right of the stuck vehicle, far down the outlines of the huge excavator eating through the meter-thick, black layer of coal were discernible.


The driver of the green Bremach T-Rex camper truck had tried to climb uphill, but lost impetus when he had to break through a sand wall and immediately turned left onto the steep slope thereafter. Another Bremach with a powerful hydraulic winch was already in position at the top of the sandy hill, but we had to stabilize the unlucky truck first; otherwise, the first pull of the cable would make it turn over, probably sending it tumbling down the slope. Together with some other group members, I removed sand under the uphill wheels, so the vehicle would straighten up a bit, while others installed the steel sand boards under the downhill wheels, to prevent further slipping.


Sand is not heavy, so the work was not hard; but the potentially dangerous situation made us digging faster and faster, the sand was thrown into the air, sometimes straight into the face of another worker ...


Less than half an hour later, the truck was ready to be salvaged. What followed was unspectacular: pulled by the strong cable, and assisted by its own four-wheel drive, the stranded T-Rex quickly moved uphill and disappeared behind the top edge of the slope. To us remained the work to collect our shovels and boards and follow.

Several weeks earlier: A discussion on current all-black Marine Diver variants here in our PuristSPro forum brought forward the question whether the rubber-coating of the most current models would be durable enough to stand the test of time. I had to admit that I had no experience in this matter. While rubber coating on various watch components, like bezels, pushers and bracelets are common since several years already, a complete cover of all watchcase parts, including those with very delicate surface structures and edges, like the milled rotating bezels of Ulysse Nardin’s Marine Diver watches, was completely new in the the business. It is understandable that potential customers want to be sure about the coat’s ruggedness, since any damage is not just a question of exchanging a small part, but might well necessitate the replacement of the complete case.


Once a year, a small group of offroad-travellers meets somewhere in Germany, to exchange experiences, news and to do some driving. All these travellers own a specific type of compact truck: a Bremach, built by an Italian manufacturer of highly offroad-capable trucks, normally used by municipalities in mountainous regions, fire departments, search and rescue services and armed forces. These trucks are a perfect base for a largely autonomous travelling vehicle, which is why they are popular among people desiring to travel off the popular routes, and remote from touristic infrastructure.


This year, the annual Bremach-meeting had a very special destination: the huge coal-mining area of the Lausitz, south-east of Berlin, along the German-Polish border. Here, the coal is recovered by open-pit mining, while some parts of the mining district, which are exhausted already, are subject of extensive renaturation activities and will soon become a large recreational region. Due to a special permission, we would be able to explore both, the active mining area, and the sites where a “natural” environment is newly made.


That could be an ideal opportunity to subject Ulysse Nardin’s rubber-coated watches to a field test under extreme conditions. A short while later, I had a brand new Marine Diver “Black Sea” in my hands, which Ulysse Nardin thankfully had provided for this test. Of course I grasped the opportunity to make an extensive everyday experience test as well, which will be published at a later time. This report here only deals with the rubber coat’s performance under rather extra-ordinary circumstances.


At first, I had a few reservations, mostly about the watch’s size. Compared with my classic 40mm Marine Diver, the “Black Sea” is very large, with a diameter of more than 45mm. A watch of this size is normally not a good companion in the confined living space of a compact camping truck; I expected it to bang it against edges and furniture very often, maybe even to cause damage on the latter. Regarding the first part, I was right: the noise of a watch colliding with the truck’s interior became rather common, even if it was muted by the rubber. The great thing, however, was that the watch’s shock-absorbing coat reliably prevented any damage of even the more delicate surfaces. Very soon, I moved through the truck without taking specific care to keep the watch away from any obstacles.



The real test was yet to come, though:

“Simon, what’s this on your front axle?”, the CB radio squawked. “What do you mean?” - “Don’t know, looks like ... could it be that your shock absorber was ripped off? Seems to be dangling under the car ...” - “Oh, sh*t! Now that caused the noise ...” - “When?” - “Last week, back in a riverbed in Greece.” - “You mean you drove with a ripped absorber over here from Greece?” - “Well, the driving didn’t become worse, so I thought everything was okay.” - “Anyway, we have to remove it completely now, it could catch a rock and then you are certainly in trouble!” Next, I found myself lying under Simon’s truck, together with him and another driver, and we worked to remove the wrecked shock absorber. Of course, I had forgotten to take off the watch prior to that, so it banged against the various geartrain components many times ...


After three days of driving, shovelling sand, removing rocks from tracks, checking several vehicles’ undersides, releasing and refilling air into large tires, sweating, but also transforming the truck into a sleeping cabin and back into a movable truck again, the poor “Black Sea” appeared to show some traces of this experience. It was dirty everywhere, with sand and coal dust having found its way into even the smallest gaps and edges, forming an unattractive residue.



Back at home, a thorough bath was on order; not only for me, but for the watch as well. To my astonishment, it left the washbowl immaculately. Then came the check with loupes, including an illuminated achromatic loupe with 20x magnification that normally reveals even the tiniest flaws. And what shall I say: there is absolutely no visible damage of the rubber surface!


This also applies to the ceramic parts on the rubber strap, which had come into close contact with rocks, sharp metal edges, and even abrasive tarmac. What appeared to be scratches, completely vanished after a wipe with a wet towel.


So what is the final result of the Marine Diver “Black Sea” field test? Mission accomplished! - And, by the way: the black-red watch looked really hot there, in the coal mine!

Copyright June 2012 - Marcus Hanke & PuristSPro.com - all rights reserved

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  This message has been edited by Marcus Hanke on 2012-07-20 06:47:57

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