Since the manufacturer's earliest days more than 160 years ago when its founder, Ulysse Nardin, began making marine chronometers in a mountainous location in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, the watchmaking powerhouse has continually proved that challenges present intriguing opportunities worthy of exploration. It is these explorations that have resulted in Ulysse Nardin's unprecedented inventions in horology. Science, innovation and imagination are its muses and technological advancement — combined with stellar artisanship —is its beacon.

Rolf W. Schnyder and Dr. Ludwig Oechslin are the men responsible for embodying, cultivating and bringing this philosophy to life through every Ulysse Nardin timepiece. This masterful meeting of the minds is reflected in the visionary and pioneering strength of Ulysse Nardin today.

Going against the mainstream current of Swiss watchmaking, they joined forces in 1983, when Schnyder purchased the company and sought Oechslin's expertise and free-thinking approach to timepiece engineering and design. Schnyder was astounded by a wall clock astrolabe Oechslin had built after restoring the Farnesian clock in the Vatican museum and requested that Oechslin reduce the astrolabe to a wristwatch. Thus, the Astrolabium Galileo Galilei, the first watch from Oechslin's Trilogy of Time series, was born, returning the revered watchmaker to the spotlight and securing an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. Schnyder knew that with the Astrolabium as the company's first milestone under his ownership, he would be able to elevate Ulysse Nardin to an unsurpassed level of ingenuity, originality and quality. His foresight was correct.

Schnyder and his tour de force dream team, consisting of Oechslin, executive vice president Pierre Gygax, chief engineer Lucas Humair and a team of highly proficient watchmakers, have catapulted the vertically integrated brand to a new dimension, positioning Ulysse Nardin as the king of innovation. Ulysse Nardin has been the recipient of 4,300-plus awards in watchmaking — 18 of them gold medals — and has received the greatest number of patents in mechanical watchmaking. As well, Ulysse Nardin was honored by Revolution magazine with its prestigious "New Technology" award for InnoVision, a spectacular watch that represented the groundbreaking use of silicium, among ten additional technical feats. This creation gives a proud nod to Ulysse Nardin's remarkable FREAK, one of the cleverest timepieces ever developed and the first to use silicium. Introducing Ulysse Nardin's Dual Ulysse Escapement in silicium, the FREAK ignited success. Ultra minimal in appearance and boasting no true case, crown or hands with the movement pivoted to indicate time, the FREAK showcased Ulysse Nardin's scientific knowledge and progressive engineering like no other. Awarded the "Innovation Prize" (along with the Genghis Khan, GMT + Perpetual and the Sonata), the FREAK rocked the Swiss watch community and the world.

Other landmark achievements by Ulysse Nardin include Oechslin"s completion of the Trilogy of Time, featuring the Astrolabium, the Planetarium and the Tellurium. And, in 2009, Oechslin returned to the cosmos for inspiration and revealed the Moonstruck, which concentrates on the moon and its effects on the earth.

For 2010, the FREAK surprises, once again, with the FREAK Diavolo — an exceptional timepiece illustrating Ulysse Nardin's perfection of the application of new technology, such as photolithography; the use of the best and latest-developed materials, like silicium and LIGA nickel, at core locations; advancements in power and accuracy of the tourbillon carrousel (developed entirely in-house); and the addition of a flying tourbillon indicating the seconds. In this same year and in celebration of Schnyder's 75th birthday, Ulysse Nardin created a special FREAK Rolf in a limited edition of 75.

Rolf Schnyder passed away unexpectedly in April 2011. The board and the executive management team remain committed to pursuing his vision, keeping the company independent. Chai Schnyder was appointed president of the Board of Directors. She holds a Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering (Queen's University Belfast, United Kingdom). Patrik P. Hoffmann was appointed to the position of CEO. Hoffmann has spent most of his professional career in the watch industry, and over the last two decades played a significant role in the success of Ulysse Nardin in North and Central America.

Steadfast in its journey to remain in the lead, Ulysse Nardin strides forward, looking to its own universe — its leadership, master craftsmen and their dedication to the art of creating mechanical timepieces — to plot its course. As the first to utilize novel materials; forge unconventional relationships, like its joint venture with microparts technology company Sigatec; and bring forth fresh design sensibility, Ulysse Nardin surpasses form and function. It remains on a quest for more information, inventiveness and beauty. It is passion that guides its ingenious mind and momentum.

Expanding its roster of breakthroughs for 2011 is the Ulysse Nardin Caliber 118, which marks a milestone in the use of new technologies in watchmaking and in the production of diamond-covered elements in movements. Ulysse Nardin's self-winding base caliber conceived and executed entirely in-house, the Caliber 118 features an escapement produced using DIAMonSil, a landmark alliance of diamond and silicium. The Caliber 118 is the first member of a new family of movements that will house this escapement in DIAMonSil, alongside the patented Ulysse Nardin oscillator with spiral 1.1.1.