ince its creation in 1846, the independent Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin has been anchored to the high seas. Dozens of the world’s navies once relied on its marine chronometers to provide essential navigational assistance and the maison’s reputation for supreme mechanical accuracy stretched across continents. Almost 180 years later, Ulysse Nardin remains a pioneer of precision mechanical watches.

Now, Ulysse Nardin returns to the water with the Diver [Hammerhead Shark], a muscular, high-performing watch that captures both the manufacture’s disruptive approach to high horology and its continuing commitment to ocean conservation.

The watch was created by Ulysse Nardin to tell the story of shark conservation and to raise funds for non-profit organisations dedicated to the protection of these species. Previous editions have celebrated the Great White Shark, the Lemon Shark and the Blue Shark. This new edition is named after the majestic Hammerhead Shark.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, the global populations of all recorded Hammerhead Shark species are in decline. The Scalloped and Great Hammerhead are both listed by the IUCN as ‘critically endangered’ due to overfishing, pollution and climate change.

In keeping with previous “shark line” releases, Ulysse Nardin has pledged that 1 per cent of annual sales of the Diver [Hammerhead Shark] will be donated to conservation efforts. This is in line with the maison’s membership of 1% for the Planet through its Shark Line of watches.

Members of the global organisation, which was founded in 2002, pledge to contribute 1 per cent of revenues to actors working to conserve, protect and restore revenues to actors working to conserve, protect and restore the environment. The recipient will be Shark Trust, a UK-based non-profit organisation.

The release of the Diver [Hammerhead Shark] is supported by Ulysse Nardin Brand Ambassador Mike Coots. Mike lost a leg to a tiger shark as a teenager and has since become a passionate advocate for greater understanding and protection of the world’s shark populations. Ulysse Nardin is proud to call Mike a friend and to benefit from his passion and knowledge.

Mike Coots was just 18 years old when his life changed forever. Bodyboarding off the coast of Hawaii’s Kauai Island, he felt a sudden and painful tug on his right leg. It had been bitten off by a Tiger Shark. A tussle ensued, Mike only escaping with his life after punching the shark on the nose.

While many shark attack survivors would develop a life-long fear of the water, Mike’s terrifying ordeal only made him love it more. Friends bought him a camera so he could photograph surfers from the shore while he recovered from amputation, but only a month after the surgery he was back in the ocean.

Fitted with a prosthetic leg, he learned to ride the waves once again. While life would never be the same, he adapted quickly, nearly his life, seizing new opportunities that came his way. He became a professional photographer and artist, and learned to dive, shadowing marine biologists and documenting their work studying sharks.

“It’s funny how a 10-second moment can change your life forever,” says Mike. “Over the years I fell in love more and more with sharks. Not only are they beautiful, they are also imperative for a healthy planet Earth.”

Rather than resenting the creatures that claimed his leg and nearly his life, he developed a deep empathy for them and determined to understand them better, not as ‘killers’ but as apex predators and keystone species in a complex ecosystem. In doing so, he learned quickly of the profound threats to sharks posed by overfishing, pollution and climate change.

Today, Mike’s work as a photographer, artist and advocate for marine conservation have made him one of the world’s most respected voices on sharks and their habitats. His efforts were vital to the successful campaign to pass legislation that in 2010 made it illegal to possess shark fins in Hawaii. “Sharks have been on this planet for over 450 million years,” he says. “That alone says how important they must be to it.”

In 2022, Mike Coots became a Brand Ambassador for Ulysse Nardin and has since collaborated with the Swiss watchmaking maison to raise awareness about the need to protect threatened shark species. "The ocean nearly took my life, but it’s given me so much more,” he says. “We have a word in Hawaiian, ‘kuleana’. It means responsibility. My way of giving back is to be an advocate for sharks.”

The Diver [Hammerhead Shark] is based on the Ulysse Nardin Diver, a high-horology dive watch that builds on the independent Swiss maison’s unique maritime heritage, which began almost 180 years ago. It comes with 300 metres of water resistance, a uni-directional rotating bezel for timing dives, lumed detailing, and a clearly visible running seconds hand that indicates the watch is operational.

The watch is powered by the flagship UN-118 manufacture movement, a reliable self-winding calibre with an escapement made of DiamonSil and balance spring in silicon, Ulysse Nardin’s revolutionary antimagnetic, lubrication-free silicon technology. It has a 60-hour power reserve, indicated by a gauge at 12 o’clock, and a date-corrector that allows for forward and backward date setting.

The 300-piece limited edition watch has several distinguishing features:

THE CASE
It has a 44mm titanium case finished with a deep ocean blue PVD treatment. The grippy uni-directional rotating bezel has a rubberised blue insert and features a 60-minute scale for timing dives.

THE DIAL
The blue sandblasted dial is enhanced with a red and blue X, echoing a motif that repeats through the Ulysse Nardin collection and that communicates the explosive nature of the maison’s approach to watchmaking design and technology. At 6 o’clock, the dial features a small seconds with a lumed running seconds hand, an essential component in a dive watch that must be able to indicate that the watch is running and keeping good time in low-light conditions. Tucked neatly into this is a round date window.

THE POWER
It offers a 60-hour power reserve, which is indicated by a lumed hand.

THE CROWN
The watch’s notched, screw-down crown is flanked by two red crown protectors designed to deflect accidental impacts.

THE STRAPS
The watch comes with a choice of two straps. First in blue rubber with a red Hammerhead Shark motif, a blue PVD titanium tang buckle and a single blue PVD titanium link decorated with the Ulysse Nardin logo. The second strap is in a blue fabric with red edging and a Velcro scratch fastening system.

CASE BACK
The watch’s blue-PVD-coated titanium case back is engraved with a Hammerhead Shark motif and red detailing indicating the model number, limited edition and 300-metre water resistance. The back of the single titanium link that features in the rubber strap option is engraved with the 1% for the Planet logo.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

REFERENCE

1183-170LE-3A-HAMMER/3A (blue rubber strap)
1183-170LE-3A-HAMMER/0A (blue and red fabric strap)

MOVEMENT & FUNCTIONS

• Calibre UN-118 Manufacture
• Automatic
• Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, power reserve indicator
• Antimagnetic silicon balance spring and DIAMonSIL escapement
• 260 components / 50 jewels
• Frequency 4hz, oscillations 28’800 v/h

POWER RESERVE

• 60 hours

CASE

• Blue PVD-coated titanium

BEZEL

• Uni-directional rotating, titanium with blue rubberised insert

CASE-BACK

• Blue PVD-coated titanium with Hammerhead Shark engraving

DIAMETER

• 44 mm

OVERALL HEIGHT

• 14.81 mm

WATER RESISTANCE

• 300 m

STRAP AND BUCKLE

• Blue rubber strap with single titanium link in blue PVD-coated titanium and blue PVD-coated titanium tang buckle
• Blue and red fabric strap with scratch closing

WARRANTY

• 5 years

LIMITED EDITION

• 300 pieces, numbered