Watches and Wonders 2025: Ulysse Nardin sets record with world’s lightest mechanical dive watch

Weighing just 52 grams, Ulysse Nardin’s new Diver [AIR] shatters its own record for the lightest timepiece produced

In 2021, Ulysse Nardin launched the Diver X Skeleton, a groundbreaking watch that incorporated an openwork design into its diver watch.  This innovation pushed the boundaries of dive watches and was an especially important milestone for Ulysse Nardin, a brand that had long been linked to the nautical world. The innovation brought with it not only an incredibly powerful visual impact but also shaved down the weight of the timepiece to just over 105 grams.

The Diver X Skeleton represented never-before-imagined proportions and scale of what a dive watch can be. Yet Ulysse Nardin continues to shatter boundaries, setting a new record along the way with the new Diver [AIR]. Slashing the weight of the Diver X Skeleton by half, the Diver [AIR] further streamlined the skeletonised design to the extreme to create a piece that showcased haute horology at the highest level. 

Ulysse Nardin began creating water-resistant models as early as 1893 and launched its first diver’s watch in 1964. The spirit of venturing into the deep blue lives on today- the Diver [AIR] taps into innovative watchmaking to create a piece that is at once lightweight yet durable. The skeletonised sports timepiece weighs a mere 46 grams and only 52g, including the fabric strap.

To slim down the watch, the watchmaker engineered a way to reinforce the automatic movement while removing material; using slender bridges to form triangles allows the movement to resist bending and warping. The design leaves just 80 per cent of the watch hollow, hence being more air than material. The skeletonised calibre UN-374

Ulysse Nardin partners with leading titanium producer TiFast to create a new formulation of 90 per cent recycled titanium for the watch’s movement and middle case. Together with the silicone, carbon-foil, and Nylo-Foil in the skeleton design, the 44mm piece achieves this seemingly impossible feat while being water resistant to 200 metres and able to withstand 5000 G-forces. 

The hands and dials are coated with superluminova, essential for enhanced legibility underwater. The piece comes with two strap options, one in orange and the other in white, both made from elastic fabric with scratching closing. 

Also see: Watches and Wonders 2025: Bulgari shatters thinnest record while breathing new life into the Serpenti