Ulysse Nardin this week previewed a new showroom adjacent to its manufacturing headquarters in Le Locle, Switzerland. The new private space, measuring 175 square meters, is designed to allow visitors a view of historic Ulysse Nardin timepieces set alongside the watchmaker’s current collections.

While the Museum is not open to the public, it is built to receive future visitors at the Watchmaking Heritage Days, organized every two years by the region.

Massimo Bonfigli, Ulysse Nardin’s head of brand heritage, provided a guided tour to the first visitors to the new space.

Bonfigli has worked with Rolf Schnyder and Ludwig Oechslin and was present when the French luxury group Kering purchased Ulysse Nardin in 2014. “It’s a pleasure for me to have this dedicated space to tell our 175 years of history,” he explains.

In contrast with the exterior walls of the watchmaker’s historical building, the new display space is contemporary, with suede and wood, in a minimalist atmosphere.

“This luminous space is a platform of expression of the brand, which will showcase the achievements of yesterday, today and tomorrow, thus contributing to promoting the whole of Swiss watchmaking. It was important for us to have a setting which matches the message we wish to get across to brand aficionados, one that accurately reflects the brand identity”, explains Françoise Bezzola, Ulysse Nardin marketing director.

One of the newest pieces, Ulysse Nardin’s UFO table clock, is on display at the new space,just weeks after a special orange edition sold at the Only Watch 2021 charity auction for CHF 380,000. The UFO sold out in three weeks after its launch this past April.  A new copper-colored UFO, not available for sale, will be permanently displayed in the showroom.