Quirky Backstory. Quirky Backstory. Quirky Backstory. Quirky Backstory. Quirky Backstory
Ulysse Nardin San Marco. Ulysse Nardin San Marco. Ulysse Nardin San Marco. Ulysse Nardin San Marco
08 February 2026
The Quirky Backstory Of The Ulysse Nardin San Marco
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Ulysse Nardin did something very un-“Swiss” with the San Marco collection: it treated the dial like a miniature painting, not just a time display.
Many of these pieces were crafted using métiers d’art techniques such as cloisonné enamel, where colour is locked inside fine gold outlines, creating scenes that feel closer to a framed artwork than a watch.
The inspiration is proudly Venetian, and the sea is never far away.
Ships, harbours, gondolas, sailing silhouettes… the ocean is practically a recurring character in the series.
And the detail that makes collectors smile: on several versions, the boat’s name is actually written on the dial, like the caption under a museum piece.
Even better, many of these watches were made in small numbered editions (25, 35 pieces and sometimes less), making each dial variant feel like a limited chapter in the same story.
But here’s the twist: San Marco isn’t only about maritime romance.
The collection also went wildly off-script with more unexpected, almost surreal dials.
A mountain landscape with a Swiss flag planted like a postcard. Dancers frozen mid-movement like a theatre scene. A bullfight moment captured in warm enamel tones.
