Ulysse Nardin might be the the watch landscape’s most interesting and least appreciated brand. Large enough that it’s not some kind of cottage shop, and small enough that its products remain comparatively rare, UN often gets lost in the shuffle between the luxury majors and the fashionable upstart indies.

Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral

And that’s a shame because watches like the Sonata Cathedral deserve top billing on merit alone.

If this were a recent product of François-Paul Journe or Denis Flageollet, the hype, praise, and waiting list would be endless. Ulysse Nardin paid a price for its roughly 2000-2014 monomaniacal focus on Eastern European tastes, and the price was alienating people who didn’t specifically want… that kind of watch.

The brand is still recovering. And it’s regrettable, because not all UN products of the 2000s were designed with oligarchs in mind, and several are weird in a good way. The Sonata is one of them.

Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral

Originally launched in 2003, the initial Sonata was among the first haute horlogerie watches to elevate a complication traditionally associated with entry to mid-level watches: the alarm.

Mid-market brands such as Vulcain, LeCoultre, and Omega played with alarms in the mid-twentieth century, but more accessible brands such as Tudor and Seiko also left the alarm with a reputation as the poor man’s minute repeater.

Fast forward to the twenty-first century, and UN’s Sonata literally merged the minute repeater and alarm into a single watch.

Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral

At roughly 7:45 on the dial, a mirrored centrifugal governor worthy of a sonnerie sits exposed on its freestanding bridge. On a true minute repeater, designers make every effort to conceal and mute the strike governor, so UN’s prominent exhibition of the device is a piece of visual rhetoric designed to make a point about sonic quality.

The Sonata does not ring like an alarm clock; it chimes like a grandfather clock. Each delivery is an extended performance rather than a fit of rattling racket. In case you missed it, the name of the watch is printed on the dial with a G-clef rather than an “S.”

Caseback “cathedral” gongs are the second part of this equation. Exactly like the wire hoops featured in a répétition minutes, the gongs ring and sustain in a fashion that no Memovox or Cricket ever could.

While standard gongs encircle a repeater movement once, cathedral gongs continue around over an arc equal to 1.5 times around the caliber’s circumference. Richer sound is the result.

Movement of the Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral

Finishing of the visible steel striker is mirrored and clearly executed with true minute repeaters in mind. The Sonata Cathedral on this page was a 2005 launch that introduced both the upgraded chimes and a sapphire display caseback in lieu of the 2003 watch’s solid back.

UN’s caliber 67 is a fascinating beast that justifies its sapphire porthole, but only just. Squint, use some imagination, and you can visualize the automatic winding core of the ancient Lemania chronograph movement that donated its basic train and pawl-based automatic system to the UN.

Back of the Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral

That’s not to say that UN didn’t make the UN-67 its own; unique bridges, decoration, and massive complication on the dial side – it has 109 jewels – are the reason nobody describes this as a “customer caliber.”

Ulysse Nardin cases from this era always wear a bit large, so the Sonata surprises to the good on that count. Not only is it thinner than it looks, but the shape of the lugs doesn’t fight wrists quite the way a Freak does.

Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral on the author’s wrist

Sure, a stiff strap complicates the fit – at least at first – but with time, this should wear true to its 42mm measured size. It fits my 16cm wrist. In white gold, there’s a pleasing richness to the wrist feel, and the welded-on lugs speak to quality time spent hand-crafting this vessel.

Folding buckle of the Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral

A full clasp – anything this heavy and expensive should have one – keeps the watch secure.

From the outside working in, it’s clear that this watch sprung from an inspired moment of UN’s “more is more” design phase; the design is busy but successful.

Caseband and pushers of the Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral

There are two flanking triggers for local time adjustment when traveling. This feature debuted on the 1994 San Marco, and is both useful and convenient.

Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral alarm off/on indicator

A crown at nine o’clock arms and disarms the alarm function. At three o’clock, a multifunction crown winds the alarm when turned counterclockwise, and sets the time when turned clockwise,, and when pulled out fully it sets the alarm.

There’s also an intermediate position in which the grande date can be adjusted in both directions for convenience.

Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral dial details

While chaotic at first glance, the Sonata’s dial is a deep well of gratification. There’s plenty of lume, a 24-hour second time zone, the big date, and two dials for setting the alarm. Dial-side côtes de Genève, blued screws, and superimposed layers add richness.

The polished hour indices, brushed metallic blue rehaut, and sub dial bezels add richness. And the bow-like yellow hands… remind us that UN often manages to be good-weird rather than the other kind.

Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral subdials

The alarm system is surprisingly involved. After manually winding it, the alarm can be set in a 24-hour format so that it knows to ring at 8 am rather than 8 pm, for example. This is performed using the sub dial at upper right.

Alternatively, the alarm can be set using the dial at upper left which permits the user to visualize the designated alarm time in a countdown format.

When setting the watch for utilitarian purposes such as cooking, the countdown is a useful feature. Very few alarm watches launched since the Sonata have included a countdown mode.

Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral

Watches functionally similar to the Sonata are few. And its mechanical refinement places it on a plane with a bare handful of ultra-luxe alarms from Patek Philippe, Harry Winston, and Breguet. In some ways, used watches like this are great for the watch hobby.

Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral dial details

Too many collectors fixate on hype genres, models, and brands that border on generic relative to each other. And as a counterweight to all that noise, there are masterpiece-level options like the Sonata readily available for thousands less than they cost when new decades ago.

Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral

I encourage collectors who need to recharge their enthusiasm for the hobby to go out and find watches like this: rare, fine, complicated, and depreciated. When a watch enthusiast burnout candidate finds something this magical buried deep on Chrono24, it feels like rediscovering the hobby.

Depending on the individual, any number of watches might rekindle the flame. For me, that watch was the Sonata. Even having never owned one, I’m grateful for its existence.

For more information, please visit www.ulysse-nardin.com/en-us/watches/haute-horlogerie

Quick Facts: Ulysse Nardin Sonata Cathedral
Reference Code: 670-88/213
Edition: Launched in 2005
Functions: Hours; minutes; dual time; alarm in 24-hour format; big date; alarm on/off; minute repeater
Case: White gold; 42mm diameter; 13.6mm thick; 50 lug-to-lug; 21mm lug spacing; 30 meters of water resistance; push down crown; GMT time zone triggers on both flanks
Strap: Blue alligator leather strap with calf lining
Clasp: White gold double deployant with trigger release and “UN” signature inside and out
Dial: Layered with blue upper and silver base; côtes de Genève; alarm strike governor at seven o’clock; big date; two alarm-setting subdials for clock time and countdown time; second time zone at six o’clock; alarm on/off indicator at nine o’clock; blued screws; luminescent
Movement: UN-067; distantly Lemania1340-based; automatic winding for time and manual-winding for alarm; 48-hour power reserve; 4Hz; 109 jewels; 12/24-hour dual time; alarm; strike governor and cathedral gongs for alarm; bi-directional quick set for date; does not hack
2024 Preowned Price: $26,500-$30,000

* Tim Mosso is the media director and watch specialist at The 1916 Company. You can check out their very comprehensive YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@the1916company.

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