Ulysse Nardin Classico Rendao Liu Collection

Since 1846, Ulysse Nardin has drawn its inspiration from the sea. Born in Le Locle and shaped by marine chronometry, the independent Swiss Manufacture has built its legacy on precision, exploration and challenging conventions. Today, Ulysse Nardin extends its marine DNA into a new artistic territory, announcing a collection entitled Make Waves with renowned contemporary Chinese artist Rendao Liu, presenting four limited-edition miniature painting timepieces.

This collaboration reflects a shared pioneering spirit. For over 180 years, Ulysse Nardin has translated the sea into mechanical innovation, first through its marine chronometers, trusted by navies and explorers across the globe, and today through avant-garde watchmaking that continues to challenge convention. Alongside this technical mastery, the Manufacture has cultivated exceptional métiers d’art, with miniature painting practiced in-house for over 15 years as a demanding expression of craftsmanship. Rendao Liu, through his contemporary ink practice, transforms the ocean into a philosophical and visual language. On the dial, these three dimensions converge — precision, artistry and craftsmanship — bringing the ocean to life through the meticulous art of miniature painting.

When mechanics meet fine art

Ulysse Nardin has consistently expanded its watchmaking language through miniature painting, affirming its position as a leader in métiers d’art. Cherished within the Manufacture and practiced in-house, micro-painting is not decorative embellishment but a demanding artistic discipline, one that transforms the dial into a space where craftsmanship and horology converge.

Within the Classico collection, the Maison has reinterpreted masterpieces such as those of Qing Dynasty court painter Giuseppe Castiglione, distilling the depth and refinement of traditional painting into miniature form. It has also collaborated with Italian artist Milo Manara, translating his creations into finely executed works where light, shadow and movement come alive on the wrist.

The encounter with Rendao Liu was born from a shared relationship with the sea, not merely as subject, but as philosophy. For Ulysse Nardin, the ocean represents exploration, navigation and mastery of time. For Liu, it embodies introspection, movement and the rhythm of existence. The Make Waves collection emerged from this dialogue as a convergence of disciplines, allowing two interpretations of the sea to coexist within a single circular space.

In this collaboration, Rendao Liu conceives the original ink compositions. These works are then entrusted to Ulysse Nardin’s master miniature painters, who transpose them onto the dial while preserving their emotional force. The challenge lies not only in scale, but in maintaining spontaneity within the precise framework of horology.

This collaboration extends Ulysse Nardin’s maritime heritage beyond mechanics and into artistic expression. Where the Manufacture translates the ocean into calibrated precision, Liu renders it through gesture and ink. Within the dial’s architecture, structure meets fluidity — and the ocean becomes a living architecture of time and motion.

It is this philosophical relationship with the sea that anchors the Make Waves collection. Rather than depicting maritime scenes, Liu’s compositions explore attitudes toward time and change. For Ulysse Nardin — whose history is inseparable from navigation and the mastery of oceans — this interpretation offers a profound resonance, transforming the sea from a territory of exploration into a space for reflection.

Rendao Liu: the sea as philosophy

Rendao Liu is a leading contemporary Chinese artist whose practice spans ink painting, calligraphy, sculpture and art theory. Advocate of the “Grand Art Perspective,” he works at the intersection of tradition and experimentation, continuously expanding the expressive language of ink while remaining deeply rooted in Chinese cultural heritage.

His work has been exhibited widely, including a major solo exhibition at the Palace Museum in Beijing, affirming his position within China’s contemporary artistic landscape. His monumental ink painting Floating Clouds and Vast Misty Mountains travelled into space aboard the Shenzhou VI spacecraft — a symbolic gesture that reflects the expansiveness of his artistic vision and the cultural reach of ink painting itself.

The sea occupies a central place in his oeuvre. Mr. Liu excels in the art of blank space within his marine compositions: empty areas suggest atmosphere, white expanses become light, and restraint replaces saturation. Rather than filling the surface with brush and ink, he constructs the breath of the tides through the balance of density and void, transforming absence into depth.

His relationship with the ocean is not theoretical. Having observed seas from the coasts of China to distant and turbulent waters abroad, he approaches the subject through lived experience — attentive to its shifting temperaments and subtle variations.

For Liu, the ocean is more than landscape — it is metaphor. Islands emerge as symbols of the self: grounded, solitary, resilient. Tides embody movement and transformation, rising and receding in endless rhythm. Between stillness and surge lies tension — a dialogue between composure and momentum, between inner stability and the forces of change.

From ink to dial

Rendao Liu’s ink compositions are defined by openness and dynamic spatial rhythm. Translating this expressive language onto a dial only a few centimetres wide represents a profound technical and artistic challenge. But the challenge is not to only reduce the composition. It is to recalibrate it so that its energy remains intact at miniature scale.

The first layer establishes the primary tonal fields in flat application, defining the base atmosphere of the scene. Background elements are then developed, building depth gradually. Successive layers introduce increasing levels of detail — each nuance of wave and shadow requiring additional applications. The more intricate the composition, the greater the number of layers required.

On average, a single dial demands approximately 50 hours of work. For the Make Waves collection, the challenge is amplified. The compositions are composed almost entirely of ocean — an expanse of waves rendered in constant movement and subtle tonal variation. Construction lines are numerous, visual reference points minimal. One can easily lose orientation within the sea. It is both the beauty of the dial and its greatest difficulty.

Throughout the process, there is no possibility of correction once balance is disrupted. Light, contrast and directional flow must be anticipated from the outset. Within this miniature field measured in millimetres, discipline allows the boundless motion of the sea to remain alive.

The four seas. Four states of being.

In Chinese cultural thought, the expression Four Seas traditionally signifies the world in its entirety — humanity united beneath one horizon. It evokes openness, universality and interconnectedness. For Rendao Liu, the Four Seas are not just geographic divisions, but also inner landscapes. Each composition reflects a distinct state of being — a different posture before time and change. Together, they form a philosophical cycle — an exploration of how one navigates immensity.

On the dial, this boundless expanse is condensed within a circular frame. While art surges in ink and pigment, time advances with equal discipline. The Make Waves timepieces are powered by Ulysse Nardin’s in-house UN-320 self-winding movement, equipped with the Maison’s silicon technology, developed over 25 years, ensuring reliability and lasting performance.

The dial displays hours and minutes, allowing the miniature painting to remain the focal point. Each watch features a 40 mm 5N rose-gold case paired with a dark brown alligator leather strap. Slender hands are deliberately designed to preserve the primacy of the artwork — art and mechanics mirroring one another in a contemporary expression of sea and time.

Within this intimate scale, the four visions transform the immensity of the ocean into a meditation on presence — a reminder that to make waves is not merely to move the world, but to understand one’s place within it.

Each design is limited to 25 pieces, for a total production of 100 timepieces. The collection will be presented primarily in China. The Geneva boutique will also feature the timepieces in recognition of this collaboration. Availability in other markets will be accommodated upon request.

Technical specifications

Ulysse Nardin Classico Rendao Liu Collection

Reference: 3202-136LE-9A-LIU/1A - [Zhi Yin]

Reference: 3202-136LE-9B-LIU/1A - [Miao Yin]

Reference: 3202-136LE-9C-LIU/1A - [Xuan Qu]

Reference: 3202-136LE-9D-LIU/1A - [You Ya]

Each design is limited to 25 pieces, for a total production of 100 timepieces.

Case

• Material: 5N rose gold
• Diameter: 40 mm
• Case back: Sapphire crystal glass
• Water-resistant to 30 meters

Dial and hands

• Hand-executed miniature painting reproducing Rendao Liu’s original works:
• Zhi Yin (Kindred Spirit), Miao Yin (Resonance), Xuan Qu (Mystic Melody), You Ya (Graceful Ease)

Movement

• Calibre UN-320 Manufacture
• Self-winding movement
• Silicon escapement and hairspring
• Power reserve of 48 hours

Functions/Indications

• Hours and minutes

Strap and buckle

• Dark brown alligator straps
• 5N rose gold tang buckle

MSRP

• CNY 450’000 (incl. taxes)
• HKD 465’300
• TWD 1’892’000 (incl. taxes)

For more information, please visit ulysse-nardin.com