Introducing the Ulysse Nardin Diver Air

We’ve reached a point in the dive watch game where you’d be forgiven for thinking we’ve seen it all. Vintage-inspired bezels, high water resistance, skeletonized dials, ceramic inserts — rinse and repeat. But every once in a while, something comes along that reminds us that horology isn’t just about homage and heritage. Sometimes, it's about pushing things forward.

Enter the Ulysse Nardin Diver [AIR]. A watch that on paper sounds more like a concept than a reality. The lightest mechanical dive watch ever made, clocking in at just 52 grams with the strap. That’s not a typo. Fifty-two.

The idea here isn’t just to make a light watch. It’s to build a high-performance mechanical diver that also happens to flex some seriously nerdy horological muscle and look good whilst doing it.

This isn’t your typical dive watch. It's Ulysse Nardin reminding the world they’ve bounding forwards and they’re not afraid to go full mad scientist to prove it.

The Basics

Case: 44mm; RecycledTitanium and Carbon; 14.7mm thick
Crystal: Domed sapphire
Movement: UN-374 automatic skeleton movement; 199 components; 90-hour power reserve
Water Resistance: 200m
Strap Options: Two interchangeable elastic straps (white and orange); scratch closures; tool-free change
Price: CHF 36,000 / $38,000 USD / €38,400 / £33,420

The Juice

Let’s talk specs, because that’s where this thing really takes off.

At 52 grams total, including the strap, the Diver [AIR] isn’t just shaving off a few grams for a marginal gain. It’s redefining what a mechanical dive watch can be. For context, Ulysse Nardin’s own Diver X Skeleton from 2021 (already what we could consider a featherweight for its category) tips the scales at 105.8g. This one weighs less than half of that.

A big part of that weight loss comes from the completely reengineered UN-374 calibre. At just 7g, it weighs less than some individual components in traditional movements. It’s skeletonized to the extreme — think more air than metal — but still hits a 90-hour power reserve thanks to a flying barrel. Automatic winding stays intact (because dive watch standards require it), and Ulysse Nardin even managed to make the thing survive 5,000 Gs of impact. That’s rally car crash levels of resilience.

And it's not just about being light — it’s about how that weight was achieved. Recycled titanium makes up 90% of the middle case and the movement bridges. The side parts? A composite called Nylo®-Foil, made of fishing nets and carbon fiber sourced from IMOCA racing boats (IMOCA are used for ocean racing in events like the Vendée Globe). The bezel insert is forged from 100% upcycled CarbonFoil, again pulled from high-performance sailing tech. Even the silicon escapement is upcycled.

Basically, Ulysse Nardin turned the Diver [AIR] into a case study in modern materials science without compromising on aesthetics. The watch looks futuristic in the best way, like something Iron Man would strap on for a dive. It’s still undeniably a diver with its 200 meters of water resistance, lume where it counts, and a rotating bezel. But, it has the soul of a tech lab experiment gone beautifully right.

The openworked dial and reengineered rotor make the whole thing feel more like a movement with a case built around it, rather than the other way around. And despite all the cutting-edge materials and extreme engineering, the Diver [AIR] is still wearable, comfortable, and dare I say, kind of fun — especially with those white and orange elastic straps.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t a watch you buy to blend in. It’s a watch you buy because you appreciate the wild, unapologetic leap into the future of watchmaking. It’s not another vintage reissue or a safe, crowd-pleasing release. It’s bold. It’s techy. It’s impressive as hell. And it could just float off into thin air (almost).

Ulysse Nardin didn’t just try to make a lightweight dive watch. They reimagined what weight means in the context of high horology tool watches. And they did it with sustainability, innovation, and performance all baked in.

So if you’re looking for something that pushes the envelope, tells a story, and actually earns the word “innovative” — the Diver [AIR] is more than just air (again, quite literally).

Find out more about this watch here.