Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton OPS Review

When you think of diver’s watches you typically think of the Rolex Submariner and the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. For the most part these two designs have stood the test of time and seventy years later, most divers’ watches are clones to some extent of their designs. It is really rare to see a diver’s watch that strays from these classic designs and rarer still to actually pull it off.

Today we’re going to look at a watch that manages to take the diver’s watch design and flip it upside down. The watch in question is the newly released Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton OPS. We were lucky enough to have FX and his team over at Ulysse Nardin send us the watch just in time to have it in hand the day of its global launch. I thought it was super cool to be wearing the watch the day all the watch news outlets were covering its release.



Ulysse Nardin has had a strong connection to the ocean since its inception in 1846. Ulysse Nardin was the standard for marine chronometers for well over 50 years, supplying navies from all over the world with their extremely accurate chronometers.

The 1990s and 2000s saw the introduction of diver specific watches from Ulysse Nardin. These watches included case metals of steel, titanium and gold and featured such complications as chronographs, power reserve indicators and even a perpetual calendar. In the mid 2000s I spent a ton of time with various dive watches from Ulysse Nardin with my favorite being the titanium perpetual calendar with the carbon fiber and orange dial.



Ulysse Nardin kept evolving their divers’ watches throughout the years and the 2020s saw the biggest design change in the range with the introduction of the Diver X series. These watches were dominated by a large X motif across the dial and upped the ante by being offered in such exotic materials as forged carbon. I even purchased a limited edition Diver X Cape Horn for myself.

Although the Diver X was a bold and radical design from Ulysse Nardin, things really got crazy with the release of the Diver X Skeleton series. These watches were similar to the Diver X series with the main difference being the dial was fully skeletonized and showed off the beautiful in-house caliber UN-372 movement. This movement was made specifically for the Diver X Skeleton and is finished in amazing detail.

The other part of the name of the Diver X Skeleton OPS is the OPS part. The OPS line was originally released in 2023 for the Freak collection. These watches were inspired by military design and feature a black and khaki color scheme. They also came in black DLC titanium cases and featured Carbonium bezels. The Diver X Skeleton OPS and Diver NET OPS bring this aesthetic to Ulysse Nardin’s divers’ watches.



With my history with Ulysse Nardin divers I really couldn’t wait for the Diver X Skeleton to arrive. The excitement of playing with the watch was put on hold for about 10 minutes as I struggled to get 100 pieces (ok not that many) of perfectly placed plastic off of the watch which was factory fresh. I still can’t believe how precisely these tiny pieces of plastic are placed on the watch. I guess it makes the chance of any part of the watch being scratched pretty much zero, but it really tested my patience, especially the last tiniest piece on the clasp…

The first thing I noticed about the Diver X Skeleton OPS was the Carbonium bezel. I’ve seen the bezel before on the Cape Horn, but for some reason it really was really prominent on the OPS. I believe that since it’s a skeleton watch, the bezel stands out more so. The beige super luminova also is a very unique color and goes so well with the rest of the watch. It almost has a yellow tint to it, which isn’t a color I’ve seen from other lumed indices.



The Carbonium bezel just has such a unique look to itself as well. The pattern looks similar to forged carbon but with a little more of a fluid look to it. There is also a very nice mixture of colors from deep blacks to light grays and almost whites mixed into to the bezel. The bezel has a very nice feel to it when being operated and is extremely sure in its movements, meaning there is pretty much zero chance of the bezel being set incorrectly or moving while diving. The bezel is uni-directional and has 120 clicks to complete a full rotation.

Naturally the next thing you notice is the star of the show, the fully skeletonized dial and movement. For the newer series of Ulysse Nardin divers, the X motif has been adopted. The design language of these watches focuses on a large X that covers the majority of the dial. The X is DLC coated like the titanium case to keep things cohesive. There is also a barrel cover at 12 o’clock done in carbonium with an Ulysse Nardin anchor logo and text above it.



The dial features twelve hour indices all done in the same beige super luminova color as the bezel. The hour and minutes hands are also coated with the same color material, as is the tip of the seconds hand. In low light conditions all of the beige super luminova glows an extremely bright green. For the first time in I don’t know how long, I stopped my wife a few times to show her just how bright the watch glowed. No doubt a great feature for those brave enough to take this watch diving.

There really isn’t much more to the dial design wise since most of the dial has been cut away to show off the in-house caliber UN-372. This movement was made specifically for the skeleton models of the Diver X collection. Ulysse Nardin is famous for being a pioneer in using silicon in their movements and the UN-372 has its escapement wheel, anchor and balance spring made from Silicium. Being a fully skeletonized watch, you can see some of these silicon pieces very well. All this can be seen through a beautifully domed sapphire crystal. One interesting thing that might just be in my head is that it almost appears as if the back sapphire had some sort of reflective coating on it, instead of always just seeing my arm hairs behind the movement, it seemed as if sometimes I’d get a back reflection of the movement. In different lighting and angles this effect seems almost not there, but in others it really does seem to be a thing.

One thing Ulysse Nardin does just as well if not better than anyone else is showing movement on their dials. The Freak X we recently had in was just such a pleasure to sit back and watch its little dance which attracted many peoples’ attention. The Diver X Skeleton OPS is no different, the watch instantly draws your eyes to it with the mostly exposed balance beating away. Look closer and you can see the smallest movement in the gears as well. At 3 o’clock you can also see the clutch and winding mechanism fully on display. I can’t really think of many watches that are as fun to wind and set as this Diver X OPS with all the movement it brings along with it.



Speaking more about the movement, the caliber UN-372 features 171 parts and offers up a 72 hour power reserve. It beats at a slower 21,600 (3 Hz) which is probably the main reason it offers such a good power reserve. We saw the Diver X Skeleton OPS average around -1 to +3 seconds on our timegrapher, which is exceptional accuracy wise. The only time we had to wind the watch was when it first arrived and when we wound it fully to test on our timegrapher. Otherwise the watch kept running the entire time we had it, even when it sat for a day or two in our safe.

The back of the watch also features a large flat sapphire crystal that lets you admire the backside of the movement. Ulysse Nardin uses a large black skeletonized rotor in a matching X design to what you see on the front of the watch. The movement is a brilliant silver color and one interesting thing is that Ulysse Nardin has replaced the tradition pink jewels with clear/whitish jewels that really give the movement a more tool watch appearance. For once I’d say that the front of the movement is more fun to look at than the rear. Either way, Ulysse Nardin gives you a great look at pretty much the entire movement with the Diver X Skeleton OPS.



The Diver X Skeleton OPS has a case diameter of 44 mm with a lug to lug of 50 mm and a case thickness of 15.9 mm. I was a little nervous since the Diver X Cape Horn I had felt a bit small to me, that the Diver X Skeleton OPS would also feel a bit undersized for my tastes. This was definitely not the case and I actually feel the watch is just perfectly sized for me. Although the Diver X Skeleton OPS and Cape Horn both measure 44 mm and the Skeleton is just 1 mm thicker, the Cape Horn came on a fabric strap. I feel the rubber strap of the Diver X Skeleton OPS flares out the watch enough to be just big enough. The fabric strap (also available on the Diver X Skeleton OPS) has no flare and hugs your wrist much more closely making the watch wear A LOT smaller. If you’re nervous about the Diver X Skeleton OPS being too large for your wrist, get it on the fabric strap and I’m sure you’ll be just fine.

The Diver X Skeleton OPS has a titanium case that is DLC coated. The finish of the case is satin with the only polished bits being on the sides of the bezel and part of the X motif on the dial. Being constructed of titanium, Carbonium and rubber makes this rather large watch pretty lightweight at only 106 grams including the strap and deployant. The watch never gave me any sort of fatigue while wearing it and didn’t even bother me on days being outside with feels like temperatures over 110 degrees with high humidity.

Of course a lot of the watch being a pleasure to wear even in the heat is the rubber strap and deployant clasp. The Diver X Skeleton OPS comes on a khaki green rubber strap that starts at 22 mm at the lugs and tapers down to 18 mm at the black DLC coated titanium deployant clasp. The bottom strap also has an articulating titanium insert with the Ulysse Nardin anchor logo. This addition allows the strap to move and form better to your wrist. Ulysse Nardin has been using this kind of strap with its divers’ for as far back as I can remember, I’m guessing because it differentiates them from other normal rubber straps and must work well. The watch never moved from side to side or up and down my wrist over the course of the week wearing it.



This was the first time I had used this style of deployant clasp from Ulysse Nardin and at first it had me a bit frustrated. After picking off the millions of little pieces (ok not that many) of plastic off of the watch and clasp, I then had to size the watch for my wrist. OK I’m sure most people would enjoy removing the plastic, but I guess I was in a rush that day so I was already a bit on edge. So I guess I was kind of rushing trying to get the strap done. I can’t remember ever having any issues every using a buckle or clasp, but wow I must have spent 5 to 10 minutes trying to get the strap on the clasp. I think a lot of this had to do with having a brand new rubber strap that I didn’t want to damage at all.

The way the pin is shaped and the angle of the design pretty much forces you to stress the rubber to get the pin to go through the hole and then slip into place. When I was doing this, I could see the smallest white mark from stress forming around the hole on the rubber. Every time this started to happen I’d stop and see if I was doing something wrong. Finally after many attempts I just said screw it and I’ll see what happens, even if I had to contact FX and tell him I damaged the strap trying to get it on. Well an extra 10% of force and the pin popped right into place. Naturally there was zero damage to strap, just my self esteem. Once in place, the strap does not move on the pin. I actually do like this design and probably would have just put it right in place the first time if the watch was mine and I wasn’t too concerned with some small damage to the strap.



The deployant clasp for the Diver X Skeleton OPS is unlike any I have seen before. The deployant is crafted out of black DLC coated titanium and has a very minimalistic design. The deployant is super comfortable and never dug into my skin during my time with it. One side of the deployant is kept by friction while the other end has a double release. The pin is almost 3 mm thick and slots extremely tight into the strap holes. The clasp also has Ulysse Nardin engraved into it in an almost stealth look. Overall the clasp is extremely sure and I never felt the least bit nervous that it would open during my time with the watch.

The left hand side of the case has a plaque with the individual number of the watch on it. The black plaque has the same yellowish beige coloring as the indices but is not lumed. The right hand side has the black screw down crown with the Ulysse Nardin anchor logo on it as well as a pair of rubber crown guards in khaki green.



Unscrewing the crown allows for manual winding and taking the crown out to position one allows you to set the time. There are no additional complications, so that is the final crown position. In a watch like this, I really see no reason to have a date function. It would clutter up the highly skeletonized dial and I don’t see the need in a dive watch.

Even with the large front and rear sapphire crystals, the Diver X Skeleton OPS still offers a proper 200 meters of water resistance. The addition of the screw down crown also adds some peace of mind if you choose to take the water into the water. The extremely nice bezel action and strong lume throughout the dial and bezel also make the Diver X Skeleton OPS seem like it would be a great watch to go diving with. Price is subjective and some people might not think twice about jumping into the water with it strapped on their wrist.

When a watch as special as the Diver X Skeleton OPS shows up, I try to make excuses to go out and wear the watch. We had the watch over Memorial Day weekend and so there were tons of little outings to do while wearing the watch. For the most part this was a lot of trips to the grocery store and going out for meals and drinks.



Our neighbor’s daughter had a graduation party that we attended with the watch. With how out there the watch looks, I had four people stop me and ask about the watch. Two of which were wearing Rolex sports models and the other two wearing Apple Watches. Most told me they took notice of the watch due to the movement on the dial and the carbon bezel. Then noticed how the watch was skeletonized. One had heard about Ulysse Nardin, but the others had not, so I got to tell a little bit of brand history. More importantly the watch did survive about 30 minutes of one of our twin daughters playing with ice and getting water all over the watch. It might not be 200 meters, but it passed the new parent’s water test.

Using the party as a good example, the Diver X Skeleton OPS is a bold watch and not a great choice for somebody who doesn’t want to be asked questions about their watch. The scenario from the party played out at just about everywhere we went during the week, so be prepared for that. I personally love talking watches, so it’s a positive for me.

Austin was also going through a pretty hot period while I had the watch, with temperatures in the 90s and humidity levels above 60%, so the feels like temperature was well over 100. The watch was always extremely comfortable and I never found myself taking the watch off to relieve my wrist or making the strap larger. I think a lot of that has to do with the articulating piece on the bottom strap. When your wrist is cooler it allows the watch to fit better and not slide and turn, and when your wrist swells is adjusts and doesn’t feel too tight.



At $27,500 the Diver X Skeleton OPS is positioned at the very high end of diver’s watches. You get what you pay for here with a fully skeletonized diver with an in-house movement purposely made for the watch. You are also getting a watch featuring such high tech materials as DLC coated titanium, Carbonium and silicon. There is also the extremely unique look, taken up an extra notch with the OPS treatment. Finally you are also getting brand history that comes along with every Ulysse Nardin timepiece.

Two competitors in the dive watch space instantly came to mind in the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver (especially in khaki) and the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 2 Tech Gombessa. The Offshore comes in at $30,500 while the Fifty Fathoms comes in at $28,700. Pretty much the same price for all three.



The Offshore Diver is a more traditional diver with an inner rotating bezel, standard dial and stainless steel case on a rubber strap. Audemars Piguet has moved all of their Offshores over to in-house movements now, but in all honesty I feel the Offshores don’t have the same uniqueness they had in the mid 2000s with all the awesome limited edition pieces. Sure you’re getting amazing heritage with the brand, but if you look at what the Diver X Skeleton OPS offers in design, materials and finishing, it’s pretty hard to pick the AP… and I’m a huge fan of the Offshore line.

The Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa is a little more interesting of a comparison. The Tech Gombessa was launched for the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms and comes in a 47 mm titanium case, which does wear a lot smaller than the case diameter suggests. At least that was the case with the 48 mm 500 Fathoms and 45 mm standard Fifty Fathoms. The dial of the watch is absolute black with bright orange numerals and the party trick is the 3 hour diving bezel and hand. This like the Diver X Skeleton OPS lives on the outer fringe of dive watches. I could see both living in a collection, but having never worn let alone seen a Tech Gombessa in person, I can’t really comment on the watch past what I’ve seen online.



I’m really not going to get much into comparing other skeleton watches since if you’re looking at one from a manufacture with as rich of a history as Ulysse Nardin the price of the watches are multiples more expensive than the Diver X Skeleton OPS. Even sister brand Girard-Perregaux’s cheapest Laureato Skeleton is nearly twice the price. Forget about looking at Audemars Piguet and the others…

So with all that said, would I recommend the Ulysse Nardin Diver X Skeleton OPS to somebody looking for a high-end dive watch or somebody looking at other skeleton watches? I can say I would recommend that Diver X Skeleton OPS with no zero hesitation to somebody shopping in this genre of watch. With the khaki green color scheme I’d probably not recommend it as somebody’s only watch, but it would make an amazing addition to a collection. I don’t think anyone shopping at this level of watch, especially on a diver only has one watch, so that really shouldn’t carry too much weight. I wore it as my only watch for just over a week, but I dress very casual and the black of the watch went with everything I wore.



Since starting Hourstriker and getting in many watches to review, I can honestly say this by far my favorite of the watches I’ve had the pleasure to review. The one minor concern I had was that the watch might be a tiny bit on the small side based on my experience with the same diameter Cape Horn, but that came down to how different strap types made the watch feel size wise. The look of the watch is right in line with my collection and the level of detailing and finishing of the movement is extremely well done without being over the top like some higher end skeletons. The use of carbon and titanium is also something I love in a watch.

I would love to see how the Diver X Skeleton OPS compares to a Freak ONE OPS though. I loved the Freak X in rose gold, but felt it was a tiny bit small for my tastes. Now my wife was blown away… The Freak ONE OPS has the same general look of the Diver X Skeleton OPS with a slightly larger and chunky case versus the Freak X, it also has the more traditional Freak movement. Anyway, it would be interesting to see if I liked the Freak more than the Diver X Skeleton OPS, which would truly be no small feat!



As always, I’d like to thank FX and his team over at Ulysse Nardin for sending us the Diver X Skeleton OPS, especially with it being shipped to us ahead of its public debut. It really made me feel a bit special being able to wear it the day it was announced to the world! It's truly a magical time for Ulysse Nardin having one of the best showings at Watches and Wonders and following it up with the release of the Diver X Skeleton OPS. I really can't wait to see what they having waiting in the wings.

For more information about the Diver X Skeleton OPS please visit : Ulysse Nardin

Technical Specifications

Reference Number: 3723-170-2C/3A

Retail Price: $27,500

Case Size: 44 mm

Lug to Lug: 50 mm

Thickness: 15.9 mm

Weight: 106 Grams

Case Material:  DLC Treated Titanium

Bezel: Carbonium (Carbon)

Strap: DLC Treated Titanium Deployant Clasp

Movement: Automatic UN-372

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds

Power Reserve: 72 Hours

Water Resistance: 200 Meters