“Samurai” comes from the word “saburai,” which means to serve or stand by an important person. Since the 8th century, this word has referred to “warriors in the ser-vice of the nobility.” But rather than soldiers or mercenaries, the samurai were fighters who dedicated their heart and soul to both their master and to the art of sword fighting, in which they excelled. On the dial of the CLASSIC SAMOURAÏ, Ulysse Nar-din’s craftsmen have used Japanese prints to recreate a famous sword duel be-tween two legendary samurai, Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro.
Equipped with a rare automatic movement, the Hourstriker CLASSIC SAMOURAÏ rings on the hour on request but can also be programmed to ring on the hour and half-hour. Each time the hammer hits the gong, the Jaquemarts samurai simultaneously perform the spectacular duel between Musashi and Kojiro. On the left-hand side of the dial, recognizable by his two swords–one short and the other long–is Miyamoto Musashi, the most famous Japanese warrior of the 17th century, who fought more than sixty times in his life.
Each release from this 18-piece collection in 18 carat rose gold or platinum is embel-lished with hand-sculpted Jaquemarts in rose gold or gray gold. Ulysse Nardin re-mains one of the few manufacturers to master the use of Jaquemarts, and one of the first to have contributed to the revival of the striking mechanism.
