Here is a purportedly original (NOS for that matter), 1940s Ulysse Nardin. Apart from the exceptional condition, and the general appearance, a couple of things about the dial leave me highly skeptical. Firstly, I have noticed that many Ulysse Nardins of this period have "Locle Suisse" printed underneath "Ulysse Nardin". Secondly, the majority of these dials do not have an anchor on them. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
The majority of '1940s' etc UN chronos that turn up are fake/Franken. Many of these have the '3D Anchor' logo as its the one that is easiest to access. Somewhere I had a post with the historical evolution of the logos, which I can't find after my IOS10 update mad but I will keep looking. The brand is a favorite of the SA fakers, given its new found luxury status, and extreme rarity of decent older examples. One look at the inside case back and movement will tell you very quickly what you are dealing with ... my money would be on a crap movement with UN crudely written on the bridge....
I don't believe the dial to be original, but would need better photos to comment more specifically. The obvious tell is that even sitting in a safe deposit box or drawer for 70 years, a printed (i.e. non-enamel) white dial would never remain so bright. I also don't believe that the logo is era-correct.
I've seen a few of these in the metal - one also had a pristine looking dial, which, on close inspection, was printed on cardboard ... I kid you not .... vintage 'UN' is a minefield for the unwary
Thanks for the input. I was pretty convinced that the dial looked off but as the watch was posted by a generally reliable source, I wanted a second opinion.
I'm not an expert in Ulysse Nardin '40 chronographs but I think that dial is not good, and also the crown.
The first clue is the condition...if it looks mint, then be wary. Its 75 years old after all...even if it sat in a safe for 75 years it wouldn't look brand new.
As Traveler says, that logo is used often on the franken UN's. And there are a LOT of them. Probably 20 fakes for every correct example. And I suspect a close up of the dial would reveal its deeper flaws. It doesn't look right from this distance, either.
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