Our Story and Commitments
At the beginning of the Ultramarine adventure, there was the observation of a watchmaking enthusiast, Lionel Bruneau, for whom the legendary Swiss watchmaking, renowned for its centuries-old know-how combining authenticity, quality, precision and prestige, tended sometimes to go astray and forget its fundamentals.
Seeing that, this observation was shared by many other enthusiasts, Lionel created Ultramarine in 2018, a new watchmaking brand whose mission is to review the rules of the game and to dare to give back to Swiss watchmaking all its authenticity at an affordable price. With a true soul.
A personality that brought this French watchmaking enthusiast, who is not himself a watchmaker but who is never stingy with his desire to share and transmit his views and expertise on the subject to those who are interested in it, to cultivate a somewhat crazy project: to create watches such as the Swiss themselves had lost the habit of making.
A project that some in the industry did not hesitate to describe as impossible without being either from the watchmaking world or a confirmed entrepreneur.
But «hearing that it’s impossible is a powerful booster», tells Lionel with a smile, who threw himself into the Ultramarine challenge with passion. A challenge that has now become a reality and will soon enter its fifth year...
By daring to break the codes of a market that sometimes seems to have disconnected itself from both reason and passion. By daring to reinvent an ethical and reasoned Swiss watchmaking, respectful of its origins, of its customers, which contributes financially to defend the planet and in particular the oceans.
Following the success of its first two models, the Morse in 2019 and the Albatros in 2021, Ultramarine is launching its first diver in 2023 : the Beluga.
To carry out the mission it has set itself, Ultramarine has chosen to make strong commitments and in particular to be the first (and for the moment only) brand on the market to simultaneously commit to:
Commitment #1 : The Best Quality.
An ethical and reasoned Swiss watchmaking must commit to the quality of its creations and necessarily propose the best components, Ultramarine works with the best suppliers of movements and parts.
A territorial anchoring that allows us to guarantee the authenticity, quality and reliability of our products.
Commitment #2 : Reasoned Prices, In Complete Transparency.
Because a reasoned Swiss watchmaking is also sold at a fair price, Ultramarine is also committed to being transparent about its production methods and the margins of its models, which is around manufacturing cost x 2, while most watches are sold at manufacturing cost x 5 to 10.
Commitment #3 : Concrete Actions to Preserve The Oceans.
Because a reasoned Swiss watchmaking is finally respectful of the planet and because we are passionate about the oceanic universe, Ultramarine is committed to protecting the marine ecosystem, the largest on the planet.
This is why we have chosen to team-up with Sea Shepherd France, French chapter of the most active and radical NGO for ocean defense in the world, to help to finance their fight.