This Stunning Swiss Superwatch Has No Hands, Dial or Crown

I am perhaps the furthest thing from a watch expert — I mostly cover outdoor products and motorcycles — but I’m lucky to work with a couple here at Gear Patrol.

One of them, Johnny Brayson, has posited that Ulysse Nardin’s Freak just might be the most important watch of the 21st century. 

Ulysse Nardin

That’s high but justified praise for a timepiece that eschews traditional hands, dial and crown in favor of letting the movement itself tell the time, with a rotating disc marking the hours and a “flying carrousel” serving as the minute hand. 

Meanwhile, turning the caseback winds the watch, the bezel is used to adjust the “hands” and — quietly most revolutionary of all — upon its 2001 debut, the Freak was the first watch in history to use light, hard, temperature- and magnet-proof silicon in its escapement. 

Once UN had demonstrated how to employ this material in a movement, silicon became the high-end watch escapement gold standard.

All of which is a prelude to the latest edition of the watch, the Freak [X Gold Enamel], which adds a Guilloché-Flinqué rotating disc to elevate from horological breakthrough to a true work of métiers d’art.

Super Freak

If you’d like to know more about the Freak’s design and some standout variants, I’d recommend checking out Brayson’s excellent piece on last fall’s big release, the Freak One Navy Blue. 

Right here, however, let’s look at what makes this new edition so special. The not-at-all secret ingredient is the aforementioned rotating disc, featuring a sunray pattern enhanced with multiple layers of blue enamel, which amplifies the rotation of the flying carrousel.

Ulysse Nardin

This decorative technique is particularly notable because while the Freak remains on the futuristic cutting edge of haute horlogerie, enameling is an ancient art form dating back more than 3,000 years to civilizations in Egypt, China and the Roman Empire.

Adopted by the watchmaking world in the 17th century, the practice predates UN itself, founded as it was in 1846 in Le Locle, Switzerland. 

Ulysse Nardin

Enameling’s rich, vibrant palette adds a depth of color that does not fade over time, yet it remains the rarest of métiers d’art (art trades). Only a small number of shops have mastered it, one of which is UN’s dedicated enameling atelier, Donzé Cadrans.

Conveniently located just a few blocks away from Ulysse Nardin Manufacture, the now 53-year-old workshop began collaborations with UN in the 1980s before the watch brand outright acquired it in 2011. 

Unparalleled craftsmanship

The level of expertise at Donzé Cadrans may have no equal on the planet. The shop’s eight artisans have decades of experience, which is critical considering it takes five years simply to learn the fundamentals of enameling. 

Even so, executing the Guilloché-Flinqué rotating disc for the Freak X was an enormous challenge, due to the fact it’s a part of the movement itself — a mobile mechanical element with multiple screw fittings. 

Ulysse Nardin

The disc’s material — 22-carat rose gold, chosen for its thermal stability — enables the plate to withstand the extreme temperatures of kiln firing, a key step in the enameling process. Finally the subtle sunray pattern must be stamped upon the disc with millimeter-perfect precision. 

I could strain all our brains with deeper details concerning the degrees of difficulty here, but suffice it to say, each rotating disc takes eight hours — a full day’s work — to complete, and no two are exactly alike. 

In other words, should you have the means and good fortune to procure this timepiece, it’s not only one of 120, but one of a kind. 

Brass tacks

Introduced in 2019, the Freak X series embraces slimmer profiles and smaller case sizes, making it more suitable for everyday wear. 

This new Freak features a rose gold-colored minute bridge and hour markers treated with white Super-LumiNova, optimizing legibility.

Ulysse Nardin

The case is blue PVD titanium, enhanced by rose gold side parts and measuring 43mm.

Paired with a blue alligator strap detailed with rose gold stitching and a blue titanium and rose gold folding buckle, the watch boasts a 72-hour power reserve.

Availability and pricing

The Ulysse Nardin Freak [X Gold Enamel] is limited to 120 pieces and priced at $48,500.

You can register your interest in the watch at brand’s website now, in the hopes of procuring an example.

Ulysse Nardin

Ulysse Nardin [Freak X Gold Enamel]

Introduced in 2001, Ulysse Nardin’s original Freak proved to be a revelation, not only because the movement itself tells the time but also because it was the first to use silicon in its escapement, a material that has since become the gold standard for high-end watches. This new edition raises the bar when it comes to artistry, courtesy of a Guilloché-Flinqué rotating disc with a sunray pattern that by itself takes a skilled artisan eight hours to craft. This new Freak also features a 43mm blue PVD titanium case and blue alligator strap — both complemented by rose gold accents — and a 72-hour power reserve.

Specs

Case Size	43mm
Movement	Calibre UN-230 Manufacture
Water Resistance	50m

• $48,500 at Ulysse Nardin

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