New owner, old spirit

ULYSSE Nardin was sold to the French luxury group Kering last year. It may have a new owner but there appears to be no change in the watches that it has been making.

After all, as Kering chairman and chief executive Francois-Henri Pinault explained, the luxury group wants UN's "rich heritage, high profitability and solid growth prospects".

So if it ain't broke, why fix it? As if to underscore the point, UN has brought back an updated version of the timepiece that drew the attention of the watchmaking world and made the brand's presence felt - the Freak, a tourbillon with neither dial nor hands and the first watch to be fitted with a silicon escapement.