Ulysse Nardin: The Freak and beyond
The iconic model from 2001 has been evolved, along with other novelties that honour the brand’s heritage
Freak (X Crystalium)
WITH the launch of the Freak (X Crystalium), the Freak has reached another crossroads. The rebellious streak of its youth is now channelled to meet the adult needs of an older and matured Freak, needs that turn to the finer things in life, such as the arts.
In its latest guise, it is introduced as “a fusion of high horology and high-tech decorative arts”. Silicon is still at the heart of the new Freak (FXC) – the critical balance wheel and escapement of the automatic movement are made of the material – but the spotlight is on the Crystalium.
A “revolutionary material that fuses scientific precision with raw aesthetic expression”, according to Ulysse Nardin, Crystalium comes essentially from ruthenium, a platinum-group metal known for its strength and shine; it is 10 times rarer than platinum.
Crystalium is so complex to develop that only 50 pieces of the FXC have been produced.
The new timepiece flaunts a Crystalium rotating hour disc in rose gold tone, with a pointer beneath the movement. This serves as the hour hand and completes a full circle every 12 hours. The watch is housed in a black DLC-coated titanium case with a matching bezel, black hour indicators and minute bridge. It is paired with a ballistic-textured black rubber strap that gives it a bold and modern presence.
Freak (X Gold Enamel)
Another “artsy” timepiece, the Freak (X Gold Enamel) is where mechanical innovation and metiers d’art meet. Its silicon-based movement, which also doubles as the hour hand, is paired with the art of enamelling to produce a striking guilloche-flinque disc with an off-centre sunray pattern. The disc is coated with multiple layers of deep blue enamel to amplify the rotational path of the iconic flying carousel.
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The enamelling is the work of Donze Cadrans, a Swiss workshop renowned for producing enamel dials for prestigious watchmakers. The enamelers at Donze Cadrans are among the most experienced in the industry.
The Freak (X Gold Enamel) flaunts a 43 mm blue PVD titanium case, with sides carved from rose gold to create a bold and elegant contrast. The minute bridge is painted rose gold, while luminescence that glows in the dark is coated on the hour markers. The timepiece, which is a limited edition of 120 pieces, is worn on a blue alligator strap.
Diver (Hammerhead Shark)
Before the Freak, there were the marine chronometers. This high-performance dive watch recalls the days when dozens of the world’s navies came knocking on Ulysse Nardin’s door for its marine chronometers. The precision timepieces were needed not just to tell time; they were also essential tools to help in navigation.
The Diver (Hammerhead Shark) proves that after almost 180 years, the independent Swiss watchmaker remains a pioneer of such precision mechanical watches. Based on the Ulysse Nardin Diver, a “high-horology” dive watch that builds on the brand’s maritime heritage, it comes with 300 m of water resistance, a rotating bezel for timing dives, lumed detailing and a running seconds hand that signals the watch is operational.
The timepiece is powered by a self-winding movement with a silicon balance spring, which makes it anti-magnetic and lubrication free. A gauge at 12 o’clock on the blue sand-blasted dial, decorated with a red and blue “X”, says the watch has 60 hours of power reserve. The date is set forward and backward by a date-corrector.
Encased in titanium treated with a deep ocean blue PVD, the 44 mm Diver (Hammerhead Shark) is part of Ulysse Nardin’s efforts to raise money for protecting endangered sharks. The watch is a limited edition of 300 pieces, and 1 per cent of annual sales will go to help in the conservation of the hammerhead shark species, which are in decline.
Diver (Air)
“If it’s possible, it’s done. If it’s impossible, it will be done,” said Paul-David Nardin, son of Ulysse Nardin’s founder. They were words that, nearly 150 years after, pushed the watchmakers at the founder’s namesake watch brand to deliver the Diver (Air), the world’s lightest dive watch.
A leader in the development of the dive watch, Ulysse Nardin created its first waterproof tool in 1893 and its first dive watch in 1964. It has continued to break boundaries in its pioneering work on dive timepieces.
In 2001, Ulysse Nardin unveiled the Aqua Perpetual, the first and only water-resistant dive watch to 200 m with a perpetual calendar. Two decades later, it rolled out the Diver X Skeleton, a skeletal dive watch hollowed out to almost its bare essentials.
Ulysse Nardin did not rest on its laurels. The Diver (Air), its latest venture in dive watches, is stripped to the bone, leaving 80 per cent air and only 20 per cent material. It weighs just 52 g with the strap, and 46 g without it; no other dive watch in the market is lighter.
Crafted largely from recycled titanium and carbon fibres, the 44 mm skeletonised dive watch comes in at under half the weight of the Diver X Skeleton.
Despite its feather weight, the Diver (Air), water-resistant to 200 m, can take an impressive blow of – and still stand.
The watch is powered by an automatic titanium movement, hollowed out to the bare essentials. It weighs only 7 g, but still boasts a power reserve of 90 hours. The watch is worn with an ultra-light and easily interchangeable elastic strap, in white or orange.
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