Ulysse Nardin has always been the outlier among Switzerland’s old guard, and the Freak is still the best argument for that reputation. When it appeared in 2001, it broke every rule: no dial, no crown, no hands, and yet it told time. Instead of hands, the movement itself rotated to mark the hours, driven by Dr. Ludwig Oechslin’s radical mechanics and the first real use of silicon in watchmaking.
Almost twenty-five years later, the Freak remains one of the few watches that can still stop a collector mid-sentence. It didn’t just change what a watch could look like—it changed how watchmakers thought about their craft. And now, as part of a yearlong tribute to traditional métiers d’art, Ulysse Nardin has turned to enamel to add a new dimension to its most audacious creation.
The new Freak S Enamel editions—offered in vibrant turquoise blue and deep ruby red—bring the brand’s in-house enamel workshop, Donzé Cadrans, to the forefront. Each rotating hour disc is hand-enamelled on 18k white gold, fired multiple times at 800°C, and polished by hand to a mirror sheen. It’s not a dial in the conventional sense; it’s a moving, mechanical component, constantly rotating, alive with color and motion. Only 50 pieces of each color will be made.
Underneath that artistry beats one of the most advanced movements ever built. The UN-251 caliber spans six gear planes and includes two inclined silicon balance wheels connected by the world’s smallest vertical differential—47 parts built with the same precision as components used in artificial hearts. Add the dual DIAMonSIL escapements, a 72-hour power reserve, and Ulysse Nardin’s patented Grinder® automatic winding system, and you have what the brand calls “the most complex time-only watch ever created.”
The 45 mm titanium case keeps weight down while protecting 373 components and 33 jewels. The entire mechanism sits under a sapphire box crystal, giving an unfiltered view of the Freak’s kinetic architecture—part spaceship, part sculpture.
For all its complexity, the Freak S remains pure in purpose. There are no subdials or complications to distract from its single obsession: to reimagine what time looks like when freed from convention.
The Freak S Enamel in red or blue is priced at 153,000 CHF and limited to fifty pieces per color. It’s a watch for those who see horology not as tradition, but as rebellion refined through art.
Tech Specs
MOVEMENT & FUNCTIONS
Manufacture calibre UN-251
Automatic movement
Hours, minutes
Flying carousel movement rotating around its own axis
Two 20-degree-inclined oversized oscillators with silicon balance wheels
DIAMonSIL escapements
Vertical differential with ball bearings
Grinder® automatic winding system, blades technology
Frequency 2 x 2.5 Hz, oscillations 2 x 18’000 vph
CASE
Titanium case, locker, bezel, and case back with open sapphire
Perceived height 13.66 mm, overall height 16.65 mm
30 metres water resistance
DIAMETER
45mm
POWER RESERVE
72 hours
STRAP & BUCKLE
FREAK [S RED ENAMEL]: white rubber ballistic strap with a titanium folding buckle
FREAK [S BLUE ENAMEL]: anthracite rubber ballistic strap with a titanium folding buckle