NOVELTIES 2023

Ulysse Nardin Freak ONE

MasterHorologer

Swiss luxury watch brand Ulysse Nardin presents Freak ONE, the latest addition to the revolutionary Freak family of mechanical timepieces.

Ulysse Nardin introduced the Freak in 2001 under the management of Rolf Schnyder and genius watchmaker Dr. Ludwig Oechslin. This mechanical timepiece was an unconventional creation as it had no dial, no hands and no crown.

Ulysse Nardin Freak ONE

The time was set by a system built into the bezel, and to wind it you had to use a device built into the case back. And it had no hands, instead using the rotating one-hour carrousel tourbillon to show the time. Since 2001, Ulysse Nardin has filed more than 20 patents for the Freak.

Ulysse Nardin Freak and its evolutions

Ulysse Nardin Freak ONE

The Freak ONE is a new watch inspired by the first Freak featuring its three signature characteristics: no dial, no hands and no crown.

It’s regulated by a silicon hairspring introduced in 2008 and an escapement treated with DIAMonSIL, a trailblazing synthetic diamond and silicon plasma surfacing treatment first applied to the Freak in 2007 that makes the movement abrasion and shock-resistant.

Ulysse Nardin Freak ONE

The Freak ONE also synthesizes the visual dynamics of previous generations of the Freak, from the notched bezel of the original 2001 Freak, to the open gear train of the Freak Cruiser of 2013, to the legibility codes of the 2018 Freak Vision. The black DLC-coated titanium and rose gold detailing echoes recent Freak iterations, such as last year’s Freak S.

The time-setting system is operated via the bezel. It is activated when the locker at 6 o’clock is lifted, releasing the setting system. Turning the bezel rotates the entire movement, which doubles as the watch’s hands. Pushing the locker back down fixes the bezel in place so the time-setting system cannot be disturbed.

Ulysse Nardin Freak ONE

The Freak ONE’s automatic movement has a 72-hour power reserve. Its patented Grinder® winding system has been designed to capture energy with even the smallest of wrist movements. Its rotor is connected to a frame carrying four blades, which gives the system twice the angular stroke. This makes it twice as efficient as typical winding systems.

The black rubber strap of Freak ONE is made of 30 per cent recycled production waste by Ulysse Nardin’s Swiss partner BIWI. This new flexible and water-resistant strap further enhances the Freak ONE’s ergonomics and wearability.

The black sunray-engraved barrel cover sits underneath the movement and doubles as the rotating hour disc. It makes a full rotation once every 12 hours, indicating the hour via a V-shaped pointer that is filled with Super-LumiNova® to aid low-light legibility.

Ulysse Nardin Freak ONE

The Freak’s distinctive minute bridge hovers under the sapphire crystal and carries the entire gear train, an oversized silicon oscillator and an orbital 60-minute flying carrousel tourbillon. The escapement is treated with Ulysse Nardin’s patented DIAMonSIL coating.

Technical details

Model: Ulysse Nardin Freak ONE
Reference 2405-500-2A/3D

Movement
Caliber UN-240 Manufacture
Automatic movement, 72-hour power reserve
Hours, minutes
Flying carrousel movement rotating around its own axis
Silicon oversized oscillator and balance spring
DIAMonSIL treatment to escapement
Grinder® automatic winding system, blades technology
Rose-gold bridges 5N with Super-LumiNova®
Black engraved sunray pattern on the barrel cover
229 components, 15 jewels
Frequency 3 Hz, oscillations 21’600 V/H

Case
Black DLC-coated titanium case with satin finish
Diameter: 44mm
Height: 12 mm
Rose gold 5N bezel
Black titanium case back with sapphire insert
Water-resistant to 30 m

Strap
Black rubber ‘ballistic’ textured strap (2405-500-2A/3D) Black matt alligator leather strap (2405-500-2A/3C)
Two-tone rubber strap (2405-500-2A/3A)
Black DLC-coated titanium deployant buckle
Rubber straps made of 30% recycled rubber from production waste by BIWI, Switzerland

Suggested retail price
65’000 CHF (tax incl.)/ 60’330 GBP (tax incl.)/ 69’600 EUR (21% tax incl.)/ 68’600 USD (tax excl.)