As the saying goes, out with the old, in with the new. But why not keep both the old and the new around?
That’s what Ulysse Nardin has done with its latest timepiece. The new Freak X Gold Enamel, the latest addition to the watchmaker’s visually striking Freak collection, combines both 17th-century and 21st-century watchmaking techniques to make a rather stunning piece.
As with the original Freak watch, this new creation doesn’t have a traditional dial—no hands, no dial, and no crown to be found here. Instead, you’re getting Ulysse Nardin’s flying carousel complication to display the time via the rotating movement; the hours are shown by a pointer on the disc, while the movement itself turns 360 degrees each hour to indicate the minutes. The movement appears to “fly” over the hour disc, since it’s held without an upper bridge. Made from 22-karat rose gold, the guilloche-flinque rotating disc is the first in the Freak X line, showing off a sunray pattern and coated in a deep-blue enamel. (As for the setting the time, that’s done via a system in the bezel that’s wound by a mechanism in the caseback.)
And that hour disc, as you might expect, is rather challenging to bring to life. That’s where the artisans at Donez Cadrans, Ulysse Nardin’s enameling atelier, step in. The intricate technique of enameling dates back 3,000 years, when it was used in ancient Egyptian and Chinese cultures as well as the Roman Empire. Now, the creatives at the atelier have mastered the art for today. Throughout the extensive process of crafting the Freak X Gold Enamel, each disc alone takes about eight hours to complete. The enameling process also means that each of these rotating discs is a true one-off—so no one piece is the same.
The Freak X Gold Enamel, with a 43 mm case in blue PVD titanium, has a 72-hour power reserve and plenty of other rose-gold touches, as can be seen on the side parts of the case. Ulysse Nardin paired the métiers d’art with a blue alligator strap. The model also has a water resistance of 164 feet (50 meters).
Of course, all of that work makes for a rather elusive creation: Only 120 examples of the highly exclusive timepiece are up for grabs. You can learn more about the Freak X Gold Enamel, retailing for $48,500 (excluding VAT) on Ulysse Nardin’s website.
