Established in 1846, Ulysse Nardin timepieces reflect quality and mechanical innovation. Named after its founder, Ulysse Nardin, a watchmaker of excellence, the brand with 150 years of history behind it, has 18 international gold medals and 4,300 first prizes in chronometric excellence to its credit.

Known for its competence in marine chronometers, which set the standards for reliability and accuracy, the brand's chronometers are still sought after by collectors around the world and have been a part of the navies of 50 countries. In 1983, Ulysse Nardin was bought over by Rolf W. Schnyder. Around the same time, a unique partnership was formed between Schnyder and Dr.Ludwig Oechslin, a scientist, inventor, historian and watch-maker. And to this day, the dynamics of this partnership exsists to create timepieces that never existed before.

Today the brand continues to manufacture timepieces of the highest technical level in limited editions which are offered by no other watchmaker. The renowned trilogy of Astrolabium, Planetarium and Tellurium; the Jaquemart Minute Repeater and the Hour Striker San Marco are examples of the brand's exquisite craftsmanship.

In 2001, Ulysse Nardin introduced the model, 'Freak' which was welcomed by watch enthusiasts and the consumers alike. The Carrousel Tourbillion and the Dual Direct Escapement devised by

Dr. Ludwig Oechslin were innovations never seen before.
A brain child of Dr. Oechslin, the 7-day Carrousel Tourbillion has no hands, dial nor crown and is an amazingly simple escapement that needs no lubrication. The model is called ‘Freak’ because the brand believes that everything in this movement is so radically different. The Dual Direct Escapement is an ode to new-age technology. It does away with the major elements of a traditional anchor escapement. There are two plasma-engraved wheels at the centre of the Dual Direct Escapement which transmit the energy directly to the balance. They rotate, each in one direction and cooperate alternatively with the balance. The ‘Freak’ indicates time by the rotation of the movement. The arrow decorating the main spring barrel indicates the hour while the upper bridge, fitted with the balance wheel assembly and its revolutionary Dual Ulysse Escapement, revolves once every hour indicating the minutes. The sapphire crystal of the watchcase that pivots in the center axe makes a stunning sight. While telling the time during its 60 minutes, the upper bridge succeeds in bringing forth the mechanics of keeping time.

UN believes in evolution. This year, therefore, the ‘Freak’ returns with some major improvisations with the Dual Ulysse Escapement that allows a balance frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The Dual Ulysse Escapement has 18 active teeth each as compared to the previous five active wheels in the Dual Direct Escapement, thus increasing the flow of energy. For reduced friction and facilitating, the winding of the main spring, the winding mechanism in the case is stabilised with a ball-bearing system.
The innovative principle of the Dual Ulysse Escapement permits a dramatic reduction of the lift angle from the

usual 50-52 degrees (Swiss Anchor and Dual Direct) down to approximately 30 degrees. The lift angle is the arc run by the balance between its first contact with the escapement and its last contact. The shorter the arc, lower is the disturbance of the natural oscillation of the balance. The main spring is located beneath the movement and is spread across the entire diameter of the case. A ball-bearing consisting of 196 balls maintains the barrel in a very stable position, minimising friction.

The main spring's extra large size provides the ‘Freak 28'800V/h’ with a power reserve of one week. The case of the bezel is fitted with a creative lock system that prevents the time adjustor from unintending movements, thereby keeping a 'close watch' on the wearer's time. As it is impossible to simply open a ‘Freak’, a lot of care is taken to adjust the ‘Freak’ movement before it is encased. The model is based on the theory that the higher the beat frequency, higher the possible accuracy that can be reached, though it remains to be seen if this theory will hold in practice.

Produced in 18-carat white and rose gold, the ‘Freak’ is available with an alligator leather strap that has an 18-carat folding gold buckle. While in other Tourbillons, the balance wheel assembly moves once every minute, in ‘Freak 28'800V/h’, the entire movement including the balance wheel assembly rotates once in an hour in the watch case.

One wonders about the thought behind setting up of a complicated mechanism when so much can be achieved with simple, ingenious designs. The ‘Freak’ is not only a new beginning in the horological story, but also the testing ground for innovative technology and materials used. The Dual Direct Escapement do not need lubrication of any sorts for its movements, and this was possible because of the two escapement wheels etched in silicone that gave watch lovers a service-free mechanical timepiece.

But silicone wheels cause magnetism problems and so the new ‘Freak 28'800V/h’ comes with escapement wheels manufactured from a new nickel alloy which is not stamped or spark eroded, but created by galvanic deposition, which offers a higher degree of precision. The ‘Freak’, which became famous for its innovative mechanisms, has sure set the trend for more simplistic horological models. And only time will tell whether other brands soon follow suit.

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