The all-new Freak X is Ulysse Nardin’s most approachable version of the Freak watch line to date.
It’s now available in a smaller 43 mm diameter case (as opposed to 45 mm), and at a lower price point. Plus, instead of using the bezel for adjusting the time (like on the Freak Vision and Freak Out models), there’s now a crown controlling the time setting. Overall, the watch is easier to operate and to read the time at a glance.
Ulysse Nardin’s signature baguette-shaped carousel movement turns once on itself every hour to indicate the time. The central bridge acts as a minute hand and one of the wheels as the hour hand. A super-light balance wheel, made of silicon, with nickel flyweights, and stabilizing micro-blades, oscillates at 3Hz at the opposite end of the minute hand, providing a nice visual highlight and showing that the seconds are moving and the watch is actively running.
The movement itself is a flying carousel movement rotating around its own axis and features an exclusive central oscillator that was produced using technology from the company’s caliber UN-118 and UN-250 movements, resulting in the new manufacture caliber UN-230. The caliber is manually wound and has a 72-hour power reserve.
Four versions are available: titanium, rose gold, black DLC titanium, or Carbonium. The two titanium models start at $21,000. The Carbonium is $24,000 and the rose gold is $30,000.
It’s worth noting that, according to Ulysse Nardin, “Carbonium is composed of the aeronautical grade carbon fibers used to make vital structural parts of modern aircraft. It is roughly twice as light as aluminum and twice as environmentally friendly as conventional carbon composite. This is because, unlike most composites, it is not made of virgin materials; 95% of it is eco-sourced from carbon by-products in the aeronautical cycle.”
The new Freak X collection should open up a point of entry to more buyers – thanks to the lower price, smaller case size, and improved legibility – while still maintaining the unique “Freak” carousel configuration that distinguishes this watch from anything else on the market.
Photos by Ulysse Nardin.
