n 2025, Ulysse Nardin unveiled several timepieces serving as manifestos of its innovative spirit: the Freak [X Crystalium], which pushes the “superwatch” concept up a notch by combining a flying carousel with high-tech decoration based on ruthenium crystallisation; the Freak [S Enamel] representing the mechanical pinnacle of the Freak line, now for the first time featuring red or blue guilloché-flinqué enamel hours discs; the Blast [Free Wheel Maillechort], a veritable panoramic stage dedicated to flying mechanisms; as well as the Diver [Air], the world’s lightest mechanical diving watch serving as a laboratory for recycled and upcycled materials.

Matthieu Haverlan, Managing Director of Ulysse Nardin

Through these creations, the Le Locle-based company affirms its unique positioning as an independent Manufacture that champions both technical radicalism (silicon, DIAMonSIL, double oscillators, miniaturised differentials) and the continuity of traditional crafts (enamel, guilloché, maillechort (aka nickel silver), hand finishing), with a strong focus on sustainability issues. Matthieu Haverlan explained this approach in detail.

Europa Star: In 2024, you took over the management of Ulysse Nardin after several years with the brand. Since then, you have been engaged in what you describe as “introspective work”. What do you mean by that?

Matthieu Haverlan: Before talking about innovation, we need to understand who we are. Over the last few months, we have been working hard on our identity. While Ulysse Nardin has always been an ideas lab, we needed to give fresh meaning to this creativity. We defined our mission around a simple idea: to inspire innovation and human ambition. This does not mean doing things differently just for the sake of it, but instead thinking like a watchmaker dedicated to progress. It has been in our DNA for over 150 years. This work has enabled us to clearly identify our platforms of expression – Freak, Blast, Diver – and to push each of them in a strong direction, be it experimental mechanics, high complications or responsible performance.

Freak [X Crystalium]: Freak X with UN-230 flying carousel and crystallised ruthenium hours disc, each Crystalium structure being unique by nature.

When one thinks of innovation at Ulysse Nardin, the Freak line immediately springs to mind...

The Freak remains the purest embodiment of our spirit. Since the 2001 Freak that was the first watch to incorporate silicon, each generation has pushed the technical and aesthetic boundaries a little further. The Freak One – that won an award at the GPHG – is in my opinion the watchmaking icon of the last 25 years.

This year, we presented the Freak X in Crystalium: an experimental piece with a titanium case and a uniquely glittering dial, achieved through a crystallisation process on a glass surface. While the result is almost supernatural, it is above all a colossal technical challenge involving a high waste rate, with production limited to just 50 of these watches.

What exactly are you trying to express with this Freak [X Crystalium]?

With the Freak [X Crystalium], we are pushing the idea of a fusion between cutting-edge mechanics and high-tech decorative arts. Resulting from a slow process of ruthenium crystallisation, the Crystalium hours disc makes each timepiece unique. Beating beneath it, the Manufacture UN- 230 calibre – equipped with a flying carousel and silicon escapement developed at Sigatec – reminds us that the Freak remains first and foremost a horological research watch, not a mere exercise in style.

Freak [S Enamel]: Freak S with two inclined oscillators, vertical micro-differential, Grinder® winding system and guilloché-flinqué enamel hours disc.

You have also unveiled the Freak [S Enamel]. Where does it fit into the Freak galaxy?

The Freak S is the most complex “time-only” watch we have ever created, with two inclined silicon balance wheels, the world’s smallest vertical mechanical differential and our Grinder^® winding system. With the Freak [S Enamel], we are adding a dimension of artistic craftsmanship: two 50-piece limited editions, with deep red or turquoise blue enamel hours discs featuring guilloché and flinqué decorations done by Donzé Cadrans.

What role do crafts play at Ulysse Nardin today?

They are essential for anchoring our innovations in the long term. Alongside our silicon laboratories, we have Donzé Cadrans, one of the great Swiss names in the realm of enamelling. On the Freak [S Enamel], the hours disc is not merely decorative: it is a guilloché gold timepiece on which the enamelling involving several firings represents an integral part of the kinematics. While this is an additional constraint for the artisans, the result – in terms of colour, depth and permanence – more than justifies the effort.

You also like to talk about “simplifying complications”. Can you tell us more about that?

Let’s take the example of our Perpetual Ludwig perpetual calendar launched nearly 30 years ago. At the time, we dared to change the mechanism-adjustment direction and above all enabled adjustment via the crown in both directions. While it may seem trivial, it was in fact revolutionary. We always seek to make progress useful and sustainable. Innovation is only valuable if it improves the movement’s life and durability.

Ulysse Nardin also stands out for its regained independence. What does that imply today?

It’s an essential step. After eight years as part of the Kering group, we took back control of our destiny through a management buyout – a fairly rare occurrence in Swiss watchmaking. This gives us both freedom and responsibility and enables us to remain true to our original spirit, that of a start-up since 1846. We don’t want to grow at any cost, but rather to do things in ever-better and authentic ways.

Blast [Free Wheel Maillechort]: High-complication UN-176 movement featuring a flying tourbillon with constant escapement, double flying barrel and nickel silver dial beneath a sapphire crystal dome.

Another piece unveiled this year is the Blast [Free Wheel Maillechort]. Can you tell us about it?

It embodies our taste for mechanical staging. The UN-176 calibre – featuring a flying tourbillon with Ulysse Anchor constant-force escapement and double flying barrel offering a seven-day power reserve – appears to be literally floating beneath a large sapphire crystal “ultra-glass box”. The dial in nickel silver – a traditional alloy that develops a patina over time – adds a warm touch to this highly technical architecture.

You emphasise consistency between products, marketing and communication. What does this consistency look like today?

It can be summed up in one word: sincerity. We don’t try to mimic the industry’s codes. While our maritime roots are real, our spirit is one of exploration in the broadest sense of the term. This is why we support initiatives such as the Gumball 3000 Rally, rather than F1: a freer, less regimented world where motorheads, boldness and creativity meet and mingle.

We also observe what works in digital culture: our most engaging content is often that which most closely relates to people. By way of example, a collaboration with pastry chef Amaury Guichon – who created giant chocolate sculptures inspired by the Freak – generated over 320 million views! This proves that there are other ways to make people love Fine Watchmaking.

Within this context of innovation, what role do you attribute to artificial intelligence?

We are not among those who are “fanatics” about AI! I believe it has its place, but not in watchmaking. At Ulysse Nardin, design remains human-driven. On the other hand, AI can be useful in semantics, structuring or administrative processing. The most important thing is to keep emotion at the heart of the object.

The Diver [Air] Seddiqi 75th Anniversary is a 30-piece limited edition of the Diver [Air]: a skeletonised automatic diving watch in recycled titanium and upcycled composites equipped with Calibre UN-374, weighing 52 g and water-resistant to 200 m, with a bright blue Seddiqi signature and “75th Anniversary” personalisation on the back.

Ulysse Nardin has also taken a stand on sustainability. How do you combine performance and responsibility?

When we developed the Diver [Air] – our recycled titanium diving watch – we could have presented it as “the most sustainable watch on the market”, but we refused. What we wanted was the best-performing watch – a mere 52 grams on the wrist – and it turned out to be the most responsible too. One can go a long way in terms of performance without sacrificing a sense of environmental responsibility. The Diver [Air] can withstand 5,000 Gs and some of its components come from the foils of Imoca sailing boats or plastics recovered from the ocean and recycled. This project is part of our approach, which is characterised by “doing before saying”. We will be celebrating our 180th anniversary next year, driven as ever by the desire to provoke, experiment and explore. If something hasn’t been done yet, Ulysse Nardin will do it.

A bombshell has just been dropped:the UR-FREAK is a watch that combines the technological and performance prowess of the most advanced Ulysse Nardin Freak timepiece, with a “satellite” display system made popular by the esteemed Genevan watchmaker Urwerk Although the UR-FREAK is a watch being released in 2025, its story goes back nearly three decades to the beginning of today’s mature and highly coveted modern luxury watch era.