Ulysse Nardin Freak [One Blue Enamel]: Mechanical Innovation Meets Métiers d’Art

Press release

October 2026

Twenty-five years after the original Freak, Ulysse Nardin brings blue enamel to the rotating hour disc of its most unconventional collection. Limited to 99 pieces, the Freak [One Blue Enamel] combines a 44 mm titanium case with the UN-240 calibre and an enamelled gold disc crafted at Donzé Cadrans.

Ulysse Nardin Freak [One Blue Enamel]: Mechanical Innovation Meets Métiers d’Art

Press release

October 2026

Ulysse Nardin Freak [One Blue Enamel]: Mechanical Innovation Meets Métiers d'Art

lysse Nardin has made unconventional thinking a defining feature of its watchmaking. Founded in 1846, the manufacture gave this approach its most radical expression in 2001 with the launch of the Freak. Conceived by mathematician, astronomer and watchmaker Dr. Ludwig Oechslin, it dispensed with the traditional dial, hands and crown. Instead, the movement itself rotated to indicate the time.

The Freak also introduced silicon into a mechanical timepiece, opening a new chapter in movement technology. Over the following decades, the collection would generate more than 35 patents and serve as a platform for experimentation.

Introduced in 2023, the Freak [One] brought together the collection’s defining architecture and the manufacture’s latest technical developments. Awarded the Iconic Watch Prize at the 2023 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, it distilled more than two decades of research into a watch faithful to the original concept.

For 2026, the Freak [One Blue Enamel] adds a different dimension to that mechanical heritage. Its rotating hour disc becomes a canvas for traditional enamelling, bringing the expertise of Donzé Cadrans into the heart of the movement.

The movement as a display

The Freak [One] retains the architecture that has distinguished the collection since its inception. Approximately 95% of its movement components are designed for motion, making the mechanism itself the time display. Each watch is assembled entirely by a single watchmaker at the Ulysse Nardin manufacture, a task requiring particular care given the calibre’s 229 components and moving architecture.

In place of a conventional dial, a large barrel cover forms the hour disc. It completes one rotation every 12 hours, with a small arrow indicating the hours. Above it, the orbital flying carousel turns once every 60 minutes to indicate the minutes. Unsupported by an upper bridge, it appears to float over the disc.

The in-house UN-240 calibre therefore performs two roles: powering the watch and displaying the time, without conventional hands.

A refined bezel and an unconventional winding system

There is no crown. To set the time, the wearer releases the safety lock at 6 o’clock and rotates the bidirectional bezel. For this edition, the bezel has been redesigned with inspiration from the [Super] Freak. Softer geometry and less pronounced notches give it a more restrained appearance while preserving the collection’s distinctive profile.

Manual winding takes place through the caseback. Using both thumbs, the wearer turns it counterclockwise, transmitting energy to the barrel through the base of the Grinder® winding system.

The automatic calibre also draws energy from wrist movements through this patented mechanism. An oscillating weight is connected to a frame fitted with four ultra-thin levers, each measuring 0.12 mm thick. This arrangement doubles the angular stroke compared with conventional winding systems, allowing Grinder® to capture even small movements. The UN-240 delivers a power reserve of 90 hours.

Twenty-five years of silicon

The original Freak’s use of silicon in 2001 was a milestone for mechanical watchmaking. A quarter of a century later, the material remains central to the collection’s construction.

Lightweight, flexible and non-magnetic, silicon offers advantages in reducing friction and supporting consistent performance. The Freak [One] incorporates a silicon balance wheel and hairspring, together with a DIAMonSIL® escapement.

Patented by Ulysse Nardin in 2007, DIAMonSIL® combines silicon with a diamond coating to increase resistance to friction and shock. According to the manufacture, the escapement is engineered to withstand more than 185 million impacts a year.

The technology is developed and manufactured at Sigatec, the silicon specialist in Sion, Switzerland, through which Ulysse Nardin has built its expertise in the material.

Blue enamel on a moving canvas

For the first time, the Freak [One] brings decorative arts to its rotating hour disc. The enamelling is entrusted to Donzé Cadrans, the specialist workshop founded in Le Locle in 1972 by Francis Donzé and acquired by Ulysse Nardin in 2011.

Here, a small team of artisans maintains traditional enamelling techniques. Their application to the Freak presents an unusual challenge: the surface to be decorated is a moving part of the mechanism, complete with multiple screw fittings, rather than a conventional stationary dial.

The hour disc is crafted in white gold, selected for its thermal stability during firing. A fine sunray pattern engraved into its surface adds depth beneath the translucent blue enamel and echoes the rotation of the carousel above it.

The process begins with raw enamel compounds, washed and ground by hand into a fine powder before being prepared as a paste. Applied to the disc, the enamel is fired at approximately 800°C. Successive layers and firings gradually build the colour’s depth and intensity. At every stage, a bubble, crack or other imperfection can require the work to begin again.

Once the desired colour has been achieved, the disc is polished by hand. The resulting blue surface provides a contrasting backdrop for the flying carousel, bringing a traditional decorative craft into direct dialogue with the Freak’s mechanical construction.

A full titanium case

Limited to 99 pieces, the Freak [One Blue Enamel] also introduces a full titanium case to the Freak [One]. Measuring 44 mm in diameter, it combines satin-finished and sandblasted surfaces, with a sapphire caseback offering a view of the movement.

An integrated white rubber strap with a “ballistic” texture and a titanium folding clasp completes the watch.