With the new Freak X Enamel Blue, Ulysse Nardin’s independent integrated manufacture merges ancient métiers d’art with cutting-edge technology.

The particularity of the new Freak is undoubtedly its enamel dial. A decorative technique perpetuated and transmitted over generations of craftsmen; enameling is today only used on watches produced by the most prestigious watchmakers.

This technique is rare in all its process, considering the delicate work of the enameller in all the gestures, from the preparation to the application of the enamel. As it requires talent, knowledge and experience, only very few craftsmen can master it.

The Manufacture of Donzé Cadrans in Le Locle, owned by Ulysse Nardin, preserves this excellence know-how. The dial of this novelty is first treated according to the guilloché technique. Thanks to the geometrical lines realized, this first ancient technique applied gives a modern touch to the dial. Several layers of water-based enamel are then applied to this base. Indeed, the enamel is first crushed in a mortar with a pestle and then water is added. Several layers of color dry between them in the oven at a temperature of about 800 degrees and between each layer, only one minute of cooling is needed. Three to four layers of colored enamel and at least five oven cycles are necessary before applying a final layer of translucent enamel, called «fondant». This layer is essential because the result of the process depends on it.