The Freak S Nomad is the perfect symbiosis of 18th and 21st century watchmaking, showcased through cutting-edge technology, avant-garde materials, and pre-industrial craftsmanship, in this case the decorative métiers d’art technique of guillochage.

AN INNOVATIVE DISPLAY

When the Freak was introduced in 2001, it created a new paradigm in Swiss fine watchmaking. It was a wild creation, a UFO in a land of convention and conservatism. Mechanical watches coming out at the time had hands that showed the time, a dial for them to sit on, and a crown set into the case flank to adjust them. But the Freak had none of these. With no dial, no hands and no crown, it re-set the industry’s mindset. The time was set by a system built into the bezel, and to wind it you had to use a device built into the case back. And it had no hands, instead using the rotating one-hour carrousel tourbillon to show the time.

In 2024, the new Freak S Nomad is the most complicated time only watch in the industry. The 99-piece limited edition watch is defined by its unique movement, which at first glance carries echoes of a fantastical spaceship. That look comes from the architecture of the Calibre UN-251 Manufacture movement, a flying carousel that rotates around its own axis. The movement’s bridges are coated in anthracite PVD, while what becomes the minute hand is filled with luminous Super-LumiNova® that glows light blue in the dark. In all, there are 373 components and 33 jewels in the movement.

A SPECIAL ESCAPEMENT

The Freak 2001 was the first watch with an escapement made of a watchmaking wonder: silicon. Silicon is light and elastic, frictionless, has high resistance properties, and can be produced to very fine tolerances. Today, the use of silicon in watchmaking is commonplace, but at the turn of the Millennium, it was revolutionary.

The Freak S Nomad features two oscillators with silicon balance wheels inclined at 20 degrees and escapements treated with high-tech DIAMonSIL for added precision and durability. These are linked by the smallest vertical differential system ever designed, mounted on ball bearings. Winding is taken care of by Ulysse Nardin’s innovative patented Grinder® winding system, an automatic system that’s twice as efficient as a traditional automatic system, a world premiere for double oscillator.

AN EXCEPTIONAL MÉTIER D’ART

The hour disc that sits behind the carousel movement features a hand-crafted diamond guilloché pattern, a beautiful sequence of intersecting curves, requiring 240 continuous movements over a three-hour period. Because the pattern is the result of one continuous movement, the guillocheur must not lift their hand or even flinch so as to ensure the seamlessness of the pattern.

Produced one piece at a time by a skilled artisan, the painstaking method behind it takes years to learn and perfect. It involves a rare 18th century rose engine, turned entirely by hand, with no electronics and no laser guidance.