Hands On With The Artistic Two New Ulysse Nardin Freak One Watches

Ulysse Nardin has spent much of 2026 celebrating the 25th anniversary of its groundbreaking Freak, the world’s most complicated time-only watch,  with a series of new introductions, including the Super Freak released during Watches & Wonders Geneva. Now, the independent Swiss watch brand is turning its attention to the artistic side of the icon with two new limited editions that deftly blend traditional decorative arts with decidedly avant-garde watchmaking.

The new Freak One Guilloché and Freak One Blue Enamel take two different artistic approaches to the unconventional architecture that has defined the Freak since its introduction in 2001. One relies on the geometry and play of light created by guilloché-flinqué, while the other adds layers of vivid blue enamel over an engraved sunray pattern. The superb and time-consuming artistry is applied to the rotating hour disc that is itself a functional part of the movement.

Having gone hands on with both of them at a very exclusive dinner the other night at Oriana in New York City, I can vouch for their beauty and allure. While I am a lover of blue, and the color of the blue enamel is superb, it is the golden hued guilloche version that I couldn’t take my eyes off of. The craftsmanship employed, the three-dimensional depth of and the light reflection off of it makes this watch superb.

The deft blending of innovation, art and technology is decidedly Freak.  When it debuted 25 years ago, the watch famously dispensed with a conventional dial, hands and crown. Conceived by watchmaker, mathematician and astronomer Ludwig Oechslin, the Freak used the movement itself to indicate the time. It also pioneered the use of silicon in a mechanical watch, helping establish the Freak as a platform for Ulysse Nardin’s technical experimentation. Over the ensuing quarter century, the collection has generated more than 35 patents.

I remember when the Freak was first introduced to the world. Oechslin and then-owner of Ulysse Nardin, Rolf Schnyder, came to New York City to present it in person. I sat with them as Oechslin explained in detail the complexity of the movement, and Schnyder beamed with pride. He had every right to. The watch was revolutionary for its time. And, somehow, today it still is a mechanical  — and now artistic – marvel.

On the Freak One, what looks at first glance like a dial is actually the barrel cover, or hour disc. It makes one complete revolution every 12 hours, with a pointer indicating the hour. Above it, the orbital flying carousel rotates once every 60 minutes and serves as the minute indicator. In other words, the decorative canvas here isn’t simply sitting beneath the mechanics. It is part of them.

Two Takes On Traditional Craft

The Freak One Guilloché features a sand-colored hour disc with an intricate diamond-pattern motif. The original design is created by hand by an artisan and then transferred to the production discs using flinqué, a traditional stamping technique that preserves the character and precision of the handmade pattern. As the hour disc rotates, the geometry creates changing depth, texture and reflections. Its relatively restrained sand tones also provide a subtle backdrop for the constantly moving mechanics above it.

The Freak ONE Blue Enamel offers a more colorful interpretation. Its white-gold hour disc is engraved with a radiating sunray guilloché pattern before being covered with layers of vibrant blue enamel.

The enameling is done at Donzé Cadrans, Ulysse Nardin’s specialist enamel workshop in Le Locle. Founded in 1972 by master enameller Francis Donzé and acquired by Ulysse Nardin in 2011, the atelier specializes in traditional enameling techniques. I have visited Donzé Cadrans in the past and watched its artisans at work. It is one of those places where processes that sound relatively straightforward on paper reveal just how much handwork, patience and expertise are involved.

Here, there is an added challenge because the hour disc is a moving, functional component rather than a stationary dial. It is crafted in white gold in part for its thermal stability during repeated firings at approximately 800 degrees Celsius. The enamel is applied and fired layer by layer to build depth and intensity, while the underlying sunray engraving adds another sense of visual movement.

Together, the two watches offer very different interpretations of the same idea: using centuries-old decorative crafts not merely to embellish the Freak, but to accentuate the architecture that made it so unconventional in the first place.

 During a short talk about the new watches, Jean-Christophe Sabatier, product director for the brand, said it was important to show that the Freak is not just technologically advanced, but also that it could be interpreted with some of the finest artistic crafts.

The Technology Behind The Art

Both watches are powered by Ulysse Nardin’s automatic manufacture UN-240 caliber, with 229 components and a 90-hour power reserve. The movement incorporates an oversized silicon balance wheel and hairspring, the brand’s DIAMonSIL escapement and patented Grinder automatic winding system.

Silicon has particular resonance in this anniversary year. Its use in the original Freak in 2001 was pioneering and the material has since been widely adopted across high-end Swiss watchmaking. Twenty-five years later, it remains an integral part of the Freak’s technical identity.

And, of course, there is still no crown. Time is set by unlocking the mechanism at 6 o’clock and rotating the bezel. For these editions, Ulysse Nardin has subtly redesigned that bezel, softening its geometry and making the notches less pronounced.

Both watches are housed in 44mm satin-finished and sandblasted titanium cases and paired with integrated textured rubber straps. Each is limited to 99 pieces. The Freak ONE Guilloché is priced at $80,000, while the Freak ONE Blue Enamel retails for $89,800.

Twenty-five years ago, the Freak demonstrated how new technology could fundamentally alter the architecture of a mechanical watch. These two new interpretations turn the idea around, showing how centuries-old artistic crafts can become an integral part of that radical architecture.