Ulysse Nardin Sets the Freak in Stone: 15 Watches for 180 Years

The Freak first appeared in 2001 and changed modern watchmaking. Twenty five years on, Ulysse Nardin has paired it with a material it had never used before. The Freak [S Howlite] is limited to 15 pieces and exclusive to North America. It sets one of the most advanced movements in Swiss watchmaking above a disc of natural howlite, and it also marks the Maison’s 180th year.

A House Built on Precision at Sea

Ulysse Nardin was founded in 1846 in Le Locle, in the Swiss Jura, by a 23 year old watchmaker who gave the company his name. It is still based in Le Locle. Its reputation was first made at sea. The house was among the early makers of marine chronometers, the instruments ships relied on to calculate longitude. It won a Prize Medal at the 1862 London International Exhibition, and in 1867 it received its first certificates from the Neuchâtel Observatory. By the early twentieth century it was supplying chronometers to the United States Navy, and more than 50 navies and shipping companies are recorded as having used its instruments.

That background explains a great deal about the brand today. A marine chronometer had to be exact, durable and dependable in harsh conditions. Ulysse Nardin has kept that seriousness about precision and added a willingness to experiment that few historic houses share.

The Watch That Took Away the Dial

In 2001, under Rolf W. Schnyder, who had revived the company in 1983, Ulysse Nardin unveiled the Freak. The watchmaker and inventor Ludwig Oechslin contributed to its design. It had no dial, no hands and no crown. The movement itself rotated to show the time: the carousel turned once an hour to indicate the minutes, and the barrel once every twelve hours to indicate the hour. The owner wound it by turning the caseback and set the time by turning the bezel.

The more lasting change sat inside. The Freak was the first wristwatch to use silicon escapement components. Silicon is light, non magnetic and resistant to corrosion, and it generally needs no lubrication. The industry was sceptical at first and later followed. Silicon is now found throughout high end watchmaking, and that shift began with this watch. Ulysse Nardin kept experimenting, with a synthetic diamond escapement in 2005 and DIAMonSIL, a diamond coated silicon, in 2007. According to the brand, the Freak line now accounts for 35 patented innovations.

Inside the Freak [S]

The Freak [S], introduced in 2022, takes the idea further. Two inclined silicon oscillators sit within a three dimensional flying carousel and are connected by what Ulysse Nardin describes as the world’s smallest vertical mechanical differential. The differential averages the rates of the two oscillators, a solution that is both mechanically elegant and very hard to build. As with every Freak, the movement itself shows the time.

A Mineral Millions of Years in the Making

The new edition’s distinguishing feature is its hour disc. Howlite is a naturally occurring white mineral with fine grey veining, formed over millions of years. This is the first time Ulysse Nardin has used it. Because the veining is entirely natural, each disc carries its own pattern, so each of the 15 watches is unique.

The effect is sculptural. Against the pale, veined stone, the moving carousel appears almost suspended. Engineered silicon above slow geology makes an unexpected pairing, and it suits a collection that has always questioned what a watch should look like.

One Watchmaker, One Watch

Each Freak [S Howlite] is assembled from start to finish by a single Grandes Complications watchmaker at the Ulysse Nardin Manufacture in Switzerland. Most complex watches pass through many hands. Here, one craftsman takes the movement through every stage. The case is titanium, and the watch is fitted with a white textured rubber strap that echoes the tone of the stone.

The edition marks two anniversaries, 180 years of Ulysse Nardin and 25 years of the Freak. It is offered only in North America, in a run of 15.

A House Whose Subject Is Time

Ulysse Nardin started out building instruments that helped ships find their way across oceans. A century and a half later, it built a watch with no dial and helped bring silicon into modern watchmaking. The Freak [S Howlite] joins those two threads, uncompromising precision and the confidence to break with convention. Fifteen watches will hold a silicon movement above stone formed over millions of years, which suits a house whose subject has always been time.