As the name suggests, the Ulysse Nardin Freak collection is designed to do just that, freak you out, which is backed up by the advertising campaign where we see the hashtag #freakmeout accompanied by an image of a shark being taken for a stroll on a leash.
The Ulysse Nardin Freak Vision has been nominated for the Mechanical Exception award at this year’s The Grand Prix d’ Horlogerie de Genève and is certainly a strong contender to take the award.
The Freak collection by Ulysse Nardin is not new, having launched nearly 20 years ago, but the Freak Vision is the first time since its inception in 2001 the collection has featured automatic winding in a full production piece. The basis for the Freak Vision was the Ulysse Nardin InnoVision 2 Concept Watch, which was launched at SIHH 2017, and was the first watch to feature the new “Grinder” winding system which has now been incorporated into the Ulysse Nardin Freak Vision, along with other technological firsts.
Freak Vision
The Freak Vision makes vast use of silicon, with the addition of the Ulysse Nardin Anchor Escapement, but taking it one step further with the inclusion of a silicon balance. The new “Grinder’ winding system is also a first in a serial produced watch, which has been designed to exploit even the slightest movement of the wrist, making winding more efficient. A frame consisting of four arms mounts the oscillating weight which Ulysse Nardin claims to give them twice the torque of a traditional oscillating weight, thus being more efficient. Very simply, the Grinder winding system uses very small teeth which enables the click to advance the teeth of the ratchet wheel in small increments with only slight movement, whereas traditionally it must make a larger jump with standard sized ratchet wheel teeth.
Like all watches in the Freak line-up, you will notice the absence of a winding crown, instead the watch is wound using the case back.
The movement itself is mounted in a tourbillon style carousel which in -turn causes the entire movement to make one full revolution in 60 minutes with the movement itself acting as the minute hand.
The Freak Vision is cased in platinum and titanium with rubber cladding adorning the sides of the case and aspects of the bezel. The movement runs at 2.5 Hz and boasts 50-hour power reserve.
Whilst the Freak collection is not new, the Freak Vision has enough updates to make it a worthy contender in this year's Mechanical Exception category of The Grand Prix d’ Horlogerie de Genève. What began as a conceptual vision has been turned into an incredible full production timepiece which, in line with the Freak values, continues to push the boundaries of modern watchmaking.
