Ulysse Nardin launches innovative Freak ONE OPS watch at Dubai Watch Week 2023
Ulysse Nardin launches the new Freak ONE OPS, once again setting new standards in Swiss fine watchmaking. Launched at Dubai Watch Week, this innovative timepiece demonstrates Ulysse Nardin’s commitment to reinventing traditional watch design using state-of-the-art materials and technologies. The Freak collection revolutionized the game when it was first launched in 2001 by doing away with traditional dials, hands and crowns, and the Freak ONE OPS continues this tradition of innovation.
The Freak ONE OPS stands out with its bold 44mm black DLC titanium case and unique khaki green accents. The bezel is made of carbon alloy, an environmentally friendly material with an excellent strength-to-weight ratio that adds to the unique charm of the watch. Carbonium is derived from carbon fiber offcuts from the aircraft manufacturing process and significantly reduces environmental impact. Ulysse Nardin’s expertise in watchmaking is reflected in the Freak ONE OPS’s UN-240 Manufacture movement. Boasting a power reserve of up to 90 hours, this automatic movement is clearly visible without the need for a traditional dial. The movement itself serves as the minute hand, while a rotating disc beneath the movement indicates the hours.
This extraordinary timepiece also comes with a choice of two straps made of 30% recycled rubber, underscoring Ulysse Nardin’s commitment to sustainability. Both straps feature black DLC titanium and a black ceramic folding clasp that complement the overall aesthetic of the watch.
The introduction of the Freak 20 years ago was a shot in the arm for Ulysse Nardin (and the Swiss watch industry).
By the late 1990s, the renaissance of Swiss watchmaking was in full swing. Many Swiss entrepreneurs seized on the current fresh cultural climate, gained a new respect for the industry's tradition and quality, and began to rebuild an industry that had been abandoned by the onslaught of quartz in the 1970s and 1980s. Technology from abroad.
Rolf Schnyder was a visionary who saw the unlimited potential of mechanical watches. Mr. Schneider hopes to carry on Ulysse Nardin’s legacy and reputation for creative, contemporary timepieces and reinvigorate it for a new generation of lovers.
But to do this, he needed a watch that could embody and expand the new energy of Swiss watchmaking, as well as Ulysse Nardin’s growing ambitions. What was needed was an upstart design that could shake up sleepy institutions and attract a new generation of mechanical watch buyers.
Behind the scenes, Mr. Schneider collaborated with talented watchmaker Dr. Ludwig Oechslin to develop a new type of watch. It has no dial, no hands, and no crown. Only one name seemed appropriate: Freak.
Launched in 2001, it was revolutionary. Not only was the Freak groundbreaking in design and engineering (time was set via a rotating bezel and wound via a mechanism on the case back), but it was also the first Swiss watch to feature an escapement made from a new watchmaking miracle material :silicon. Silicon is lightweight, elastic, frictionless, has high electrical 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 century, it was revolutionary. The monster left first.
Others followed. Over the past two decades, Freak has appeared in many other forms and been used as a test bed for experimental advanced technologies. But at heart it remains what it always was: a freak.
Ulysse Nardin launches the new Freak ONE OPS, once again setting new standards in Swiss fine watchmaking. Launched at Dubai Watch Week, this innovative timepiece demonstrates Ulysse Nardin’s commitment to reinventing traditional watch design using state-of-the-art materials and technologies. The Freak collection revolutionized the game when it was first launched in 2001 by doing away with traditional dials, hands and crowns, and the Freak ONE OPS continues this tradition of innovation.
The Freak ONE OPS stands out with its bold 44mm black DLC titanium case and unique khaki green accents. The bezel is made of carbon alloy, an environmentally friendly material with an excellent strength-to-weight ratio that adds to the unique charm of the watch. Carbonium is derived from carbon fiber offcuts from the aircraft manufacturing process and significantly reduces environmental impact. Ulysse Nardin’s expertise in watchmaking is reflected in the Freak ONE OPS’s UN-240 Manufacture movement. Boasting a power reserve of up to 90 hours, this automatic movement is clearly visible without the need for a traditional dial. The movement itself serves as the minute hand, while a rotating disc beneath the movement indicates the hours.
This extraordinary timepiece also comes with a choice of two straps made of 30% recycled rubber, underscoring Ulysse Nardin’s commitment to sustainability. Both straps feature black DLC titanium and a black ceramic folding clasp that complement the overall aesthetic of the watch.
The introduction of the Freak 20 years ago was a shot in the arm for Ulysse Nardin (and the Swiss watch industry).
By the late 1990s, the renaissance of Swiss watchmaking was in full swing. Many Swiss entrepreneurs seized on the current fresh cultural climate, gained a new respect for the industry's tradition and quality, and began to rebuild an industry that had been abandoned by the onslaught of quartz in the 1970s and 1980s. Technology from abroad.
Rolf Schnyder was a visionary who saw the unlimited potential of mechanical watches. Mr. Schneider hopes to carry on Ulysse Nardin’s legacy and reputation for creative, contemporary timepieces and reinvigorate it for a new generation of lovers.
But to do this, he needed a watch that could embody and expand the new energy of Swiss watchmaking, as well as Ulysse Nardin’s growing ambitions. What was needed was an upstart design that could shake up sleepy institutions and attract a new generation of mechanical watch buyers.
Behind the scenes, Mr. Schneider collaborated with talented watchmaker Dr. Ludwig Oechslin to develop a new type of watch. It has no dial, no hands, and no crown. Only one name seemed appropriate: Freak.
Launched in 2001, it was revolutionary. Not only was the Freak groundbreaking in design and engineering (time was set via a rotating bezel and wound via a mechanism on the case back), but it was also the first Swiss watch to feature an escapement made from a new watchmaking miracle material :silicon. Silicon is lightweight, elastic, frictionless, has high electrical 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 century, it was revolutionary. The monster left first.
Others followed. Over the past two decades, Freak has appeared in many other forms and been used as a test bed for experimental advanced technologies. But at heart it remains what it always was: a freak.