If Ulysse Nardin’s Freak isn’t unconventional enough for you, this week the Le Locle-based watchmaker unveils a limited edition of the famed Freak that doubles-down on its dial-free carrousel-movement display with an even freakier pattern. Where earlier Ulysse Nardin Freak X models show the time atop a blue or black movement plate, the new Ulysse Nardin Freak X Razzle Dazzle offers a hypnotic black and white movement plate.
The new Ulysse Nardin Freak X Razzle Dazzle.
Those with wartime nautical knowledge might recognize the pattern from a painting technique employed to camouflage British ships in World War I, and to a lesser extent in World War II. Called ‘dazzle camouflage,’ or ‘razzle dazzle’ or ‘dazzle painting,’ the pattern was one of many unusual warship patterns created to attract attention.
Drawing from its long history as a manufacturer of nautical timekeepers, Ulysse Nardin explains that the crossing lines are “meant to confuse the viewer and make it difficult to estimate the range, speed and direction of the ship, therefore misleading the enemy in regard to the ship’s course and resulting in the adversary making poor target firing decisions.”
Ulysse Nardin’s artisans devised a new movement plate finish that combines three different dial-making techniques.
To create the razzle-dazzle pattern on the Freak X, Ulysse Nardin’s artisans devised a new movement plate finish that combines three different dial-making techniques: lacquer, electroplating or galvanic treatment, and laser cutting. The resulting pattern is essentially a miniature optical illusion on your wrist.
Remember that since the Freak X has no traditional dial and no standard hands, its central bridge acts as a minute hand with one of the wheels indicating the hours. Thus, the entire movement plate turns once an hour to indicate the time. As it slowly rotates, the black and white lines create eye-catching patterns, ostensibly to dazzle the viewer.
Ulysse Nardin is making thirty Freak X Razzle Dazzle watches, each cased in titanium with a black DLC 43mm case and a black openwork rubber leather strap with “point de bride” stitches and rubber, or a white openwork calfskin leather strap with “point de bride” stitches. Price: $27,300.
Specifications: Ulysse Nardin Freak X Razzle Dazzle
Movement: Caliber UN-230, self-winding flying carrousel movement rotating around its own axis, extra-large diameter silicium oscillator, super-light 3 Hz silicium balance wheel, extra-wide, with nickel flyweights and stabilizing micro-blades. Index & bridges with SuperLuminova, 72-hour power reserve.
Case: 43mm titanium with black DLC, sandblasted & satin finish, sapphire crystal back, 50-meters of water resistance.
Dial: Razzle Dazzle pattern (decorative plate).
Strap: Black openwork rubber leather strap with “point de bride” stitches and rubber or white openwork calfskin leather strap with “point de bride” stitches.
Just ahead of Mother’s Day, Franck Muller unveils a bouquet of blooming beauty with the new Vanguard Rose Skeleton. And unlike many floral-themed timepieces, the new watch’s petals are more than an afterthought. The flowers on the watch are actually cut from the bridges and the bottom plate of the Franck Muller manual-wind movement.
The new Franck Muller Vanguard Rose Skeleton comes in a variety of color and case material variations.
This design enhances the technicality of what might be a classical skeleton movement that exposes the balance, barrel and gear train. Franck Muller’s artisans have hand-painted flowers within the caliber, varying the hues to match a rainbow of strap and case color options.
With a case measuring a moderate 32mm by 42.3mm, the Vanguard Rose Skeleton is sized for thinner wrists. This fit is enhanced by the caliber’s trim design, keeping the watch a fairly thin 9.9mm from crystal to back.
Bloom time
Franck Muller has built its own high-efficiency escapement for the movement, which helps provide a full four-day power reserve to the watch. And beyond the eye-catching floral enameling, the watchmaker’s artisans have attended to smaller, traditional finishing details. Artisans have mirror-polished and chamfered the bridges and the main plate, brushed and chamfered of all the steel components and have added fine circular brushing to the barrel and wheels.
As noted, Franck Muller is offering its Vanguard Rose Skeleton in a variety of color and case material variations. These options include models set with diamonds on two or on five of the roses, as well as options with a diamond-set case. Prices begin at CHF 20,800 (about $22,800) for a non-diamond model.
Among its many notable 2021 debuts, Patek Philippe earlier this month unveiled two particularly interesting calendar watches. Each introduces a new approach to full-spectrum timekeeping, and, notably, neither debut is cased in gold.
One, the much-discussed in-line Perpetual Calendar (Ref. 5236P-001), is a new perpetual calendar that shows the day, date, and month in a single panoramic aperture at the top of the dial –the first such display in a Patek Philippe wristwatch.
The new Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar (Ref. 5236P-001), cased in platinum.The new perpetual calendar is thin, measuring 11.07mm front to back, all in platinum.
The second calendar model, the Ref. 4947/1A-001 Annual Calendar, places an annual calendar in a steel case and on a steel bracelet. Recall that Patek Philippe pioneered the annual calendar for the wrist in 1996, and this new model is the brand’s first annual-calendar-only watch not cased in a precious metal.
The Perpetual Calendar
A close look at the in-line calendar display on the new Patek Philippe Cal. 5236P perpetual calendar.
Patek Philippe has previously created in-line calendar displays, but strictly for pocket watches. Interestingly, these were made first for the American market. One example from 1972 (No. P- 1450) features a calendar format in the American style (“à l’américaine”), showing month, date, and then day.
Taking a cue from this historic model and a few others, Patek Philippe several years ago challenged itself to devise such a display in miniature for a wristwatch.
Patek Philippe’s watchmakers decided to design a system with two date disks – one for the tens and one for the units. This meant that the entire calendar display would require four disks, one for the day, two for the date, and one for the month, and all needed to be embedded in the same plane.
Stay thin
To accomplish this, and to maintain a thin caliber, Patek Philippe’s watchmakers built the new movement based on the caliber found in the Ref. 5235 Annual Calendar Regulator from 2011. The caliber in the Ref. 5235 features an off-center micro-rotor, which opens up space for the additional 118 components required to construct the in-line display.
The new Patek Philippe Caliber 31-260 PS QL AMB.
Patek Philippe then had to re-engineer the caliber to more efficiently drive the extra energy required by a perpetual calendar. The firm’s watchmakers increased the torque of the spring barrel 20 percent and boosted the winding power by utilizing a platinum rotor rather than the more typical gold rotor.
And finally, Patek Philippe improved the caliber’s overall rate stability by increasing the frequency from 3.2 to 4 Hz (28,800 semi-oscillations per hour).
The resulting new automatic, ultra-thin caliber 31-260 PS QL boasts a recessed mini-rotor and a customized module for which Patek Philippe has filed three patents. In addition to powering the date display, the movement also powers two round displays that show the leap-year cycle as well as the day/night indications. A further window displays the moon phases.
Patek Philippe is launching the Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5236P-001 in a hand-polished 41.3mm x 11.07mm platinum case. Its handsome blue dial offers nicely gradated black at the edges. It arrives on a matching navy blue alligator leather strap secured with a fold-over clasp. Price: $130,108.
Annual Calendar
The new Patek PhilippeRef. 4947/1A-001 Annual Calendar finds the manufacturer re-designing the ultra-practical complication to fit within a steel Calatrava case for the first time. Equally interesting, the Calatrava is attached to an all-new steel bracelet.
The new Patek Philippe Ref. 4947/1A-001 Annual Calendar.
You might recall that Patek Philippe invented the wrist-borne Annual Calendar in 1996, effectively creating an entirely new calendar watch category for itself (and many other high-end watchmakers.)
Requiring only one manual correction per year (at the end of February), the annual calendar brings with it a convenient, and moderately priced, calendar function to those who would like the all-encompassing coverage of a perpetual calendar, but balk at the high cost of nearly all examples of the mechanical complication.
Until this new model, Patek Philippe has offered its annual calendar in various ladies’ and men’s models, all in either gold or platinum cases.
The new 38mm steel-cased Patek Philippe Ref. 4947/1A-001 Annual Calendar offers a polished steel bezel that matches the new, totally integrated steel bracelet. Patek Philippe has created a luxurious five-row bracelet made of fully polished links and a fold-over clasp.
The blue dial on the new watch is patterned with vertical and horizontal satin finishes that appear textured, as on a matte linen fabric. This assures that the dial contrasts nicely with polish of the case and bracelet, creating a surprisingly contemporary overall appearance.
The watch’s calendar displays are easy to read: Two subsidiary dials between 9 and 10 o’clock indicate the day and, between 2 and 3 o’clock, the month; the date appears in an aperture at 6 o’clock just below a moon-phase display rounds out the calendar functions.
From the back, the wearer can enjoy a clear view of the beautifully finished automatic Patek Philippe caliber 324 S QA LU movement. The watch is nicely sized at 38mm and not too fussy, particularly given its array of calendar functions. It also holds a unique position within the Patek Philippe lineup, especially with its steel case and bracelet. If you’ve been waiting for a steel-cased Patek that is not a Nautilus and not a chronograph, this might be your new watch.
Price: $47,904
Specifications:Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar (Ref. 5236P-001)
Movement: Self-winding mechanical Caliber 31‑260 PS QL. In-line perpetual calendar. Day, date, month, leap year and day/night indication in apertures. Small seconds.
Case: 41.3 by 11.07 platinum. Interchangeable solid and sapphire crystal case backs. Water-resistant to 30 meters.
Bracelet: Alligator leather with square scales, hand-stitched, shiny navy blue. Fold-over clasp.
Price: $130,108.
Specifications: Patek Philippe Annual Calendar (Ref. 4947/1A-001)
Movement: Self-winding mechanical movement. Caliber 324 S QA LU. Annual Calendar. Day and month by hands. Date in an aperture Moon phases. Sweep seconds.
Among its many 2021 debuts, Chronoswiss launches a royal blue version of its SkelTec model, a manual-wind watch with eye-catching contemporary openwork design and coloring that the Lucerne-based watchmaker initially debuted in 2020.
The latest Chronoswiss SkelTec features a blued case and inner minutes track.
From its skeletonized lugs to a star-shaped mainspring barrel, the Chronoswiss SkelTec exposes its components, including the balance wheel, barrel, winding gears and gear train, with a decidedly contemporary flair. Even the bezel on the 45mm case serves up an updated version of the classic Chronoswiss fluted case.
This latest version, called SkelTec Azur, lays out its inner self in a new deep blue framework.
Chronoswiss head of design Maik Panziera explains that the watchmaker created this intense blue case and interior minutes track through the use of chemical vapor deposition (CVD), a modern finishing technique that effectively replaces traditional mineral-based techniques.
The blued 51-part case frames a 166-part hand-wound Chronoswiss C. 304 movement built with an X-shaped monobloc construction that aligns the primary timekeeping components along a vertical axis.
Note that the minutes track, essentially what little exists of a dial, is held in place by four small triangular bridges at the 11, 1, 5 and 7 positions. Chronoswiss then attaches a black central X underneath the nicely contrasting white lacquered hour and minute hands, which are filled with green SuperLuminova.
Chronoswiss contrasts the watch’s blue and black color scheme with a rhodium-plated star-shaped mainspring top, moving wheels and pivoting pins.
If its more traditional décor you seek, turn the watch over.There, through the screwed-down case back with sapphire crystal, you will see a classic mainspring barrel back with a satin-brushed finish and chamfered, polished angles.
Chronoswiss is offering the SkelTec Azur as a limited edition of fifty, each equipped with a calfskin and textile strap specially made for the SkelTec collection. Price: $22,400.
Movement: Manufacture caliber C.304, hand-wound, skeletonized, 166 components, open balance wheel, skeletonized spring barrel, 28,800 vph frequency, 48-hour power reserve.
Case: 45mm by 7.5mm steel with 51 parts, middle part DLC-coated stainless steel, sand blasted matt finish; bezel, screws and back ring stainless steel with blue CVD-coating; bezel polished with double anti-reflective sapphire crystal, screw-down case back with satin finish and sapphire crystal; onion crown; water resistance up to 50 meters, screw-in lugs with patented Autobloc system.
Dial: Skeletonized, matt blue CVD coating, Skeletonized hands with lacquered, SuperLuminova inlays.
Alongside a new dive watch (Diver X Skeleton) and a new chiming watch (the Blast Hourstriker), Ulysse Nardin just ahead of Watches & Wonders 2021 debuts UFO, a table clock that literally rocks as it displays time on three dials, all under a glass dome.
The new Ulysse Nardin UFO, a 10.3-inch high ‘swinging’ table clock with three dials.
We’ll provide details about the watches in upcoming posts. Below we help you identify the new Ulysse Nardin UFO.
Collaboration
Teaming with Swiss clockmaker Maison L’Epée, well known in recent years for its whimsical collaborations with pioneering independent watchmaker MB&F, Ulysse Nardin has constructed UFO, a sixteen-pound, 10.3-inch tall aluminum and glass clock built with a rounded base that allows the clock to swing from side to side like mechanical waves around its axis. The UFO swings up to 60° from its axis – an amplitude of 120 degrees, with no affect on its precision.
The UFO, or unidentified floating object, is the futuristic interpretation of what Ulysse Nardin’s designers, engineers, and watchmakers think a marine chronometer should look like in 175 years, according to Ulysse Nardin CEO Patrick Pruniaux. “We always look ahead,” he says. “We wondered what a marine chronometer designed in 2196 would be like.”
The clock’s imbalance and swinging motion is meant to conjure images of the perpetual movement of the ocean. Ulysse Nardin’s 175-year history, which this clock honors, includes more than a century of making award-winning marine chronometers.
Six barrels confer a remarkable one-year power reserve when fully wound.
Glass and dials
The clock’s ‘imbalance’ starts with a blue half-spherical aluminum base fitted with a tungsten mass. The base and glass bell are connected to a bayonet mounting system, which echoes marine chronometer construction where the top glass could be unscrewed.
Romain Montero, a 26-year-old artisan glass blower who works for the Swiss-based Verre et Quartz, a technical glass-blowing workshop near Lake Neuchâtel, creates each glass cover by hand. The process is labor-intensive, and for each cover finished, two others were attempted without success, according to Ulysse Nardin.
L’Epée requires 663 components, and plenty of time, to build each UFO, with the three trapezoidal dials being among the clock’s most complex components to construct. According to the manufacturer it takes twenty-eight hours to manufacture eight of the dials. Three are placed into the UFO, which allows the owner to display three different time zones at once, each seen from a different angle.
One of three titanium dials on the UFO.
The three blue-hued dials face outward around the top the clockworks, which are fully visible. And among the many spectacular sights within the clock are the six massive barrels that confer an incredible year of power reserve when fully wound with forty turns of a key. Each dial has its wind-up notch, which is also used to the set the time (four notches in total, one for winding up and one for each time zone wound up using a single key).
UFO’s dramatic slow-beat, large-diameter (49mm) brass balance wheel. The size and the leisurely 3,600 bph frequency (one per second) of the balance soothes the viewer while also contributing to movement’s ultra-long power reserve.
At the top of the movement L’Epee and Ulysse Nardin have installed a dramatic slow-beat, large-diameter (49mm) brass balance wheel. The size and the leisurely 3,600 bph frequency (one per second) of the balance is meant to both soothe the viewer while also contributing to movement’s ultra-long power reserve. And to put a finer point on the clock’s meditative rate, you’ll find a dead-beat second indicator just below the balance.
Specifications: Ulysse Nardin UFO
Movement: UN-902 caliber table clock, manually wound movement displaying three time zones, hours, minutes, deadbeat second, 675 components, six barrels, extra-large oscillator (49mm),0.5 Hz /3,600 Alt/H, one-year power reserve.
Case: Aluminum and blown glass measuring 263mm (H) x 159mm. Weight: 15.8 pounds, 75 timepieces
