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Watches and Wonders 2022: The Ulysse Nardin Freak S

Ulysse Nardin updates its already legendary hands-free, dial-free and crown-free Freak with a double oscillator, a technical flourish that deepens its three-dimensional effect while strengthening its efficiency and precision.

The new Ulysse Nardin Freak S.

As Ulysse Nardin’s highlight debut at Watches & Wonders 2022, the new Freak S marks the premiere of new UN-251 Manufacture movement. The new caliber dramatically hosts a new blued “DiamonSIL” (diamond-coated silicon) double oscillator with each balance wheel inclined at a 20-degree angle and linked by a differential.

Ulysse Nardin explains that the multi-gear differential, clearly visible between the balance wheels, evenly distributes the barrel’s energy to the two regulating organs, so that the Freak S’ amplitude remains stable.

The visual effect, centered with a pair of rose gold bridges holding the two blue oscillators, recalls a rocket wing.

Remember, as a carousel the Freak’s entire movement makes a complete rotation in one hour. A broad arrow on the watch’s aventurine movement plate shows the hour while the longer nose cone of the rocket with the balance wheels and the escapement indicates the minutes. The Freak S’ time is set by rotating the bezel in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

The Freak S minute hand.

The new Freak S also marks an update to the efficiency of Ulysse Nardin’s already highly efficient Grinder automatic winding system. Using slight wrist movements, Grinder operates using four blades that connect to the oscillating weight, which gives the self-winding system twice the angular stroke and limits friction. (See additional technical specifications below.) And with the Grinder, the movement is (as far as we’re aware) the first automatically wound double-oscillator caliber available.

The Freak S differential, flanked by two inclined silicon balance wheels.

Ulysse Nardin will make the Freak S as a limited edition of seventy-five pieces, of which forty will be made this year. Every watch is fitted with an alligator strap decorated with a Sport cutout in rose gold color. The timepiece is fitted with a self-folding clasp system in titanium with black DLC.

Price: $137,200

The new movement is (as far as we’re aware) the first automatically wound double-oscillator caliber available.

Specifications: Ulysse Nardin Freak S

(75-piece limited edition)

Movement: UN-251 Caliber with hours and minutes indicated by the movement’s rotation. 
Flying carousel baguette movement: one rotation per hour. 
Grinder automatic winding with blades, flexible guidance and shock absorber. Extra-large inclined double balance wheel in silicon with inertia-blocks, vertical differential. Power reserve is 72 hours
 (2 x 2.5 Hz) (2x 18,000 vph).

Case: 45mm black ceramic, titanium with black DLC and rose gold. 
Time set with the front bezel, lever lock. 
Manual winding possible with the back bezel.

Decorative movement plate in black aventurine. 
30 meters water resistance, sapphire domed box with anti-reflective treatment on both sides. Back: Titanium with black DLC, 6 screws, visible “Grinder” through open sapphire caseback.

Strap: Bi-material black alligator & golden calf strap or black alligator strap.

Price: $137,200

 

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The Watches

Watches and Wonders 2022: Zenith Chronomaster Open

Zenith modernizes its Chronomaster Open collection with a new El Primero movement, a hesalite seconds counter and a smaller case diameter.

The newest Zenith Chronomaster Open.

Veteran collectors might remember the Chronomaster Open’s 2003 debut, which featured a larger case and a multi-aperture view into an earlier El Primero movement. The new watch, which is Zenith’s Watches and Wonders 2022 highlight, is lighter in several ways when compared to its forebears and the previous Chronomaster Open collection.

Now presented in a more wrist-friendly 39.5mm steel or rose gold case, the new Chronomaster Open revisits the well-known three-color Zenith Chronomaster layout but with several new elements added.

Here, Zenith retains the small seconds counter at 9 o’clock (which was absent in the original Chronomaster Open), remaking it with a clear hesalite crystal. The transparency of the crystal allows the viewer to see into purple silicon star-shaped escape wheel.

In addition, Zenith has altered the shape of the dial opening, adding circular openings with chamfered edges instead of the former version’s applied metallic frame with blued screws. The results expose the new El Primero 3604 in its more contemporary grey hue.

Zenith wisely based the new caliber on the recently debuted El Primero 3600 1/10th of a second automatic high-frequency caliber. The new design, which replaces the existing Chronomaster Open collection,  is a nice mid-way point between Zenith’s Chronomaster Sport and its vintage-tinged Chronomaster Original.

Zenith’s El Primero 3604, front view.

With its new diameter (current collection models are 42mm), cleaner dial and explicit 1/10th of a second display, the new Chronomaster Open hits all the updates required for a truly contemporary collection.

Price: $10,000 (steel on bracelet) and $21,300 (rose gold on strap).

 

Gold Chronomaster Sport

In addition, Zenith adds a gold edition of its very hot Chronomaster Sport, which has become a top seller for the brand since its introduction last year. Zenith now offers the Chronomaster Sport in rose gold (including the bracelet and engraved bezel with 1/10th of a second scale.)

Available with either a black or white dial with the signature El Primero three-color counters, golden hands and applied markers. Price: $38,200.

A boutique-only steel version sports a unique, three-color bezel (see below, $11,900).

Also look for a two-tone Chronomaster Sport  (below) in rose gold and steel ($17,000).

 

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Oris

Watches and Wonders 2022: The Oris ProPilotX Caliber 400

Oris for 2022 expands its wide-ranging ProPilot collection with a titanium-cased model powered by Caliber 400, the watchmaker’s excellent in-house automatic caliber that boasts a five-day power reserve.

The new Oris ProPilot X Caliber 400.

The new Oris ProPilot X Caliber 400 emphasizes its titanium build with a satin and sand-blasted 39mm titanium case—the smallest in the ProPilot range – matched with the familiar ProPilot bezel and a sculpted titanium bracelet. The large protected crown is also titanium.

Of the three dial options, salmon, blue and grey, it’s the latter hue that best accentuates the clean metallic look of this sleek debut. But if you’re looking for color, either of the two additional options will undoubtedly turn heads.

Flipping the watch over reveals the titanium case back and clear sapphire crystal that frames the Oris Calibre 400, the five-day automatic movement, itself a much-discussed technical achievement from this independent watchmaker after its debut two years ago.

The in-house Oris Caliber 400 is an automatic movement with a five-day power reserve.

You might be aware already that this movement is both highly precise and strongly anti-magnetic. Oris checks it as accurate to -3 to +5 seconds a day (within chronometer certification standards). Its anti-magnetism stems from more than thirty non-ferrous and anti-magnetic parts (including a silicon escape wheel and a silicon anchor).

Combined with twin barrels and an innovative rotor with a low-friction slide bearing system that replaces the traditional rotor ball bearings, the caliber offers the wearer a liberating five-day power reserve.

Oris underscores its Caliber 400 Series watches with ten-
year warranties and ten-year recommended service intervals, a combination Oris dubs “The New Standard.” If you’re waiting for other brands to catch up, you might be waiting quite a while.

Price: $4,300.

 

Specifications: Oris ProPilot X Caliber 400

Case: 39mm multi-piece titanium with satin and sandblasted finishes. Titanium back with satin and sandblasted finishes, screwed, see-through sapphire glass, titanium screw-in security crown with protection. Water resistance to 100 meters.

Dial: Grey, blue or salmon. Indices and hour and minute hands with SuperLumiNova. 
Crystal is sapphire, domed on both sides, double-sided anti-reflective coating.

Bracelet Titanium with folding clasp with Oris-patented ‘LIFT’ system.

Movement:

Movement: Oris Calibre 400 with center hands for hours, minutes and seconds, date window at 6 o’clock, date corrector, fine timing device and stop-second. Accuracy -3/+5 seconds a day (within COSC tolerances)
. Highly anti-magnetic with a power reserve of 120 hours.

Price: $4,300.

 

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Featured News

Watches & Wonders 2022: Hublot Squares Big Bang

Hublot adds a square-cased collection with Square Bang Unico, a series of five chronograph watches set with the watchmaker’s HUB1280 Unico Manufacture movement. While we’ve seen barrel-shaped Spirit of Big Bang Hublot models in recent years, the new collection is Hublot’s first with four corners.

The new Hublot Square Bang Unico, here in King Gold and ceramic.

The new Square Bang Unico series features a ‘sandwich’ construction that offers the wearer the same deep, architectural profile as most Hublot watches. And, just as aligned with Big Bang designs, the new Square Bang Unico features a largely sapphire dial to offer a clear view into the Unico movement, notably its column wheel (seen at the 6 o’clock position) and the date wheel. Even the hands here echo those seen on Big Bang models.

Up close on the dial of the Hublot Square Bang Unico, here in titanium.

Other parallels to existing Big Bang models include the 42mm case size, the six (functional) screws on the bezel and the case protectors on the crown side and the left side of the case.

Hublot also extends its proven One Click strap-change system with two fixed screws to the new Square Bang collection. Hublot designed new textured pattern for the rubber strap that includes four rows (like the four sides of the case) of raised squares (like the bezel on the case).

The Hublot Square Bang Unico, in titanium and ceramic.

As noted above, Hublot will kick off the collection with five models. Three are in solid titanium, black ceramic or King Gold and the other two are cased in blended titanium or King Gold with a black ceramic bezel. One collection, the Square Bang Unico All Black, will be made as a limited edition of 250.

The Hublot Square Bang Unico All Black.

Prices: All Black (limited to 250 pieces): $26,200. Titanium Ceramic: $24,100. Titanium: $23,100. King Gold Ceramic: $39,900. King Gold: $43,100.

The Hublot Square Bang Unico King Gold.

 

Additional Hublot Watches & Wonders 2022 highlights include:

The Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic Purple Sapphire. A limited edition of fifteen pieces in translucent purple (a composite of aluminum oxide and chrome), which Hublot says is an industry premiere. Price: $200,000.

The Hublot Fusion Orlinski Bracelet, the first bracelet for the artistic collaboration. The 83-part titanium bracelet is faceted and bezeled to match the case. Price: $15,700 in titanium with white dial (below) or black dial.

Four additional colors in the Hublot Big Bang Integral Ceramic collection. Look for new models (below) in Green, Indigo Blue, Beige and Sky Blue. Price: $24,100.

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The Watches

Bulgari Launches Miniature Movement for Serpenti

Highlighting its LVMH Watch Week, Bulgari unveils BVL100, a new miniature mechanical movement, which Bulgari places inside the head of new snake-shaped Serpenti bracelet watches.

One of four new Bulgari Serpenti Misteriosi High Jewelry models with Bulgari’s new small mechanical movement.

Bulgari dubs the new movement Piccolissimo (Italian for “very small”), and it is indeed one of the smallest mechanical calibers available, measuring a wispy 12.30 mm in diameter and 2.50 mm thick.

“We believe this is the smallest round caliber currently on the market, and it opens up a new world of possibilities for us in this collection and beyond,” notes Antoine Pin, managing director of Bulgari Watches.

The new Bulgari BVL100 movement. Set inside the Serpenti Misteriosi head, the movement can be switched for left or right hand wear.

Bulgari launches the new caliber inside four lacquered and gem-set Serpenti Misteriosi watches.

With this 2022 debut, Bulgari re-establishes a mechanical time display within the Serpenti collection. The watch and jewelry maker debuted Serpenti in the 1950s outfitted with manual-wind calibers but in recent years has equipped the line with quartz movements. With only a few very limited exceptions, the Serpenti lines have been powered by quartz calibers since the late 1980s.

In addition to the new mechanical caliber, the Serpenti Misteriosi offers a wholly new convertible option: Each watch is designed to be worn on either wrist.

Bulgari has cleverly devised an interchangeable movement housing for Serpenti Misteriosi that can be removed from within the snake’s head and turned in the other direction to be visible on the left or right arm.

The Bulgari Serpenti Misteriosi offers a wholly new convertible option. Each watch is designed to be worn on either wrist.
The Bulgari Serpenti Misteriosi offers a wholly new convertible option. Each watch is designed to be worn on either wrist.

The movement

Bulgari explains that it builds the new BVL100 caliber with 102 components that in total weigh a mere 1.3 grams. In order to power the hands, watchmakers fit a 170mm-long mainspring into a barrel that measures 5mm thick and 1.47 mm across. And to ensure the greatest inertia, Bulgari opted for a white gold balance wheel.

The wearer views the time on the new Serpenti models by pressing the snake’s tongue, revealing the diamond-set dial. A bidirectional crown on the caseback controls Winding and time setting.

Since 2014 Bulgari has introduced a series of record-breaking (and award-winning) ultra-thin watches within its Octo Finissimo collection. With its new Piccolissimo caliber, Bulgari now expects to extend its dominance of ultra-thin watchmaking to what have traditionally been ‘ladies’ sized models with small diameters and high gemstone counts.

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