This year, Ulysse Nardin once again showcases its expertise in material innovation with the new Freak [X Crystalium]. Unveiled at Geneva Watch Days 2025, the timepiece features a dazzling Crystalium hour disk, ensuring that every watch is a unique masterpiece.
When Ulysse Nardin unveiled the Freak in 2001, it was a real statement in the world of haute horlogerie. This radically different mechanical watch dispensed with a conventional dial, hands, and crown. Instead, time was displayed by the movement itself: the UN-230 caliber, equipped with a flying carousel that carries a silicon balance wheel and escapement, doubling as the minute hand as it completed one revolution per hour. The rotating hour disk, meanwhile, completed a full turn every 12 hours.
Launched in 2019, the Freak X brought this disruptive approach into a clearer, more approachable form, introducing—for the first time—a crown for winding and setting. What remained untouched was the mesmerizing spectacle of the flying carousel on full display at the front, rotating once per hour and showing the complex mechanics directly on the dial side. Now, with the debut of the Freak [X Crystalium] at Geneva Watch Days 2025, Ulysse Nardin brings this mechanical showcase to the forefront with a fresh touch: a uniquely textured hour disk crafted from Crystalium.
Crystalium is derived from ruthenium, a rare platinum-group metal prized for its hardness and brilliance. Through a slow, controlled vapor-deposition process that unfolds over several days, the metal undergoes crystallization, forming intricate, frost-like patterns reminiscent of ice crystals forming on glass. Each resulting structure is unique. To heighten its visual impact, the surface is treated with a warm rose-gold PVD coating and hand-finished with delicate black lacquer shading. The result is a shimmering, multi-dimensional play of light unlike anything else in watchmaking.
The Freak X Crystalium is housed in a 43-millimeter case crafted from black DLC-coated titanium, water-resistant to 50 meters. Beating within is the automatic UN-230 caliber, including a flying carousel, silicon balance spring, and silicon escapement. The movement operates at 21,600 vibrations per hour and delivers a 72-hour power reserve. All components are produced in Ulysse Nardin's own SIGATEC laboratory.
The Freak [X Crystalium] is offered with two strap options: a black rubber strap with a textile-like finish and a black alligator leather strap. Pricing is marked at $42,200 (excl. VAT) or Rs. 44,01,000 (approx.)
This article was first published in Watchtime.com
Images: Courtesy brand
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