What happens when two of the boldest watch brands, Ulysse Nardin and Urwerk, team up? You get an UR-Freak, that’s what, and just in time for Dubai Watch Week
Watch collaborations are not a new thing. They’ve been happening for decades. Sometimes they work brilliantly, and sometimes not so much. Just look at the recent Swatch x Omega vs Swatch Blancpain. One was and still is massively successful, the other, while cool, is not so much. Another story for another day. But when two like-minded brands put their heads together, magic can happen. Freaky magic.
So when two renegades of the watch industry team up to create a watch that is half of each, and perfectly fits together based on the design, architecture and DNA, you get a watch that could quite easily fit into each other’s catalogue seamlessly. And this is exactly what the new UR-Freak is.
The UR-Freak is Urwerk’s UR-100, and combined with Ulysse Nardin’s Freak. Mashing these two together seems logical – the Urwerk satellite hours mixed with Ulysse Nardin’s Freak, but the process is anything but. While the movements may seem similar, they are not. Over 150 entirely new components were developed in order to design the distinctive satellite display as well as the case’s bezel design to bring the UR-Freak to life.
Placing it into an avant-garde sandblasted titanium Freak case makes total sense for the birth of this new creation. The 44mm case is made from sandblasted titanium and incorporates elements of both Urwerk and Ulysse Nardin. The dark anthracite is typically Urwerk, as are the three distinct fluted sections on the titanium turning bezel and caseback. In addition, the yellow Pantone 395 C, the colour of the strap and the accents on the dial are also used by Urwerk.
The case and mechanisms are very much Ulysse Nardin. The bezel and locker are used to change the time, flicking the small tab at 6 o’clock up or down to lock or unlock the bezel, allowing the wearer to change the time on the satellite hours, just like on the UN Freak, and the case is derived from the Freak as well, effectively fusing the Urwerk and Freak DNA together.
Telling The Time Differently
Satellite hours are a unique way of telling the time. Rather than conventional hands with hours, minutes and seconds, the satellite hours “wander” around the dial, and on the right side is an arc indicating the minutes. The hand that is pointing to the minutes arc is the hour hand for that hour, and the numeral inside tells you what the hour is. It wanders around and moves down the minute arc as they tick by, indicating how much past the hour it is. Once elapsed, the next hour hand wanders around with the hour numeral in the rotating disc, moving to the next.
The entire satellite system is connected to the regulation system, just like in the Freak. In the centre is a silicon-based balance wheel oscillator and escapement assembly. It turns with the satellite system and makes a full rotation every three hours. Similar to how a traditional tourbillon or carousel works, the UR-FREAK’s constant change of orientation helps reduce timing errors.
The watch is powered by the UN-241 Calibre, which is based on the iconic GPHG-winning Freak [ONE] UN-240 calibre. It has been adapted to suit the wandering hours mechanism of the Urwerk and still employs the “Grinder” system, which is highly efficient at delivering energy to the escapement. On the back, the caseback can be used to manually wind the watch when out of power, which incidentally is a massive 90 hours.
Initial Thoughts
When we first previewed this watch, it was safe to say that we were excited. Very rarely to watch brands collaborate, but even rarer is when two brands that have a similar ideology and philosophy come together to make a cool hybrid of the two. This is the UR-Freak. When we first saw it, our eyes lit up, and we could see exactly why this partnership has happened.
I can’t think of two other brands that could blend seamlessly together as well as Urwerk and Ulysse Nardin, and when it comes to the watches, the Freak and the UR-100 seem a perfect pair. The watch is lightweight, a blend of technical mastery from each brand and (subjectively) just looks cool with the dark anthracite case juxtaposed with the bright Pantone yellow.
Limited to just 100 pieces, as it should be, this is a watch for those who want a piece that stands out in the crowd and says, I don’t care what others think, but I do care about avant-garde haute haulogerie. We spoke to Ulysse Nardin CEO, Patrick Pruniaux at the launch of the Freak [ONE] a few years ago, and to use his words, this is a watch that is daring and bold, and for those who are free-spirited and take chances. I think we’d agree.
Reference: 2413-500LE-2A-UR/3B
Specifications
- Dimensions: 44mm x 12mm thick (perceived)
- Case Material: sandblasted titanium in anthracite grey
- Dial: Flying carousel movement rotating around its own axis with a satellite time display.
- Bezel: Orange, black or blue polished ceramic bezel, diving scale in white enamel, an inner ring made from polished grade 5 titanium. Blades technology and Ruthenium-plated bridges with yellow Superluminova®
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides
- Water resistance: 30m (3ATM)
- Movement: Automatic Calibre UN-241, Oversized balance wheel & balance spring in silicon, escapement wheel & anchor in DIAMonSil
- Power reserve: 90 hours
- Strap: Integrated yellow rubber “ballistic” textured strap & an additional integrated black rubber strap. Both with a titanium sandblasted deployant buckle