Who's still torn between a carrousel or a star wheel? No more choosing, we want them all!
In the past two years, collaborations in the watch industry have become increasingly commonplace, and the boundaries between different sectors are constantly being broken – from high-end cars, airplanes, and yachts, to well-known animation, film, and game IPs, and even fashion designer brands collaborating with various artists, watch collaborations cover almost every field; if you can imagine it, they can do it. New collaborative watch models are emerging one after another, not only injecting diverse styles into watch design but also making watches break away from homogenization and become more individualistic.
However, most watch collaborations cannot escape a core dilemma: trade-offs. The design often leans towards the collaborator, because to highlight the collaborator's core characteristics, it is often necessary to weaken the brand's own DNA, making it difficult to find a balance. Ulysse Nardin's collaboration with independent watchmaking brand URWERK at last year's Dubai Watch Week completely shattered this predicament. Both brands shared their core technologies, mechanical constructions, and aesthetic genes, showcasing their formidable strengths in the new UR-FREAK Star Wheel watch. Neither side compromised, and neither yielded to the other!
The UR-FREAK Star Wheel watch immediately captivates with its futuristic aura, a hallmark of both Ulysse Nardin's Fantasy series and URWERK's pioneering design prowess. As representatives of cutting-edge, cool watchmaking styles, both Ulysse Nardin and URWERK have always prioritized breaking conventions. The UR-FREAK's coolness factor surpasses their previous works, pushing the futuristic technological feel to its extreme, with every design element exuding a pioneering aura that transcends its time.
The watch is crafted from a single piece of dark carbon gray sandblasted titanium, featuring a 44mm case and a mere 12mm thickness. For a timepiece with such complexity and futuristic design, incorporating an automatic winding function, this size control is truly remarkable.
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The UR-FREAK also continues the iconic "three-no" design of the FREAK series: no dial, no hands, and no crown. The absence of a crown and any superfluous protrusions on the case side allows for a seamless integration of the overall case lines, maintaining a pure and simple futuristic aesthetic.
The core highlight of the UR-FREAK lies in the perfect fusion of the Ulysse Nardin carrousel movement and the Celestial Wheel function. This new timepiece, spearheaded by Ulysse Nardin, is built upon the architecture of the FREAK ONE watch, seamlessly integrating the signature functions and designs of both brands.
The UR-FREAK continues the Ulysse Nardin's signature "dialless" design. What we see as a dial is actually a large mainspring barrel cover. The mainspring directly drives the entire carousel movement. The gears of the bar-shaped movement connect with the outer track of the dial, precisely transmitting power to the carousel's gear train, escapement, and balance wheel as they rotate along the track. Simultaneously, all four gears maintain stable operation—this is the essence of the Ulysse Nardin carousel movement.
The iconic star wheel design of the Ulysse Nardin series is not simply superimposed on the carousel movement. The core operating rates of the two are fundamentally different. Achieving seamless integration requires a deep adaptation of the entire mechanical logic. Previously, the Ulysse Nardin carousel movement rotated once every 60 minutes and could be used directly as the minute hand. The UR-FREAK completely follows the rotation pattern of the Ulysse Nardin star wheel, adjusting the carousel movement's rotation period to once every 180 minutes. Simultaneously, the position of the hairspring is changed, ensuring the movement's performance prioritizes accuracy. Combined with the 0-60 minute scale on the right, this forms a completely new time-reading system. The 360° rotating star wheel at the center of the dial features three striking yellow arrow hands. Each star wheel frame contains different numbers ranging from 0 to 12. The yellow arrow pointing to the right minute marker indicates the current minute, while the star wheel number adjacent to that marker indicates the current hour.
The ingenious core of the star wheel lies in its precise Geneva wheel mechanism that drives the rotating disc. Reading the time simply requires locking onto the corresponding number, offering a clear, intuitive, and aesthetically pleasing mechanical experience. Even though the UR-FREAK incorporates the star wheel mechanism from the UR-FREAK series, it still uses a carousel movement to indicate the time. The movement dynamically adjusts the balance spring position to counteract gravity, ensuring the core advantage of accurate timekeeping remains undiminished. The UR-FREAK fully inherits the mechanical structure and design essence of the UR-FREAK series.
At the center of the dial, a large, continuously rotating silicon balance wheel is visible. The hairspring and escapement are also made of silicon, utilizing Ulysse Nardin's exclusive DIAMonSil diamond silicon crystal technology. This offers advantages such as antimagnetism, no lubrication required, and low-temperature sensitivity, while also enhancing the material's durability. The central silicon balance wheel in the UR-FREAK is 25% larger than previous Freak watches, and its aesthetic appeal is in no way inferior to a tourbillon.
As the flagship Freak model, the UR-FREAK's use of silicon extends beyond the front movement; Ulysse Nardin's most advanced silicon technology can also be appreciated in the movement structure on the back of the watch.
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The UN-241 movement uses Ulysse Nardin's exclusive Grinder® grinding machine automatic winding system, integrally molded from silicon. Through four symmetrical pawls, it sensitively captures every subtle movement of the wearer and converts it into energy, achieving twice the winding efficiency of traditional structures. The introduction of the grinding machine winding system completely solves the previous problem of automatic winding with a central mainspring barrel in the Freak series, perfectly combining technology and practicality.
This UR-FREAK Star Wheel watch blends the top-tier watchmaking techniques of Ulysse Nardin and Heyu, embodying the design aesthetics of both brands. In fact, the UR-FREAK boasts a stunningly beautiful design befitting a million-dollar watch, yet its pricing is remarkably competitive, which is one of its core strengths.
This new timepiece comprehensively integrates the essence of both Ulysse Nardin and Heyu in terms of technology and design. The wearing experience is also impeccable. While the 44mm size is on the larger side, the titanium construction and lightweight feel of only 109 grams ensure that this collaborative watch excels in technology, design, and wearability without any shortcomings.
