Introducing The Ulysse Nardin Freak One Blue Enamel & Freak One Guilloché (Live Pics)

Photos by Nick Kenyon

It's been a freaky year for Ulysse Nardin (sorry, couldn't help myself) as the brand celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Freak collection and its 180th anniversary more broadly. Watches and Wonders saw UN unveil the most complicated time-only watch of all time, the aptly titled Super Freak, as well as a significantly overhauled second generation for the Freak X.

If the Super Freak is the collection's complicated peak and the Freak X is its more accessible entry point, the Freak One – which debuted in 2023 – is the most user-friendly Freak, with its inaugural design prioritising legibility with oversized hour and minute markers plus cardinal Arabic numerals. 2026 now sees two new editions to the Freak One range, which slightly de-prioritise ultimate legibility in favour of celebrating traditional métiers d'art.

As their names imply, the Freak One Blue Enamel and Freak One Guilloché feature dials exhibiting their namesake textures. (Well, actually, both of them have guilloché dials, and strictly speaking, they're guilloché-flinqué, i.e. stamped, but let's not totally split hairs.) Both are notable for being the first Freak Ones cased in titanium, with their 44mm cases also featuring a revised bezel design shared with the Super Freak. Both also eschew any dial numerals entirely.

Also, another proviso: when I say "dials", I really mean the hour ring, as Freaks lack traditional dials anyway. For the Blue Enamel, the hour ring is a base of white gold with a stamped sunburst guilloché pattern that is covered in a thick layer of hand-applied blue enamel at UN's in-house dialmaker, Donzé Cadrans. Firing enamel in an annulus shape is quite unusual, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's more difficult to pull off than a typical circular dial.

The Freak One Guilloché, on the other hand, sports a more complex 'maille' guilloché-flinqué pattern, which is then coated in a sand-coloured CVD finish – a pleasing natural hue. The dial's dense radial pattern cleverly draws the eye to the Freak One's UN-240 flying carousel movement, which boasts an impressive 90-hour automatically wound power reserve, beats at 3 Hz, and features UN's DIAMonSIL escapement and Grinder winding system.

Both the Freak One Blue Enamel and Freak One Guilloché are limited editions of 99 pieces each and are available now from Ulysse Nardin retailers, retailing for A$138,900 and A$123,700 respectively.

The Freak One, which won the Iconic Watch Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève the year it came out in 2023, has always stood out to me as one of the most compelling flavours of the Freak. No one's buying a watch like this because they're looking for an easy-to-read daily wearer – these are statement-piece watches – but the Freak One both fulfils the role of being a usable timepiece better than some of its more outlandish siblings while also giving you plenty of pure Freak fun: a crownless case, Grinder winding, et cetera. It's more conventional than other Freaks yet compromises on its most unconventional aspects less than the new second-gen Freak X, for example.

At the same time, I like how these two Freak Ones juxtapose more traditional watchmaking elements and aesthetics – enamel, guilloché – with the Freak's signature high-tech, movement-as-time-display design. It gives us a taste of UN's historical credentials, which these days are largely eclipsed by the brand's focus on more contemporary-styled watchmaking.

I'm glad to see the bezel from the Super Freak make its way to these Freak Ones, as I wasn't a massive fan of the OG bezel. I'm also surprised that these are the first titanium Freak Ones, but it's a case material that's right at home on a Freak. I do wish the dials were genuine guilloché rather than flinqué, but I suspect that won't be a dealbreaker for most prospective buyers. As for my favourite of the pair, I'd go for the Blue Enamel: the richness of that enamel over gold is quite lovely (although it does come with a A$15,200 premium).

Brand: Ulysse Nardin
Model: Freak [ONE Guilloché], Freak [ONE Blue Enamel]
Reference Number: 2403-500LE-4A-GUI/3A, 2403-500LE-3AE-BLUE/3A
Diameter: 44mm
Thickness: 13.3mm
Case Material: Titanium
Hour Disc: Sand coloured CVD guilloché-flinqué white gold or guilloché white gold hand-covered with blue enamel by Donzé
Cadrans
Lume: Super-LumiNova on hour and minute indicators
Water Resistance: 30 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Integrated white rubber “ballistic” textured strap with grey titanium deployant buckle

Calibre: UN-240, in-house
Functions: Hours and minutes
Power Reserve: 90 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 3 Hz
Jewels: 15
Chronometer Certified: No
Additional Details: Flying carousel movement rotating around its own axis; silicon balance wheel and hairspring; DIAMonSIL escapement; Grinder winding system (blades technology); 229 components with ~95% of the movement in motion

Price: A$123,700/NZ$148,000 (Freak [ONE Guilloché]), $138,900/NZ$166,200 (Freak [ONE Blue Enamel])
Availability: Now, exclusively available in Australia and New Zealand via The Hour Glass
Limited Edition: Yes, 99 pieces for each model

For more, click here.