With a power reserve of over eight days, the Freak Diavolo is a devilishly delightful new incarnation of the original.
Speak of the Devil: The Ulysse Nardin Freak Diavolo
Painting was never the same after Picasso; watchmaking was never the same after the Ulysse Nardin Freak. Launched in 2001, the Freak had no hands. Instead the entire movement rotated once per hour under its giant sapphire crystal; there was no crown – instead, the time is set by turning the knurled bezel – and the mainspring took up the diameter of the entire case, basically making case and movement one.
Though Ulysse Nardin founder Rolf Schnyder passed away this year, his legacy lives on in the new Ulysse Nardin Freak Diavolo. The Diavolo is the Freak squared. To the existing Freak, now considered one of the great classic designs of the post-quartz watchmaking era, Ulysse Nardin has added a flying tourbillon. As the Freak was already a tourbillon of sorts – albeit one that defied conventional classification- the Freak Diavolo is essentially a tourbillon within a tourbillon. The Freak Diavolo’s escapement components are made entirely of lightweight silicon, which unlike the escapements found in virtually all other watches requires no oil.
With a power reserve of over eight days, the Freak Diavolo is a devilishly delightful new incarnation of the original – and a fitting tribute to Rolf Schnyder, a man as legendary as the watches he helped create.
$153,000
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September 22, 2011A Day in the Life : Jordi Mollà
