Credits: Article and images by Martin Green @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/12/19/ulysse-nardin-freak-one-ops-reporting-for-duty-in-military-green/
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In 2010, the Freak Diavolo featured a flying tourbillon. It doubles as a seconds hand, but as itself is also part of the construction that acts as the minute hand, it also makes a full rotation every hour as well. While the Freak is a rather complex watch by itself, it had to wait until 2015 to get its first complication when the Freak Lab came on the market which featured a date.
With the Freak Vision of 2018, the watch would also get automatic winding, through the special grinder automatic winding system that Ulysse Nardin pioneered in the Freak Innovision 2, a concept watch they presented the year before.
As experimenting is never cheap, neither was the Freak. This led Ulysse Nardin to create some versions of the model that got a (slightly) more accessible price tag.
In 2018, a step was taken with the Freak Out, but it was the Freak X from a year later that really broke boundaries. As this watch also features a crown and a smaller diameter of 43mm, it is the most conventional member of the Freak Collection, and one that can be worn with ease.
This didn’t mean that Ulysse Nardin discontinued the more hardcore version, as in 2022, we saw the introduction of the mesmerizing Freak S, and they continued the saga early this year with the launch of the Freak ONE.
This also formed the base of the Freak ONE Ops, launched during Dubai Watch Week earlier this year.
Can a Freak ever be stealthy?
For the Freak ONE Ops, Ulysse Nardin played with materials and color. The 44mm large case is made from titanium with a black Diamond-like-carbon (DLC) with a Carbonium bezel. This is a material that Ulysse Nardin has been using since 2019.
Ulysse Nardin claims that it is a more environmentally friendly material, as it uses carbon fiber scraps from the aviation industry. This is mixed with epoxy and molded into one substance under high heat and pressure.
While the positive environmental impact of producing a bezel this way seems to be marginal in the larger scheme of things, anything helps. The material has a beautiful texture, uniting different monochrome hues.
It also sets the stage for the military green chapter ring and what looks like the dial but isn’t. The textured surface is the barrel cover under which a large mainspring is placed, giving this watch an impressive 90-hour power reserve.
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Credits: Article and images by Martin Green @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2023/12/19/ulysse-nardin-freak-one-ops-reporting-for-duty-in-military-green/