What We Know
Ulysse Nardin marks the 25th anniversary of the Freak with the introduction of the Super Freak, one of the most technically ambitious time-only watches ever created. The Le Locle-based watchmaker has been teasing that they were going to do something big for this milestone, and now we know what it is: a watch that takes the already avant-garde concept of the Freak and pushes it further into genuinely new territory. This now sits firmly at the apex of the collection—a new flagship—and is being billed as “the most complicated time-only watch ever created.”
The Super Freak, which took four years to develop and requires around 60 hours of manual assembly by a single grandes complications watchmaker, comes in a 44mm white-gold case. Notably, it’s slightly smaller than the 45mm Freak S, which is no small feat given what’s happening inside. Built across a seven-plane architecture, the sense of depth is the defining visual element here—this is a watch you can fall into.
As with any Freak, the movement is the display, rotating to tell the time—but here that idea is taken to an extreme. Of the watch’s 511 components, only 13 remain fixed. The twin flying tourbillons—each inclined and rotating in opposite directions—complete a full rotation every minute, while the entire carousel turns once per hour.
The Super Freak also introduces a seconds display for the first time in the Freak lineage, and with it comes a genuinely novel solution: a patented, ultra-miniaturized gimbal system. At the heart of the watch, the two tourbillons are regulated by a differential—one of the smallest ever made—which averages their rates to keep the system stable. Because the seconds display sits off-axis from that setup, Ulysse Nardin then had to develop a gimbal, which is billed as the world’s smallest gimbal, to ensure energy is transmitted properly to the display.
Powering all of this is the brand’s patented Grinder automatic winding system, which remains one of the most efficient in the industry. Despite some components measuring just 0.12mm thick, the system is able to deliver a three-day power reserve, even with the energy demands of a double tourbillon on a rotating carousel. The watch is, of course, crownless—time is set via the bezel and wound through the caseback, staying true to the Freak’s original concept.
The Super Freak is limited to 50 pieces and priced at $393,600. It comes on a grey rubber strap with a white-gold deployant clasp.
What We Think
Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first—it costs $400k, which is obviously a hefty price tag, regardless of whether you think the engineering justifies it or not. So, I want to caveat everything I’m about to say with this: it’s essentially an unattainable watch for most. That said, I think this is a really beautiful, technically impressive piece that does justice to the 25th anniversary of such a revolutionary watch.
The list of “firsts” and superlatives here is long: the most complicated time-only watch ever made, the first automatic double tourbillon arranged this way, the introduction of a seconds display to the Freak, the smallest gimbal system in watchmaking, and more. It’s an engineering marvel.
What I keep coming back to, though, is how cohesive it all feels. The Freak has always walked this line between mechanical experiment, actual product, and avant-garde art piece, and the Super Freak pushes that to the extreme—without losing the plot.
Visually, I think they nailed it. Despite how much is going on—and how much of it is in motion—it’s a very legible, cohesive design. The blue tones, the transparency of the dial, the contrast with the white gold—it all plays into that sense of depth. There’s a real clarity to something that could very easily feel overwhelming.
With “high horology,” it’s easy to get lost in the sauce. More complications, more engineering, more everything—and suddenly space becomes the biggest constraint. The pieces that do this well, and I’d certainly include the Super Freak here, are the ones that manage that complexity without sacrificing legibility or intent.
More than anything, this feels like a statement piece—not in the loud, marketing sense, but in the way the original Freak was. A reminder that Ulysse Nardin, for all its history, is still willing to do something genuinely different. I certainly can’t wait to see it in person this week in Geneva.
The Basics
Brand: Ulysse Nardin
Model: Super Freak
Reference Number: 2520-500LE-3A-BLUE/3A
Diameter: 44mm
Thickness: 16.54mm
Case Material: White gold
Dial Color: Transparent blue
Indexes: Applied with white Super-LumiNova
Lume: Yes (Super-LumiNova on hour markers and indications)
Water Resistance: 30 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Grey rubber strap with white stitching, white gold deployant clasp
The Movement
Caliber: UN-252 (in-house)
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds (via rotating carousel movement)
Power Reserve: 72 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 2 × 2.5 Hz (2 × 18,000 vph)
Jewels: 42
Chronometer Certified: No
Additional Details: Flying carousel movement; dual 10°-inclined flying tourbillons rotating in opposite directions; world’s smallest vertical differential; patented gimbal system for off-axis seconds display; silicon balance wheels and hairsprings; 511 components with ~97% of the movement in motion.
Pricing & Availability
Price: $393,600 USD
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: Yes, 50 pieces
For more, click here.
