Ulysse Nardin’s
BY MICHAEL THOMPSON
Latest Freak is NeXt
After years of silicon micro-component research and
development, Ulysse Nardin debuts a concept watch regulated by
a dramatic three-dimensional ‘flying’ silicon-blade oscillator.
FOLLOWING UP ON LAST YEAR’S ULTRA-EFFICIENT winding system
called Grinder, and just a few years after it launched a silicon-blade Anchor
Escapement, Le Locle-based Ulysse Nardin this spring again showcases its
long-exercised cutting-edge technological focus with the Freak NeXt, a new
Freak with a prototype oscillator that utilizes the inherent power transfer of
flexing silicon blades.
This latest Freak combines nearly two decades of silicon micro-component
research and development into a watch regulated by a dramatic
three-dimensional ‘flying’ oscillator that operates using elastic silicon blades.
This new oscillator eliminates the need for pivots and jewels, thus removing
traditional friction from the entire regulating process. Because the only
friction remaining here is the air, operating efficiency is vastly improved,
contributing to the impressive seventy-hour power reserve of the movement.
Ulysse Nardin’s NeXt oscillating device (developed by Stéphane Von
Gunten, Ulysse Nardin’s research and innovation director) essentially creates
a virtual pivot point. It’s a suspended beating heart that “levitates” without a
balance-cock (balance bridge), connecting only via impulse to the also oil-free,
silicon-blade Anchor Escapement.
A close look into the oscillator itself shows four layers of blades (consisting
of thirty-two micro blades) and a solid layer that serves as a flywheel. The
48 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SPRING 2019
blades are connected to one another without contact to the mainplate,
forming sixteen triangles superimposed in four parallel layers.
This experimental oscillator beats quickly, at 12 Hz (86,400 vph), triple the
standard frequency. The watch also operates with no errors imposed by the
effects of gravity. With the low mass of all the movement’s silicon components,
Ulysse Nardin detects no difference in amplitude between the horizontal and
vertical positions of the watch.
WHITE CASE
Ulysse Nardin has framed this silicon-based technology within an all-white
45mm platinum and titanium Freak case. The movement itself is touched with
Superluminova for particularly dramatic nighttime viewing, and depending
on the observer’s angle, the silicon oscillator appears with blue, purple or
green reflections.
The new Freak NeXt also features a white Superluminova bezel, white
Superluminova shafts at the sides, and a white automatic winding support on
the back of the watch (where you’ll find the ultra-efficient Grinder winding
system). As a demonstration prototype, the watch is not for sale, but Ulysse
Nardin expects to incorporate the three-dimensional mechanism into
commercial products by the end of the year.