Ulysse Nardin has revealed a new take on its flagship complication, the Freak S Enamel, now offered with a silvery titanium case and with the choice of either red or turquoise translucent flinqué enamel over an engine-turned guilloché dial. While mechanically unchanged, the cleaner case design and high-gloss dial plate transform the overall visual impression and intensify the focus on the central carousel, which serves as both the time display and the heart of the movement.

A limited edition of 50 pieces in each colour, the enamel edition is the fourth member of the Freak S family, which was launched in 2022 as a higher-end, dual-balance evolution of the Freak Vision.

Initial thoughts

Since its debut a quarter century ago, the Freak collection has given Ulysse Nardin (UN) freedom to push the boundaries of movement design. While the usually crownless case and central carousel have become familiar over the years, each iteration still manages to feel like an experiment.

The new enamel edition is the most aesthetically restrained Freak S yet; paradoxically, it also feels the most luxurious, trading exotic material combinations for polished titanium and brightly coloured enamel. The result is a watch that feels as radical as ever, but more refined.

The 45 mm case, for example, is the simplest Freak S case to date: no carbon flanks, and no PVD coating. The traditional brushed and polished finish helps the large case fade into the background to allow the enamel dial and starship-like carousel to really shine. For a collection known for its hyper-aggressive styling, the return to a more natural metallic finish somehow feels fresh.

The same is true of the rotating dial plate, which features a new radial fluted guilloché pattern coated in transparent flinqué enamel. Available in either red or turquoise, the enamel adds welcome colour without stealing focus from the carousel. In fact, the presence of a raised retaining ring around the guilloché disc has the optical effect of shrinking the dial, making the carousel appear even larger than it does in other Freak S models, which is an unexpected but welcome tweak to the proportions.

Unfortunately, the press images reveal the presence of tiny air bubbles in the enamel, giving the dial a slightly dirty texture under magnification. To be fair, it’s possible these are pre-production samples, and the final product may be better. Either way, at arm’s length the effect is rich and satisfying, and the central carousel remains the star of the show.

The Freak has never been a cheap watch, historically positioned at or near the top of the range for UN. That said, it’s always offered a unique value proposition, being so original in concept. This holds true for the Freak S enamel, which is set to retail for CHF153,000 including Swiss VAT. The double balance system linked by a differential is typically a six-figure proposition in its own right; putting a system like this on a carousel ups the ante, to say nothing of the Freak’s unmistakeable visual identity and historical significance.

Freaking familiar

The engine powering the Freak S enamel is the same UN-251 movement we’ve covered in-depth before. While visually chaotic, the movement is conceptually elegant, with a carousel mounted to a fixed ring gear, driven from its center, that rotates once per hour to act as the minute hand. Underneath, the dial plate doubles as the top of the mainspring barrel and makes one rotation every 12 hours, serving as the hour hand.

The movement architecture is extravagant, using every bit of space within the case for maximum effect; it’s one of those watches you wouldn’t want to be any smaller. The differential, exposed in all its glory, is a visual feast for the mechanically inclined, an effectively averages the rates of the twin free-sprung balances.

A close-up of the differential, shown here in the original Freak S from 2022.

Without a seconds hand, the effect is difficult to measure; the value is primarily intellectual. That said, the movement is tested to a standard similar to COSC, ensuring that each Freak S runs within 0 to +10 seconds per day. The timekeeping performance is assisted by an especially efficient proprietary winding system called the Grinder, named after the winch systems used on sailing yachts.

The Grinder system use four pawls to wind the watch quickly and keep the mainspring within the optimal segment of its torque curve. Taken together, these attributes make for a singular and intellectually coherent whole.

The Grinder automatic system is shown here in the original Freak S.

Dialling up the colour

While the movement hasn’t changed, the dial plate most certainly has. In the short history of the Freak S, UN has dressed the dial plate in a variety of materials, including aventurine glass for the debut and raw guilloché and crystallised ruthenium for subsequent editions. Flinqué enamel seems almost mainstream by comparison, but it works well.

The hand-turned guilloché dial is engraved in-house the old fashioned way, and the radial fluted pattern creates a stadium-like feel, with the focal point on the rotating carousel. As is common for high-end enamel dials, the dial base itself is made from a white gold alloy with a high palladium content, chosen specifically for its resistance to thermal expansion. Thermal stability is crucial, because the enamel must be fired repeatedly at temperatures approaching 800° C, and any warping would render the dial unusable.

The engraved dial base is then painted with enamel paste and fired repeatedly until the correct colour and depth are reached. The glowing, refractive nature of the richly coloured translucent enamel enhances the look of the signature carousel.

Key facts and price

Ulysse Nardin Freak S Enamel
Ref. 2513-500LE-6AE-RED/3A
Ref. 2513-500LE-3AE-TUR/3A

Diameter: 45 mm
Height: 16.65 mm
Material: Titanium
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: UN-251
Functions: Hours and minutes
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz)
Power reserve: 72 hours

Strap: Rubber strap with titanium folding clasp

Limited edition: Yes, 50 pieces in each colour
Availability: At Ulysse Nardin boutiques and retailers
Price: CHF153,000 including 8.1% VAT

For more, visit Ulysse-nardin.com

More Seiko watches have gone to space than any other brand, save for Omega and Casio, and Seiko brings back the most prolific of them all, the multi-function Rotocall. For the 2025 reissue, the brand has gone for authenticity over reinvention, retaining the original 37 mm case size, Hardlex crystal, and bezel-operated function selector.

Named for its nifty rotating bezel, the vintage Rotocall was most frequently worn on NASA Space Shuttle missions. The remake is available in three colourways, plus two limited editions for the Japanese market, the reissue of this 1980s favourite delivers a heavy dose of nostalgia.

Initial thoughts

If the Speedmaster Professional is the “Moon Watch”, the Rotocall may as well be called the “Shuttle Watch”. NASA purportedly flight qualified the Rotocall around 1983 and, according to Robert Jackson, who maintains a database of watches used in space, Rotocalls crossed the Karman line nearly 200 times during the Space Shuttle program, which lasted until 2011.

Today, vintage Rotocalls are quite desirable, and unlike NASA-issued Speedmasters, which were government property, astronauts paid for and were allowed to keep their Rotocalls. Sotheby’s sold Kathy Sullivan’s watch, which she took to space twice – and once to the seafloor in the Challenger Deep – for over US$20,000 a few years ago.

The Rotocall may be the most faithful of Seiko’s recent reissues; it’s the same diameter – 37 mm – and uses nearly the same movement as the original. This fidelity may be considered a strength or a weakness; for example it uses a tempered glass “Hardlex” crystal rather than sapphire, and there is considerable room for improvement on the bracelet, which still uses hollow end links and a thin-gauge stamped swing arm. That said, collectors seem happy to buy Speedmaster Professionals with acrylic crystals for the sake of authenticity, so maybe Seiko is on to something.

As for pricing, the Rotocall is priced at JPY71,500, which at the moment works out to about US$470. In a vacuum, it’s a lot of money for a simple quartz digital watch, but the nostalgia factor is high and the pricing should be easy to justify for many collectors. Furthermore, unlike many reissues, the new Rotocall is less expensive than the vintage original ref. A829-6029 in decent condition.

Recall the Rotocall

With this reissue, Seiko also canonises the “Rotocall” name. As I understand it, Seiko marketing originally used the ‘Rotocall’ moniker for the control system, which uses a rotating bezel to call the various functions, and it was not the official name of a specific model. Filling this void, collectors often unimaginatively called it the “Astronaut”, so I see this as an improvement.

Like the original cal. A829, the the modern Rotocall’s cal. A824 has a perpetual calendar, second time zone, a split-seconds chronograph, countdown timer, counter, one-off alarm, repeating alarm, and, of course, the time. While the watch lacks lume, holding the button at eight o’clock for two seconds while in calendar mode activates a backlight.

Rotating the bezel cycles through the functions, with the one at 12 o’clock being active, allowing full control of the watch using just two buttons, located at four and eight o’clock.

Despite the unusual interface between movement and bezel, the watch remains water resistant to 100 m; excessive for space faring, but the watch was originally conceived for more terrestrial activities.

Case construction is clearly to a higher standard than the original, as is finishing, which is now mostly brushed rather than (vibratory) polished.

Space Brothers

In addition to the three regulator production models, there are also two limited editions for Japanese market, which are themed on the popular Space Brothers comic series. One has a monochrome bezel, while the other is gold plated, to match the titular brothers’ spacesuits. Fortunately, for those not interested in the source material, the Space Brothers branding is subtle and confined to the case back, so there is little to dissuade general watch buyers other than a slightly higher price and the geographic limitation.

Both come with supplemental branded NATO straps, an idea proposed by the author of the Space Brothers series. The themed boxes are complementary, which creates pressure to buy both as to not estrange the brothers. As as additional incentive, buying both also gets you a branded Pelican case.

Key facts and price

Seiko Rotocall A824-00A0
Ref. SMGG17 / SBJG017 (yellow bezel)
Ref. SMGG19 / SBJG019 (red bezel)
Ref. SMGG21 / SBJG021 (blue bezel)
Ref. SBJG023 (“Space Brothers” monochrome bezel, Japan only)
Ref. SBJG024 (“Space Brothers” gold plated, Japan only)

Diameter: 37.0 mm
Height: 10.6 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m 

Movement: Cal. A824
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, perpetual calendar, second time zone, chronograph, timer, alarms. 
Frequency: 32,768 Hz
Power reserve: Battery life of approximately three years 

Strap: Stainless steel bracelet

Limited edition: No, except for both “Space Brothers” models limited to 824 pieces, 110 of each to be sold in pairs.
Availability: From November 2025 at Seiko retailers, while “Space Brothers” also available through corkshop.jp
Price: JPY71,500 (~US$470); JPY80,300 (~US$530) for Space Brothers editions. 

For more information, visit seikowatches.com.

Ming has unveiled the Polymesh strap, described by the brand as the world’s first 3D-printed titanium watch bracelet. Blurring the line between bracelet and strap, it’s comprised of 1,693 articulating grade 5 titanium components. Designed to fit any Ming case with 20 mm lugs, the Polymesh strap reflects the brand’s growing ambitions.

Initial thoughts

The Polymesh strap illustrates the important function that independent brands like Ming play in the watchmaking ecosystem; they can explore concepts that big brands cannot. Large industrial brands are, to some extent, locked in a cage of their own making. On one hand, they have scale and distribution, but on the other, any innovation must be tested exhaustively to ensure it won’t complicate service channels.

Ming exists in a sweet spot, with enough market traction to confidently invest in the development of new ideas, and the nimble size to take decisive action. In this context, it’s not surprising to see the first 3D-printed wristwatch bracelet come from a brand like Ming rather than an industrial powerhouse like Rolex or the Swatch Group.

The concept itself is inherently interesting. It might be called a bracelet or a strap, but regardless of the nomenclature, it’s intended to offer both the dense, draping feel of a bracelet with the supple flexibility of a strap, made possible through additive manufacturing. As with any truly novel concept, the Polymesh strap likely needs to be experienced firsthand to be fully understood, something I hope to do in the coming days.

The Polymesh strap fits any Ming watch with 20 mm lugs, and is priced at CHF1,500 excluding taxes. That’s either a lot of money for a strap or a decent value for an interesting bracelet, depending on one’s perspective – I’d say it’s the latter.

The first 3D-printed watch bracelet

The bracelet itself is made of grade 5 titanium, sintered from microscopic beads of titanium powder – a laser essentially melts the beads to form the parts. The additive manufacturing process eliminates pins and screws, printing each link in a closed loop, capturing the adjacent link. After several hundred layers of titanium are printed, a process that takes several hours for each bracelet, some manual finishing takes place to remove burrs and install the quick-release spring bars – the only part of the assembly that isn’t 3D printed.

Even the clasp and buckle are formed as a unit with the bracelet. In total, there are 1,693 articulating components including the triangular ‘links’ and the buckle. The production involved ProMotion and Sisma, Swiss and Italian specialists respectively, in chain making, laser welding, and additive manufacturing.

Sisma, which specialises in 3D printing and laser forming, has demonstrated 3D-printed articulating closed-loop bracelets for a few years, though it sounds like the ability to work with powdered titanium is a more recent development.

Key facts and price

Ming Polymesh

Compatibility: Any Ming watch with 20 mm lugs
Material: Grade 5 titanium

Availability: Pre-order available now at Ming online boutique
Price: CHF1,500 excluding taxes

For more, visit ming.watch

Having opened on September 17th to coincide with the 270th anniversary of Vacheron Constantin, a philanthropic partner of the museum, Mécaniques d’art is an exhibition at the Louvre dedicated to mechanical art objects, specifically 10 historically significant clocks and watches (though some of the oldest are merely fragments). 

On display in the Sully wing until November 12th, the exhibit casts a welcome light on an often-overlooked facet of the museum’s decorative arts collection; objects that blend technical mastery with mankind’s insatiable desire to measure time and understand the heavenly bodies.

The centerpiece (literally, as it’s in the center of the room) is La Quête du Temps, the spectacular astronomical clock unveiled last month by Vacheron Constantin. 

For those unable to visit, it’s worth a look at the remarkable objects on display, presented here in historical order.

Exhibition overview

Fragment of a Clepsydra
Egypt, c. 332–30 BC

At approximately 2,300 years old, the oldest clock on display predates mechanical clocks by centuries. Its age explains its condition – a mere fragment is all that remains of an ancient Egyptian clepsydra, or water clock. 

As old as this water clock is, the underlying technology was centuries old when it was built. The device was essentially a flat-bottomed vessel with a hole in it, precisely drilled so that water would leak out at a predictable rate; experts estimate that this type of clepsydra could measure time to within about 15 minutes per day, accurate enough for use in practical, ceremonial, or astronomical contexts.

To indicate the time, the inside of the vessel was marked with concentric rings to mark the hours, and even factored in different markings for each of the twelve months of the year to stay in sync with the seasons. 

Part from an Automaton Clock in the Shape of a Peacock
Cordoba, c. 962 or 972

The second-oldest clock in the exhibit is also a fragment, which is understood to have formed part of a primitive mechanical clock built for the court of the Caliph in 10th-century Córdoba in Spain. 

Due to its similarity to other known Hellenistic clocks of this type, it is believed to have been part of a mechanical peacock that would drop pellets from its mouth to mark the hours. 

In courtly contexts, devices like this served the same purpose as crown jewels, and existed to demonstrate the ruler’s power and divine authority. Its artistic form is another reminder that design and decoration have been deeply connected to horology since its early development. 

Spherical Watch
Jacques de la Garde, Blois, 1551

The third clock in the exhibit dates to the 16th century when portable spring-driven clocks began to emerge for the first time. The spherical watch on display dates to 1551 and was made in Blois, making it the one of the oldest known French-made watches bearing both a signature and a date. 

A primitive device with a single hand, it was no doubt horrendously inaccurate by modern standards, but it represented state-of-the-art technology in its time. A watch like this would have been a marker of social status, in much the same way that haute horlogerie wristwatches are today.

As such, it is painstakingly engraved and decorated, proving that the desire for beauty is as old as time itself.

Table Clock in the Shape of a Square Tower
Germany, late 16th century

As long as clocks and watches have been around, the rich and powerful have sought out or commissioned extraordinary creations to signal their status. The fourth object on display is just such a clock, modelled on a fortified tower and decorated with the coat of arms of the powerful Farnese family of Parma, Italy.

The clock itself is made of brass, bronze, and silver, and was probably made shortly after Jacques de la Garde’s spherical watch. It is richly decorated top-to-bottom to project the owner’s authority and sense of taste. The back of the clock is engraved with an allegory of justice, probably to affirm the righteousness of the Farnese family’s position at the top of society. 

The movement is also exposed through glass panels on the side, which reveal a fusée and chain mechanism. While exhibition case backs for wristwatches only date back to the late 1980s, clocks like this show that collectors have been interested in seeing the movement for centuries.

Table Clock with Armillary Sphere
Pierre de Noytolon, Lyon, early 17th century

The oldest complicated mechanical clock in the exhibit was made around the same time as Cardinal Richelieu’s carriage clock, give or take a few years. It’s a small triangular table clock with three dials to indicate the time, the month, the zodiac sign, and the phase of the moon. Above the clock itself is a decorative armillary sphere that represents the major circles of the heavens, including the equator, the tropics, and the polar circles.

Intended as a didactic object as well as a decorative one, the clock reflects the Renaissance fascination with astronomy and its application in the mechanical arts, a through-line that connects contemporary astronomical clocks and watches to those of the past. 

Carriage Watch with the Coat of Arms of Cardinal Richelieu
François de Hecq, Orléans, c. 1640

This carriage watch was built to be a traveling companion for Cardinal Richelieu, one of the most powerful political figures of 17th-century France, for whom one of the wings of the Louvre is named. The clock was designed to be suspended from the interior of a coach, and had two functions. 

The first was to keep time, though it would not have been especially accurate given the still-primitive state of escapements at the time. It did a better job of its second function, which was to signal the Cardinal’s high status. To this end, the case is lavishly engraved and features the owner’s coat of arms.  

Watch in the Shape of a Skull (Memento Mori)
Jean Rousseau, Geneva, mid-17th century

The first Swiss watch in the exhibit dates to the mid-1600s, and features a striking skull motif that was popular at the time. This kind of object is known as a memento mori, and is intended to remind the owner of death and the fleeting nature of time, something that continues to be a niche theme in contemporary watchmaking.

This example opens at the jaw to reveal the dial. The outer surface is engraved with biblical scenes and quotations from Saint Paul. The movement inside is conventional for the period; it would not have been a great timekeeper but it would have been an effective reminder of mortality. 

Polyhedral Dial
Pierre Sévin, Paris, 1662

Once the property of the “Grande Mademoiselle” Anne-Marie-Louise d’Orléans, this sundial features four dials with a compass in its base. Made long before the introduction of time zones, it would have displayed the same time on all four dials when oriented correctly. 

Not strictly a clock, the polyhedral dial represents the convergence of science, design, and aristocratic taste. Its presence in a royal collection underlines the value placed on scientific knowledge during the reign of Louis XIV.

Pendulum Clock of the Creation of the World
Claude-Siméon Passemant & the Lepaute brothers, Paris, 1754

One of a number of extraordinary astronomical clocks built by Passemant, the ‘Creation of the World’ was commissioned for Louis XV. This elaborate astronomical clock integrates a rotating globe, a spherical moon phase indicator, and an orrery showing planetary motion. 

Part scientific instrument, part political statement, royal clocks like reinforced the ideal of rational order and the monarch’s place within it. Vacheron Constantin funded the restoration of this clock in 2017.

La Quête Du Temps ‘Mecanique D’art’
Vacheron Constantin, Geneva, 2025

Covered in-depth during its official unveiling for the brand’s 270th anniversary, La Quête du Temps is a monumental astronomical clock and automaton built by Vacheron Constantin in collaboration with François Junod and L’Epée 1839. 

Standing over a metre tall and weighing 150 kg, La Quête Du Temps features a three-part structure topped by a humanoid automaton known simply as Astronomer, a gold-plated figure encased in a dome painted with the Geneva sky as it appeared on the date of the company’s founding in 1755.

The clock combines retrograde hours, a perpetual calendar, a 15-day power reserve, moon phase, tourbillon, and sidereal time. Astronomer animates on demand, using 158 cams to perform 144 distinct movements across three sequences, each accompanied by music. 

Appropriate given the complexity of the clock, Vacheron Constantin is staffing the exhibit with specialists to explain its functions and its position in the broader context of the exhibition.

Conclusion

As a visitor to this exhibit, I could not help being struck seeing a contemporary object like La Quête Du Temps given pride of place, encircled by some of the most significant clocks and watches in the Louvre’s collection. By exhibiting a work of modern haute horlogerie alongside objects spanning over two millennia, the exhibit affirms watchmaking as a living art; its history is still being written.

The objects on display also prove that fine expressive decoration is not a recent fad, but has been a part of watchmaking since before the invention of the verge escapement.

Mécaniques d’art
Musée du Louvre – Sully wing, room 602
Open daily (except Tuesdays) through November 12, 2025

Plan a visit on Louvre.fr.