Good Times

In 2004, South Africa won the bid to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The ANC had secured an overwhelming victory in the third general elections since the inauguration of our first democratic government and the rand was firm. Today, it’s hard to imagine either R6.45 to the US dollar or confidence in the ANC. Economists and the public were upbeat about our growing economy. It was the best of times and luxury brands wanted to join the party.

Coinciding with the launch of Wanted, Louis Vuitton was the first to arrive in 2004, trunks laden with finely crafted goods. With LV also marking its 150th anniversary that year, its lavish celebratory dinner at the Saxon is the stuff of legend. Watches were big in diameter and big business for retailers selling symbols of success.

For Swiss watchmakers, the early 1990s had been about staying afloat, re-establishing the industry, and reviving the know-how of their centuries-old craft after the quartz crisis. But with the renewed interest in mechanical movements, the mid-1990s to the early 2000s brought excitingly fresh expressions of time measurement and display. Braver and bolder, a host of risk-taking independents rocked the watch world, combining the traditions of haute horlogerie with extravagant and futuristic ideas.

Emblematic examples of this period are kinetic sculptures such as the Urwerk UR-101 and 102, the Richard Mille RM 001 Tourbillon, and the splendidly odd MB&F HM1. Dérive, a fabulous French word meaning “drift”, refers to an unplanned journey through a city, often guided by the aesthetic or sensory stimuli encountered along the way. While many current collections appear to be a copy and paste of archival pieces from heritage brands — admittedly, with fantastic new calibres — thankfully, there are a growing number of adventurous innovators bold enough to drift away from convention, creating wonder and a reason for us to continue writing about the industry.

Among these is Ulysse Nardin, renowned historically for its highly accurate marine chronometers and today for the aptly named and rule-breaking Freak, first revealed in 2001. In a recent conversation with Jean-Christophe Sabatier, chief product officer at UN, I was reminded of the important role the Freak played in repositioning the brand — disrupting perceptions and advancing new technologies and materials in watchmaking.

The Freak was the outcome of a central-carousel-tourbillon project inspired by an award-winning concept created by engineer Carole Forestier and further developed by UN watchmaker-inventor Ludwig Oechslin. Based on the principles of astronomic timepieces, this “no dial, no hands, no crown” watch featured a case as part of the movement that indicates time through its orbital flying one-hour carrousel. The Freak was also the first watch with silicon escapement, balance wheel, and hairspring.

While this was not the first watch without a crown, it was the first to integrate time setting into the bezel, “giving you a real sense of engagement with the heart of the watch”, says Sabatier. As you rotate the bezel, “you carry the entire calibre with you”, he explains while demonstrating on the latest Freak S Nomad with its “spaceship” Calibre UN-251 in-house movement, “UN’s first double oscillator with a connecting differential and automatic winding facilitated through a patented Grinder system that stores energy from even the slightest wrist action”. “It is very intuitive. You literally have all 373 components at your fingertips,” says Sabatier.

The entire watch is the movement. The tourbillon bridge also indicates the minutes, and the hour hand is replaced by a pointer on a rotating disc below. The hour disc has a diamond-guilloché pattern with a sand-coloured CVD finish. The escapement is coated in hi-tech DIAMonSIL for extra strength and precision. This double tourbillon has a combined frequency of 36 000vph and a power reserve of 72 hours. Limited to 99 pieces, POA, Boutique Haute Horlogerie Cape Town 021 418 1899 or ulysse-nardin.com