Ulysse Nardin — Swiss Haute Horlogerie Since 1846
Founded in Le Locle, Switzerland in 1846, Ulysse Nardin built its name on the open sea. Its marine chronometers were once the trusted timekeepers of more than 50 of the world’s navies, earning the Maison over 4,300 chronometry awards and 18 international gold medals — making it the most awarded watch brand in history. That obsession with precision still defines everything it makes today.
For modern watch lovers, though, Ulysse Nardin means one word above all: Freak. Launched in 2001, the Freak abandoned the dial, hands and crown entirely, letting the movement itself rotate to display the time — and became the first luxury watch to use silicon components, a material now found across the entire industry. It remains one of the most genuinely disruptive designs in modern watchmaking, and in 2026 the brand is celebrating both its 180th anniversary and 25 years of the Freak.
Now proudly independent once again, Ulysse Nardin combines in-house movements and cutting-edge materials science with a refreshingly bold personality. Its collections span the avant-garde Freak, the sporty Diver, the architectural Blast and the nautically elegant Marine, with innovation running through all of them — from the Grinder automatic winding system to dive watches built using recycled steel and upcycled fishing nets.
Whether you’re drawn to serious mechanical fireworks or a luxury sports watch with real heritage behind it, Ulysse Nardin offers some of the most distinctive watchmaking in Switzerland.
Website: ulysse-nardin.com
Featured Products
Freak [X]
Link: https://www.ulysse-nardin.com/en-us/watches/freak
The most wearable way into the Freak legend. Completely reengineered for the model’s 25th anniversary in 2026, the new-generation Freak [X] shrinks to a sleeker 41mm case — in recycled steel or rose gold — while keeping the magic intact: no traditional dial or hands, just a beautifully finished movement rotating once an hour to tell the time. Inside, the new in-house UN-232 calibre brings a rose gold micro-rotor, diamond-coated silicon escapement technology and a 72-hour power reserve. It’s a daily-wearable conversation piece — genuinely unlike anything else at its price point in luxury watchmaking.
Diver [AIR]
Link: https://www.ulysse-nardin.com/en-us/watches/diver/3743-170-2a-0a
The lightest mechanical dive watch ever created — an astonishing 52 grams including the strap, and under 46 grams without it. The Diver [AIR] wraps a fully skeletonised in-house movement in a 44mm case built from titanium, nylon and carbon fibre, with silicon components at its heart and two featherweight interchangeable straps in the box. It’s a proper high-performance dive watch that you’ll forget you’re wearing, and a showcase of the material innovation Ulysse Nardin has become famous for. For anyone who wants serious watchmaking with a genuinely futuristic edge, this is it.
In the Press
Hypebeast — Ulysse Nardin made headlines at Watches & Wonders Geneva 2026 with the [Super] Freak, billed as the most complicated time-only watch ever made. Limited to 50 pieces, it features the world’s first automatic double tourbillon carousel and marks the Maison’s 180th anniversary alongside 25 years of the Freak. Link: https://hypebeast.com/2026/4/ulysse-nardin-super-freak-watches-and-wonders-2026-release