Important Collectors’ Wristwatches, P...

New York - The Fuller Building, Mar 28, 2007

LOT 67

"The Freak" Ulysse Nardin, Le Locle, "The Freak", No. 249, Ref. 016-88. Made in circa 2002. Very fine and unusual, 18K pink gold gentleman's wristwatch with 60-minute revolving movement, Ludwig Oechslin's dual direct escapement, 7-day power reserve and Ulysse Nardin 18K pink gold deployant buckle. Accompanied by a fitted box and instruction booklet.

USD 25,000 - 30,000

EUR 20,000 - 23,000

Sold: USD 47,200

C. Three-body, solid, polished, stepped curled lugs, ridged bidirectional rotating bezel to set the time, transparent rotating case back to wind the watch, the band with an applied brushed plaque engraved "No. 249", sapphire crystals. D. Black, chapter ring with gold radial Arabic numerals. Movement parts with brushed and polished gold hour and minute pointers as hands. M. Cal. UN 01, gilt bridges, with blued steel screws, rotating from the center, the lower bridge indicates the hour while the upper bridge fitted with the linear wheel train and escapement assembly, revolves once every hour indicating the minutes, the center axis pivoted in the sapphire crystal, 32 jewels, dual direct escapement with 2 crystal silicon impulse wheels, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring, mainspring underneath the movement spanning the case diameter. Dial and case signed. Diam. 43 mm. Thickness 9 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 2

Very good
Movement: 1

As new
Dial: 1-01

As new

HANDS Original

Notes

?The Freak? is the brainchild of Dr. Ludwig Oechslin, as interpreted by Ulysse Nardin's research and production team. "The Freak" is a ?tourbillon? of 7-day duration, without hands or winding crown. In most tourbillons, the balance wheel assembly rotates once per minute in a cage. In the "Freak", the whole movement rotates once per hour, the drive wheel meshing with teeth around the whole circumference of the dial, a similar arrangement mounted below driving the hour wheel. The mainspring is located underneath the movement and spans the entire diameter of the case. The extra large size of the mainspring provides the watch with a power reserve of one week. Winding is accomplished by turning the back of the case anti-clockwise. The Dual Direct Escapement invented by Dr. Ludwig Oechslin, astronomer, mathematician and master watchmaker. Among his many inventions for Ulysse Nardin are the "Perpetual Ludwig" and the "Trilogy" of astronomical wristwatches. The Dual Direct Escapement consists of 2 impulse wheels transmitting the energy directly to the balance wheel; they each rotate in the same direction and connect alternately with the balance. Using the technology of the CSEM (Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique), the 2 wheels at the center of the Dual Direct Escapement are plasma engraved out of single-crystal silicon, the material from which computer chips are made. This technique offers the greatest hardness coupled with low weight.