Important Collectors' Wristwatches, P...

New York, Jun 15, 2005

LOT 172

"The Freak" Ulysse Nardin, Le Locle, "The Freak", No. 060, Made circa 2002. Very fine and unusual, 18K white gold wristwatch with 60-minute revolving movement, Ludwig Oechslin's dual direct escapement, seven-day power reserve and Ulysse Nardin 18K white gold deployant buckle. Accompanied by a laquered fitted box and certificate.

USD 20,000 - 30,000

EUR 15,000 - 23,000

Sold: USD 30,475

C. Three-body, polished, stepped curled lugs, ridged duo-directional rotating bezel for setting the time, transparentrotating back for winding, the band with an applied brushed plaque engraved "No. 060", sapphire crystals.D. Matte, dark blue, crystal chapter ring with gold radial Arabic numerals. Brushed and polished pink gold hourand minute pointers. M. Caliber UN 01, 13 3/4''', brushed steel bridges, with blued steel screws, rotating from thecenter, the lower bridge indicates the hour while the upper bridge fitted with the linear wheel train and escapementassembly, revolves once every hour indicating the minutes, the center axis pivoted in the sapphire crystal,32 jewels, dual direct escapement with two crystal silicon impulse wheels, monometallic balance, self-compensatingflat balance spring, shock absorber, 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: 3

Good
Movement: 1

As new
Dial: 1 - 01

Notes

The Freak is the brainchild of Dr. Ludwig Oechslin, interpreted by Ulysse Nardin's research and production team. ?The Freak? is a tourbillon of sevenday 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 facilitated 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 two 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 two 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 highest hardness coupled with low weight.