The Art of Collaboration: Ulysse Nardin and Urwerk Set a New Standard with the UR-Freak at Dubai Watch Week

Let’s face it, watch collaborations are a dime a dozen – I’d go so far as to say they’ve become a fad. Most of the time, they tend to play it a bit safe: a brand taps an ambassador or artist to put their touch on an existing model (often in the form of a unique colorway or small accents, such as a co-signature), makes a big announcement, and quickly sells out.

Occasionally, however, we’ve seen watch brands teaming up. One of the most famous examples is Omega and Swatch and the duo’s now countless MoonSwatch mashups. Still, both those brands are under the umbrella of the Swatch Group.

It’s much rarer to see independent brands co-creating. A good example of this is the Moser and Studio Underd0g team-up from 2024; their collaboration resulted in not one singular creation but two watches that worked in conversation with each other.

It makes sense. The act of creation is inherently a vulnerable and highly personal process, in and of itself. Thus, co-creating is a risk; co-creating with a so-called competitor could be a risk too big to take. Sadly, this competition and close-mindedness feel increasingly prevalent in the watch industry today.

The industry has been on a roller coaster in the past five years. The current global economic and political state is volatile, and the industry has felt the impact. It seems like a good time to play it safe, to keep doing what you know in your own lane.

However, there are two brands – Ulysse Nardin and Urwerk – that have never been afraid to take risks, and today, at Dubai Watch Week, they presented a collaboration to leave all other collaborations in the dust. This is what the future of collaborations should look like: meet the Ulysse Nardin x Urwerk UR-Freak.

For Urwerk and Ulysse Nardin, taking risks has long been part of business as usual. As my colleague Ash recently discussed in her article, “The 21st-Century Calibre Breakthroughs That Have Redefined Watchmaking,” there are five movements introduced in the 21st century that have rewritten the rules of modern watchmaking, and Urwerk and Ulysse Nardin each had a calibre on that list.

More specifically, Ash examined the Ulysse Nardin’s original Freak from 2001, which notably lacks a traditional dial, hands, or crown, and the Urwerk UR-103 from 2003, which built upon the brand’s minimalistic “wandering” hour display from 1997 to include a fully-visible satellite carousel system that featured four orbiting arms, each bearing three rotating hour cubes, sweep across an arc-shaped minute track.
 

“I remember distinctly when Ulysse Nardin presented the Freak in 2001,” Felix Baumgartner, Co-Founder of Urwerk, told me during a recent sit-down with the two brands in Geneva. “When we released our ‘wandering’ hour display four years prior, we were new to market – it was not just the launch of a new concept, it was the launch of a new brand,” he explained.

“So, when I saw an important company that had been established in the industry for over 150 years showing a new time indication, a new display, a new setting of the movement, my mind was blown,” Baumgartner admitted.
 

Naturally, the two brands connected two decades ago. “We never worked directly together,” clarified Baumgartner, “but we worked alongside each other like brothers with a mutual respect for creating and forming the definition of contemporary watchmaking.”

Funny enough, time is in fact the name of the game in watchmaking. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Patience is key. The stars must align at the perfect place and time to create – or in this case, co-create – magic. For Urwerk and Ulysse Nardin, that moment came just three years ago.

“When we became an independent brand in 2022, we sat down internally and discussed what we wanted to do with this freedom,” explained Jean-Christophe Sabatier, Chief Product Officer at Ulysse Nardin. “Of course, we specifically discussed our flagship collection, the Freak – we have always had high expectations for the Freak and wanting to evolve it – so, we considered what could be done with the Freak in terms of a collaboration, and we agreed it must be with another independent like us.”
 

The universe answered the call. Later that year, Michael Tay, Managing Director at The Hour Glass, was visiting Geneva and organized an intimate dinner with select leaders from independent brands, including Patrick Pruniaux, CEO of Ulysse Nardin, and Baumgartner.

“Patrick and I had a wonderful conversation and a great time together,” remembered Baumgartner. “It was clear that we shared a similar set of values, and by the end of the night, we agreed that we should do a collaboration together as the two pioneers of contemporary watchmaking.” Soon after, the two brands took the leap.
 

Ulysse Nardin invited Baumgartner to visit its manufacture – and really, to me, this is the magic moment. This is the moment where the brands must risk everything, letting a “competitor” behind the curtain to see the intimate inner workings. This is only born out of trust and mutual respect – two things we need more of in the industry to continue advancing the art of watchmaking.

Arguably, the Freak’s rotating gear train that doubles as a minute hand and Urwerk’s satellite display are two of the most instantly recognizable (and significant) designs in horological history. They exemplify the perfect marriage of form and function, resulting in incredibly strong design language informed by their respective mechanics. Merging these concepts was no small feat.

“For the UR-Freak, you have the Freak case,” explained Baumgartner. “We also retain the Freak’s system of setting time, but then we have modified the Freak movement to include an Urwerk satellite carousel.”
 

The original Freak movement consists of 285 parts, but to create the UR-Freak, more than 150 of those parts had to be altered – meaning more than 50% of the existing Freak calibre was changed to integrate Urwerk’s satellite carousel. The result is a new fully integrated in-house calibre combining a three-hour rotating carousel with an hour satellite display.

“On both sides, it was very clear we wanted to make something really technical,” agreed Sabatier. “This is the strength of both our brands and both of our designs.”
 

active hand slides along the minute indicator scale on the right-hand side, and each hand has a turning domed disc that acts as a jumping hour display. Once the current hour connected to the rotating carousel has completed its path along the 60-minute marker scale, the hour disc changes, and the next hour is ready to be read by the next hand, which starts its travel along the beginning of the minute track.

The entire wandering hours satellite system, in true Freak form, is connected to the regulation system. In the center is a silicon-based balance wheel oscillator and escapement assembly. It turns with the satellite system and makes a full rotation every three hours. Similar to how a traditional tourbillon or carousel works, the UR-Freak’s constant change of orientation helps reduce timing errors.
 

However, one of the biggest challenges was creating architecture that did not compromise readability. “It took us about eight months to get the dimensions of the minute track and satellite hours just right in terms of depth,” shared Baumgartner.

The core of the Freak movement architecture is the abandonment of the traditional mainplate and bridges construction, instead using a large central flying carousel bridge that spans the diameter of the movement and seemingly floats above the main barrel, which houses the gear train, escapement, hairspring, and balance wheel.
 

Martin Frei, Baumgartner’s co-founder, presented the solution we see used in the UR-Freak today. Here, the minute track is brought up to the bezel as opposed to being under the bridge.

“It was a real challenge to make the most of the space of the 44mm Ulysse Nardin Freak [ONE] watch case that is used in the UR-Freak with all that we needed to accomplish technically,” echoed Sabatier. “Conceiving of this new calibre, the UN-241 and upholding readability required a lot of negotiation.”

The result is presented here today, the UR-Freak, in a limited run of just 100 pieces. “What I like is that we have, in my view, created a child, and you immediately know who the father and mother are, so to speak,” described Sabatier. “This watch showcases the best of both our brands, technically and aesthetically.”
 

For more details, including pricing information, check out the Ulysse Nardin website.