Collaborations between watch manufacturers might be very profitable when every model brings a robust visible id of their very own to the desk, so when the richly conventional Swiss manufacture Ulysse Nardin introduced a partnership with avant-garde Genevan watchmaker Urwerk, we have been greater than a bit intrigued – notably as that is Ulysse Nardin’s first collaboration with a fellow watchmaking model.
On nearer inspection, nevertheless, the pairing will not be as stunning because it might sound, as each manufacturers have pursued a contemporary, technical-first method over the previous couple of years, with cultural moments overlapping on each their timelines. Based by Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner in 1997, Urwerk has come to be outlined by its futuristic watch design and high-tech rules, in addition to its use of a ‘satellite tv for pc’ system for displaying the time.
In the meantime, regardless of boasting a historic lineage, the 1846-founded Ulysse Nardin has more and more adopted trendy sensibilities, culminating within the 2001 launch of the Freak, which is outlined by its hands-free manner of telling the time, displayed by the rotating motion itself.
‘The act of telling time, heavy in philosophical symbolism, is a murals in its personal proper’
To mark their first collaboration, the 2 manufacturers selected to reinterpret the Freak, which was the primary luxurious watch to include a silicon escapement, considerably enhancing effectivity, sturdiness and accuracy. Powered by a brand new motion that the 2 manufacturers developed collectively, the Ur-Freak unites Urwerk’s satellite tv for pc system with Ulysse Nardin’s penchant for silicon. Time is proven by one of many three ‘fingers’, which transfer across the minute indicator on the appropriate aspect; as soon as an hour has handed, the disc adjustments and the following hand begins to learn the time.
(Picture credit score: Urwerk)
Extra manufacturers taking part in with time
Revolutionary methods of telling the time are proving to be a present development. For French watch model Trilobe, conventional fingers are eschewed in favour of a system of indicators and rotating rings, with three totally different rings displaying hours, minutes and seconds. A pointer highlights the place the knowledge strains up, thus revealing the time. It’s intuitive reasonably than complicated – the wearer is invited to ‘take’ the time, reasonably than be led by it.
This philosophical bent can be thought of by Swiss watchmaker HYT, which makes use of fluids to inform the time. Rather than the normal hour hand, a liquid indicator containing colored fluid exhibits the time that has handed, and a clear fluid exhibits the time to come back.
For Ressence, a minimalist aesthetic overrules a sophisticated show, making a watch face the place all the weather are continually in movement. It’s a mirrored image on the character of time itself, and yet one more indication that the act of telling time, heavy in philosophical symbolism, is a murals in its personal proper.
The Ur-Freak is accessible in a limited-edition run of 100, worth on request, ulysse-nardin.com, urwerk.com
This text seems within the February 2026 Design Awards Subject of Wallpaper* , accessible in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple Information + from 8 January. Subscribe to Wallpaper* as we speak
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