Ulysse Nardin’s Super Freak is the most complicated time-only watch ever made

Ulysse Nardin has unveiled the Super Freak at Watches and Wonders 2026. It is the most complex time-only watch ever created.

The Super Freak marks two milestones: 180 years since the brand was founded, and 25 years since the original Freak changed watchmaking forever.

The Super Freak achieves something no watch has done before. It is the world’s first automatic double tourbillon. Two titanium flying tourbillons sit on the minute bridge, each tilted at 10 degrees, spinning in opposite directions, completing one revolution every 60 seconds.

That minute bridge contains 327 components alone and weighs just 3.5 grams.

Powering two tourbillons is an enormous energy demand. Ulysse Nardin meets it with its patented Grinder winding system – the most efficient automatic winding mechanism in the industry. The result is a three-day power reserve.

The full movement, caliber UN-252, contains 511 components. Only 13 of them stay still. Everything else moves.

To transmit energy between the differential and the new seconds display, Ulysse Nardin developed a gimbal system. It is the world’s smallest, measuring just 4.8mm. The brand filed a new patent specifically for it. Historically, gimbals were used to stabilise ship compasses at sea – a neat nod to Ulysse Nardin’s marine heritage.

The world’s smallest differential is also here, measuring 5mm across, with eight ceramic ball bearings machined to one-micron tolerances. It averages the rate of the two tourbillons and keeps the whole system honest.

This is genuinely impressive engineering. What makes it more impressive is that it all fits inside a 44mm white gold case – smaller than the 45mm Freak S it succeeds.

The hour disc is rendered in transparent blue Nanosital, a crystallised glass material harder than standard glass. It lets you see straight through to the movement beneath. It is a brilliant detail.

More than 70-percent of the movement is finished by hand. Titanium components, chosen for their lightness, are notoriously difficult to decorate – taking up to twice as long to finish as brass. Each watch takes 60 hours to assemble and five days of chronometric testing. Only five watchmakers were trained to build it.

The Super Freak is a limited edition of just 50 pieces. It is priced at US$361,600 / £297,020.

Liked this? The best emerging microbrand watchmakers to keep an eye on in 2026 and beyond

Spencer Hart Buying Guide Editor

About

As Buying Guide Editor, Spencer is responsible for all e-commerce content on Stuff, overseeing buying guides as well as covering deals and new product launches. Spencer has been writing about consumer tech for over eight years. He has worked on some of the biggest publications in the UK, where he covered everything from the emergence of smartwatches to the arrival of self-driving cars. During this time, Spencer has become a seasoned traveller, racking up air miles while travelling around the world reviewing cars, attending product launches, and covering every trade show known to man, from Baselworld and Geneva Motor Show to CES and MWC. While tech remains one of his biggest passions, Spencer also enjoys getting hands-on with the latest luxury watches, trying out new grooming kit, and road-testing all kinds of vehicles, from electric scooters to supercars.

Areas of expertise

Watches, travel, grooming, transport, tech