Christianch provides a quick review of his Ulysse Nardin Freak X Bucherer Blue Edition, a modern interpretation of the iconic Freak. His post highlights the watch's versatility, lightweight Carbonium case, and unique flying carousel movement. This review offers a personal perspective on the Bucherer Blue Edition, emphasizing its distinctive aesthetic and technical features.
I am very excited to share my quick review for the Ulysse Nardin Freak X Bucherer Blue Edition. The Freak X is a modern interpretation of the traditional Ulysse Nardin Freak.
For these not familiar with Bucherer it is one of the largest Swiss watch retailers, now probably the larger in Europe and also present in the U.S. A few years ago they launched special "blue editions"
that incorporate their corporate blue into a watch.
In 2020 Bucherer and UN launched this edition. From previous posts in the forum about the Freak X I appreciate that some owners of the non-X version feel that the presence of the crown but for me the X is far more versatile. I find it stunning:
The Freak X is a slimmed down version in terms of movement but also size and price ๐ the case is 43mm but wears very well, pretty much like a Rolex GMT. The watch is very light due to the case in Carbonium (full watch with strap is just 81 Grams).
The movement features an open flying carousel - tourbillon (In some places I see it referred as tourbillon, in some as carousel tourbillon, in other just carousel I don't know the exact difference feel free to comment if you do๐) in essence the carousel with the central bridge is used as a minutes hand and rotates on itself every hour.
I am not the best for technical details but it is constantly moving like a rotating tourbillon
The Bucherer Blue edition has discreet blue accents on the top of the minutes and hours "hands"
it fits very well on my small wrist and legibility is not as bad as one might think! The Carbonium case looks fantastic. I know that the X also exist in titanium but I find the Carbonium case much more appealing.
Here we can see the structure of the carbonium case. The height should be 13.8 mm and is certainly not too thick to fit under a cuff. The Freak X is also equipped with a crown making easier to set the time.
The Manufacture Caliber UN230 features Hours, minutes. Flying carrousel movement rotating around its own axis. Balance wheel, escapement wheel, balance spring & anchor in silicium. Oversized Oscillator.
It is an automatic movement with 72 hours of power reserve and 405 parts.
The Ulysse Nardin Freak X also offers a 50 Mt water resistance.
In conclusion I found this watch a fantastic option for something truly different. The Freak X is pretty much widely available through their distribution network (there are several limited editions too) but you can find one without any waiting list or "boundling" game (at least for now ๐). UN also offers a 5 years warranty extension programme which, for fairly complicated watches like the Freak X, is very appropriate.
How do you like it?
Thanks for reading!
Christian
