Ulysse Nardin

Dear all,


        I read on back issue of Revolution 2005 that Freak was inspired by Carol Forrestier's design which won a Breguet contest. the design concept was described as:


                                                                              "a centre tourbillon with spring on the outside..."

I am curious to learn what was the watch thats created?


Cheers,
Ed~

"a centre tourbillon with spring on the outside..."

If you see the pic, it is more a peripherical Tourbillon.

And we may have an interesting discussion on the fact to consider the Freak as a Tourbillon...



Best,

Nicolas

Especially as it so easily fits the classic description of a Karousel (nb, this is not related to a Carousel Tourbillon)

A

We may have a technical discussion about what is a Tourbillon!

Caroussel may better fit for the Freak.

I agree.

Best,

Nicolas

It's not a mechanical description, but a the marketing name chosen by the inventor, Mr. Bonniksen, so we should keep using it to prevent more confusion

A

Rolf Schnyder in that particular interview described:

"strictly speaking, THe freak is a sort of carousel tourbillon in which the escapement turns on its own axis"

& in that bit of history they said Freak is totally different from Carol's concept where Ludwig did a lot of work realizing that concept as "Breguet bot cariol's patent & were going to manufacture the piece".


i would really like to see a comparison of Carol's original concept to the Freak and perhaps even to Blu's MT3


Best,
Ed~

pic curtsy of kc tay

This message has been edited by edlien on 2009-06-08 16:22:39

If I am not mistaken, Carol is the one that first conceived of the watch that would ultimately become the Freak. It was Ludwig that discovered initial problems with the design of the main spring and the problems transferring the energy. I believe that Ludwig refined the location of the mainspring.

I believe that Carol is now working for Piaget and is behind the Piaget Retalif.

Mitch

Piaget's tourbillon relatif

incidentally, the passage & a bit of history raise my curiosity were as follow:

The Q raised specifically in the Article "So is it true that the UN Freak was completely different from this project(carol's original design)?"

& Rolf Schnyder specifically stated "Yes, 6 months later. ludwig showed up and he said that he had been inspired and come up with something totally different..."



Best,
Ed~




This message has been edited by lien on 2009-06-09 01:22:20

since the escapement doesn't turn on it's own axis, the movement pivots just off the axis of the 3rd wheel if I'm remembering correctly
A

it has a central tourbillon and the whole escapement is above the dial which sounds very much like the description given by Carol Forrestier.

Graham

This message has been edited by gmhutton on 2009-06-13 05:40:14

is the most mesmorizing tourbillon i have seem & it does fit the description


wish its mine

Cheers,
Ed~

To clarify the matter, the Ulysse Nardin technical team would like to inform the watch enthusiasts taking part in this forum as follows:

 

The Freak, as conceived by Dr. Ludwig Oechslin and the UN technical design team lead by Pierre Gygax and Lucas Humair features the following technical novelties never seen before in any wristwatch, concept movement or clock.

 

1) The watch movement is of a totally new construction never seen before. Time is indicated by the movement itself. The Freak does not require hands and dials.

 

2) The large mainspring visible thru the sapphire case back spans the complete diameter of the movement. This mainspring is wound by turning the case back - one full turn adds 12 hours to the power reserve . ( When fully wound the power reserve is approx. 180 hours).The barrel itself makes 1 revolution in 12 hours and indicates the hour

 

3) Time is set by turning the bezel either forward or backward. After setting the time, the bezel is secured with a lock system integrated in the case. The Freak dispenses with a crown and winding stem.

 

4) The « baguette » movement makes 1 turn in 1 hour and indicates the minutes. It is suspended with a pin lodged in the concave sapphire crystal on the upper side and a jewel bearing visible in the center of the barrel on the lower side.

 

5) The original Freak featured a  the 3Hz Dual Direct Escapement invented by Dr. Ludwig Oechslin. In newer versions the escapement has been optimized and is now 4Hz and called Dual Ulysse escapement

 

6) The original Freak is the first timepiece commercially produced to feature movement components made in Silicium. In some Limited Editions Ulysse Nardin experimented with escapements made in solid cultured polycrystalline  diamond (Freak Diamond Heart) or grew cultured. polycrystalline diamond on the Silicium escapement components.( Freak Diamonsil) . Both of these Limited Editions are likewise material Innovations.

There is no doubt the Freak is "the Freak" in horologrical universe, we merely trying to dig out a bit more behind its creation


Having said that, it ll be interesting to know whts/where carol's design has realized and even a head to head comparison to the Freak


like watching the Hulk vs Abomination, haha.





cheers,
Ed~
 

 ... that this chapter has been treated already, some five years ago:

www.thepurists.net

In this article, written by Ted Diehl, some information, and a graphical draft of Ms. Forestier's concept is published.

Regards,
Marcus

THank you~

Carole Forestier had entered her concept for the Breguet contest (yet I do not know if she won it), and also offered it to Ulysse Nardin. UN bought the rights on the design from her, and also hired her for the technical realization. However, it eventually proved to be impossibly transformed into a working series product (power reserve of only 12 hours, for example). So the idea was shelved for the moment, but sparked the interest of Ludwig Oechslin, who finally suggested a concept that, while based on Ms. Forestier's original draft, was technically completely different.

Regards,
Marcus

i have read somewhere that Piaget's relative tourbillion is the realization of carol's design,  is it correct?

Cheers,
Ed~