The luxury watch hype has cooled. That may be good news for Ulysse Nardin
After years of speculation, premiums and waiting lists, a more discerning market may give distinctive independent watchmakers more room to stand out.
There was a time – during the pandemic and shortly after – when buying a luxury watch felt less like a foray into fine craftsmanship than punting on the stock market.
The hype was real. Steel sports models from popular marques changed hands for astonishing premiums. Waiting lists for grail pieces stretched into years – decades, even. Crypto wealth and pent-up demand fuelled a speculative frenzy. Some watches appreciated faster than blue-chip investments, and flipping became commonplace.
Like any speculative bubble, the market’s momentum proved unsustainable.As crypto fortunes evaporated, stimulus cheques stopped flowing and speculative flipping lost its shine, the luxury watch market came back down to earth. Collectors began buying watches again for a more traditional reason – because they actually wanted to wear them.
Today, secondary-market prices have broadly stabilised, while mainland China’s luxury slowdown has reset expectations across the industry. The frenzy has largely given way to something almost anachronistic: discernment.
For brands like Ulysse Nardin, that’s not necessarily bad news.
A darling of the horological world, Ulysse Nardin has long been admired by enthusiasts. Rarely, though, is it mentioned in the same breath as the industry’s biggest names. The 180-year-old manufacture has always maintained an independent streak, even while it was owned by luxury group Kering from 2014 to 2022.
Since returning to independent ownership in 2022 following a management buyout of Sowind Group, which also owns Girard-Perregaux, Ulysse Nardin has doubled down on technical experimentation rather than chasing mass appeal – a strategy well suited to the evolving tastes of more discerning collectors.
In July, the brand marked both its 180th anniversary and the 25th birthday of its most disruptive – dare we say iconic – creation, the Freak, at a warehouse in Tanjong Pagar Distripark. A suitably rebellious location, if you ask us.
It was there that CNA Luxury met managing director Matthieu Haverlan, who almost didn’t make it to the festivities. Struck down by food poisoning en route to Singapore, he nevertheless made an appearance, greeting customers, partners and members of the media. Haverlan postponed our interview to recover and eventually responded via email.
STEERING AN INDIE BRAND IN A POST-HYPE ERA
Our conversation wasn’t about milestones, but what happens after the hype dies down.
Where independent watchmakers once occupied the fringes of collecting culture, they are increasingly moving into the mainstream, thanks in part to collectors looking beyond conspicuous status symbols and waiting-list watches.
And while dedicated, longtime collectors haven’t disappeared – they’ve simply become pickier – younger buyers are entering the market in growing numbers, helping to shift demand.
“Younger generations are developing a deeper understanding of what truly makes a timepiece valuable: its legacy, craftsmanship, innovation, R&D, and design,” said Haverlan.
For younger buyers, the appeal isn’t necessarily status signalling. It’s originality. They have grown up with algorithms feeding everyone the same products, trends and influencers. Owning something that isn’t instantly recognisable becomes a statement in itself.
That shift plays directly into Ulysse Nardin’s strengths.
“Ulysse Nardin is different,” Haverlan said. “It’s a brand that may not appeal to everyone, but one whose core value is to remain true to its radical DNA through innovation, technology, design and the creation of emotional products.”
In an industry where broad appeal is often the goal, that’s a confident statement. But perhaps that’s precisely the point.
Singapore’s watch collectors are among the region’s most knowledgeable, and many seasoned enthusiasts already own the classic icons. Their next purchase may be less about adding another recognisable name to the collection than discovering a piece with a story, an opinion and a distinct personality.
“Our customers are free spirits: Open-minded, pioneering individuals who build the future and value independence and want to express their individuality,” said Haverlan.
HOW THE FREAK CHANGED WATCHMAKING
In other words, not everyone wants to wear what everyone else is waiting five years to buy. And if there’s one watch that encapsulates that philosophy, it’s the Freak.
When it debuted in 2001, it didn’t merely introduce a new complication. It questioned almost every convention mechanical watchmaking had taken for granted.
There were no hands, no traditional dial and no crown. Instead, the movement itself rotated to tell the time.
Even more significantly, it was the first mechanical watch to use silicon components – a material that has since become commonplace in high-end watchmaking but was considered almost heretical at the time. Detractors questioned whether future generations would be able to service these watches if their components were not made of steel.
“The Freak was never simply a groundbreaking watch,” said Haverlan. “It represented a completely different way of thinking and embodied a true revolution in modern watchmaking. It challenged every convention of traditional horology and introduced silicon into mechanical watchmaking, a first in the industry.”
Twenty-five years later, “disruption” has become one of luxury marketing’s favourite buzzwords. New launches routinely promise revolutionary materials, breakthrough engineering or game-changing design.
Actually delivering on those claims is another matter. Today’s collectors, Haverlan believes, are far harder to impress. “They are more knowledgeable than ever, appreciate craftsmanship and heritage, and look for brands with a clear identity.”
WHAT EVEN IS INNOVATION IN 2026?
If every brand is innovative, then no brand is innovative. The buzzword risks losing its meaning.
For Haverlan, innovation begins with staying true to one’s roots. “Authenticity. For me, innovation today is about challenging conventions and norms. It means pushing our own boundaries in mechanics, design, technologies and materials.”
More importantly, he argued, innovation shouldn’t exist simply for the sake of novelty. “Innovation has to bring progress and to challenge existing products by offering a different perspective or a better solution, rather than simply creating something new for the sake of novelty.
“Take the Diver [AIR], for example. The lightest mechanical diving watch ever made. Or the Super Freak. Beyond being the most complicated time-only watch ever made and the first automatic double tourbillon, [the latter] was conceived to challenge the limits of our patented automatic winding system, the Grinder, the most efficient in the industry. Beyond the mechanical prowess, it tested the Grinder’s ability to efficiently power a movement even more complex than the Freak S while remaining fully automatic.”
Digitally savvy luxury consumers have unprecedented access to information. Technical specs, movement reliability, historical context and user reviews are available with a few taps on a smartphone. Marketing claims can be scrutinised almost instantly – and debated on Reddit and other platforms.
“I believe younger generations are highly informed and genuinely want to understand the products they acquire,” Haverlan said. “They are looking for authenticity, transparency, strong heritage, brands that explain what they do, and genuine craftsmanship.”
WHICH FREAK IS FOR YOU?
To mark its twin milestones this year, Ulysse Nardin launched two novelties: the Super Freak and the next-generation Freak X, first introduced in 2019.
Super Freak: For collectors who thought the original Freak wasn’t, er, freaky enough
If the original Freak rewrote the rules of watchmaking, the Super Freak is what happens when Ulysse Nardin’s engineers are told to ignore the rulebook altogether.
Created to celebrate both the brand’s 180th anniversary and the Freak’s 25th birthday, this is its most technically ambitious interpretation yet. At its heart is the all-new UN-252 calibre – a 511-component movement developed over four years and assembled by a single watchmaker in the brand’s Haute Horlogerie Atelier.
The headline act? A pair of titanium flying tourbillons inclined at 10 degrees and rotating in opposite directions, making the Super Freak the world’s first automatic double-tourbillon time-only watch.
The movement also debuts what Ulysse Nardin says are the world’s smallest differential, measuring 5mm, and smallest gimbal system, at 4.8mm – both engineered to micron-level tolerances.
Add Ulysse Nardin’s patented Grinder winding system, DIAMonSIL escapements and 10 silicon components, and the Super Freak becomes as much a showcase of cutting-edge microengineering as high-end watchmaking.
With just 13 of its 511 components remaining stationary, the Super Freak is less a watch than a kinetic sculpture in perpetual motion – and one destined for the wrists of serious collectors.
Key specs
- Case:44mm white gold
- Movement:In-house UN-252, automatic
- Power reserve:Three days (72 hours)
- Highlights:Double flying tourbillons, Grinder automatic winding, world's smallest differential and gimbal system, 10 silicon components, DIAMonSIL escapements
Freak X: The everyday Freak – same rebellious DNA, now easier to live with
Not everyone needs watchmaking pushed quite that far. First introduced in 2019, the Freak X distilled the original Freak’s iconoclastic spirit into a more wearable package. The 2026 version goes further, with a complete redesign developed over more than two years.
The new in-house UN-232 calibre is smaller and more modular, allowing the case to shrink from 43mm to a more wearable 41mm.
It retains the Freak’s signature flying-carousel architecture – where the movement itself tells the time – while introducing a DIAMonSIL escapement, a rose-gold micro-rotor for automatic winding and a screw-down crown with 100 metres of water resistance. Together, these make it the most practical Freak yet.
A quick-release strap system, interchangeable strap and bracelet options and a refined monobloc case in either 80 per cent recycled steel or rose gold further reinforce its everyday credentials
Key specs
- Case:41mm (80 per cent recycled steel or rose gold)
- Movement:In-house UN-232, automatic
- Power reserve:72 hours
- Water resistance:100 metres
- Highlights:Flying carousel movement, DIAMonSIL escapement, rose-gold micro-rotor, interchangeable strap system