A VERY FINE AND UNUSUAL PINK GOLD WRISTWATCH WITH 7-DAY KARRUSEL MOVEMENT AND DUAL DIRECT ESCAPEMENT, Ulysse Nardin, ‘FREAK", NO. 282, CIRCA 2003

18k, gilt dual direct movement with 7-day power reserve, 32 jewels, mono-metallic balance, blue matte dial with Arabic numerals, the minute hand composed of the balance wheel, escapement and gear train all aligned beneath two bridges held by the central axis from a pivot in the sapphire crystal rotating once every hour, a similar arrangement mounted below for the hour hand, polished tonneau shaped case with notched bi-directional rotating bezel and sapphire crystal for setting the time, gilt plaque with number secured with 2 screws in the band, uni-directional ridged rotating case and sapphire crystal display back to admire the mainspring barrel spanning the entire case, case, dial and movement signed, with an 18k pink gold Ulysse Nardin deployant buckle. 

Ulysse Nardin’s ‘Freak?defies the conventions of mechanical wristwatches, as it can be set and wound without a crown and indicate time without hands.  Besides these peculiarities and its uniquely re-designed case, the ‘Freak?introduces two new innovations to the watch making world, the 7-day power-reserve Karrusel movement and the dual-direct escapement.  With an enlarged mainspring spanning the entire diameter of the case, the watch is able to run for 7 days while the movement rotates once every hour, also the dual-direct escapement, composed of two wheels made of plasma engraved out of pure silicon, allows the mechanism to transmit impulse efficiently without lubrication.   

In fact, the Karussel movement was invented in 1894 by Bonniksen, differing from Abraham Louis Breguet’s tourbillon because it allowed the entire escapement to revolve within the watch once in 52 ?minutes in most cases, while being supported only at one end, whereas the tourbillon revolves once every minute and is suspended in a cage by two ends.