UN The Freak 10th Anniversary

Time flies...tempus fugit. Its already 10 years since a watch was introduced at the shocked Basel World and called "The Freak".

The late Rolf Schnyder, a great innovator and provocateur if there ever was one in the watchmaking industry, introduced the Freak to a mesmerised crowd in 2003. I was among the crowd that day, walking away intrigued.

Even though the bridges which form the hands of this Anniversary Freak is black, somehow, in this photograph it catches the flash, and comes out whitish. The colour in the other photographs are more representative of the black bridges.

The mechanism was incredibly simple, and complicated at the same time...something that only a mind like Oeschlin can dream of. There was no crown.
Setting of the time was done directly by turning the bezel. Winding was done by turning the rear bezel.
The movement, so to speak lived on the hands...the entire wheel train traverses the dial on the minute hand...intriguing. The stylised bridge shapes, seeming organic, dancing, ever playful.

Click on image above for 1920 wide full screen wallpaper.

Over the years, we have grown familiar with the Freak. And on this 10th anniversary, UN unleashed a special edition for The Hour Glass...all black plates. Intriguing.

For the first time, the words Freak, appears on the watch, engraved on the locking plate for the timesetting function on the bezel.