First introduced in 2001, Ulysse Nardin’s Freak collection broke new ground in the industry with its "three-no" design—featuring no crown, no hands, and no dial. Today, an increasing number of brands have joined the "crownless" camp.
The quintessential "crownless" collection: Ulysse Nardin’s Freak. This year marks the 180th anniversary of Ulysse Nardin and the 25th anniversary of the Freak collection’s debut. At this pivotal moment, the brand has unveiled the "Super Freak"—a limited edition of just 50 pieces. This timepiece is the world's first self-winding watch to integrate both a double tourbillon and a carousel mechanism; its complexity stands as the pinnacle of the entire series.
The Ulysse Nardin Super Freak achieves breakthroughs on multiple fronts, notably the return of the seconds hand. It breaks with the Freak collection’s long-standing tradition of being "seconds-free," introducing an independent seconds display system for the very first time. Furthermore, the fusion of the double tourbillon and carousel structures represents a major innovation in this piece—a feat unprecedented within the industry. Visually, the minute-indicating bridge is fitted with two flying tourbillons crafted from titanium, each completing a full rotation every minute (60 seconds), while the flying carousel completes a full rotation every hour. The watch features a 44mm white gold case housing the brand’s in-house Caliber UN-252 movement. To accommodate such intricate mechanical architecture within a 44mm white gold case, this timepiece has set two world records: the "world's smallest vertical differential," measuring just 5mm in diameter, and the "world's most compact universal joint system," measuring 4.8mm in diameter.
IWC Pilot's Venturer Vertical Although the name of the Drive watch does not explicitly feature the word "aerospace," it was nonetheless designed with astronauts in mind. Its crownless design serves as a testament to its professional-grade functionality: recognizing that astronauts typically wear bulky gloves, this timepiece dispenses with the traditional crown structure. Instead, winding and time-setting operations are executed via a lever-style button located at the 9 o'clock position, which works in conjunction with a "vertical drive" clutch mechanism integrated into the rotating bezel. The watch features a 44.3mm case crafted from white zirconium oxide ceramic, complemented by a Ceratanium® bezel and case back. To enhance legibility, the dial is rendered in matte black, effectively minimizing glare. Furthermore, the FKM rubber strap—color-matched to the case—is both lightweight and supple, significantly enhancing wearer comfort. The automatic Caliber IW32722 movement has been optimized for microgravity environments, ensuring reliable performance even under zero-gravity conditions. Best luxury IWC Pilot clone watches online, buy replica watches at firstwatchclone.
This year, Montblanc has spun off its Minerva timepieces from the 1858 collection, elevating them to the status of an independent brand. Among the inaugural releases from this newly independent entity is a crownless watch featuring a fluted rotating bezel. Notably, this timepiece bears no Montblanc branding whatsoever; instead, it is presented exclusively under the Minerva trademark. It features a 41.5mm stainless steel case paired with an 18K rose gold fluted bezel. This design aesthetic dates back to 1939—originating from Minerva’s first chronograph equipped with an external rotating bezel—and has since evolved into a signature element of the brand. To further underscore the significance of the rotating bezel, this timepiece eliminates the traditional crown; consequently, both winding and time-setting are performed entirely by manipulating the 18K rose gold fluted bezel. The specific operation involves first toggling a discreet lever—concealed within the case back rim at the 3 o'clock position—to select the desired function mode. When the lever is in its default position, rotating the bezel manually winds the movement; when the lever is pulled out, rotating the bezel adjusts the hour and minute hands.
