Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Mohammed Salah spotted wearing Ulysse Nardin

Mohamed Salah was photographed celebrating Liverpool's FA Cup Final triumph wearing an 18K white gold Ulysse Nardin Freak Lab, reference 2100-138 — one of only 99 examples produced in this precious metal configuration. The sighting places an exceptionally rare and technically radical timepiece at the center of one of English football's biggest occasions.

The Freak Lab ref. 2100-138 is built around Ulysse Nardin's Calibre UN-230, which abandons the traditional Swiss lever escapement entirely in favor of a silicium-based dual direct escapement developed through the brand's InnoVision laboratory program. The movement uses a carousel architecture that rotates around the dial as a running indicator — the Freak family's signature in place of conventional hands. Running at 12 Hz, the caliber delivers exceptional chronometric stability without lubrication on its escapement components, thanks to the tribological properties of silicon. The 45mm white gold case provides a suitably stage-like setting for the mechanism visible through the sapphire dial aperture.

The Freak lineage dates to 2001, when Ulysse Nardin debuted the original Freak as an industry landmark in anti-conventional design. The Freak Lab designation signals the most technically evolved iteration — a direct pipeline from the brand's R&D division to production. A 99-piece limitation in 18K white gold makes ref. 2100-138 among the most sought-after references in the current Freak catalog, and collectors treat it as a genuine statement piece rather than everyday horology.

Salah's taste in watches has consistently leaned toward technically complex and visually distinctive references, and the Freak Lab fits that profile precisely. Winning the FA Cup adds a layer of personal significance to the sighting — the image of that rotating carousel movement on the wrist of one of the afternoon's central figures will not be lost on watch collectors who noticed it.

At a list price of $95,000 USD, the Ulysse Nardin Freak Lab ref. 2100-138 occupies serious collector territory. Grey market movement on limited Freak Lab references has generally tracked close to retail given constrained supply, with some white gold examples trading at or above list price when condition and provenance are strong.