Urwerk Satellite Display Luxury Wristwatches

Urwerk – Developing Contemporary Timepieces

We started with a blank piece of paper. Dropped all our preconceptions. And decided to create a time machine, Our philosophy was to take ideas from the past and reshape them for contemporary living. Allow these ideas to arouse emotions that would not just look good, but also bring a bit of the stargazer and adventurer back into our interior consciousness,” master watchmaker Felix Baumgartner and designer Martin Frei, the two creative heads making up Urwerk, say of their ideals. This brand’s name, Urwerk, is something perhaps only German speakers can fully understand. It is a play on words, but one that fits the outlook of this company very well. Werk is easy to describe; it means a watch movement. Ur, however is tricky: as a prefix it denotes something like the source, the beginning, or the essential. The word Uhr, however, is pronounced exactly the same way and means “watch” or ‘clock—and is usually the word to precede Werk (combined, this compound word means “movement’).

Stunning Urwerk Wristwatches

Urwerk’s timepieces are nothing short of breathtaking. Baumgartner’s calibers have so far included the premise of a ‘control board’ on the back, which includes the power reserve display illustrating how many hours are left in the manually wound movement as well as two overlapping gauges at the center comprising the chronometer window—a very helpful function for setting the time to the exact second, especially since these are not displayed on the front of the watch. The little screw in the lower right-hand corner is the fine-tuning index, which for the first time gives the wearer the opportunity to regulate his or her own watch—forward or backward to a maximum of 30 seconds in a 24- hour period.

The front of these watches is no less stunning, though. Baumgartner explains that the principal technical challenge was ensuring good isochronal performance of his satellites while reducing friction and loss of energy. This is no simple task as the satellite complication weighs 160 times more than traditional hands do. Thus, Baumgartner chose high-tech materials to minimize mass, maximizing his horological creations chronometric efficiency.

Urwerk Watch Models

The four hour satellites of the UR-103 model, each of which completes a full revolution every four hours, are thus are crafted in aluminum and suspended underneath a grade 2 titanium orbital cross. The complication is mounted on a nonmagnetic Arcap P40 base plate providing superior strength and stability as compared with traditional metals. Model UR-202 boasts ‘telescopic,’or variable-length, minute hands that extend from the revolving hour satellites, thus enabling a more precise display of the minutes. ‘Horology is in my blood; I am the son and grandson of watchmakers,’ Baumgartner says of his background. “The first musical concert I remember was played by the more than fifty clocks tick-tocking in his workshop in our home. I was a watchmaker by birth, and am now a watchmaker by passion.’ Proving the point, though it may be hard to believe, Urwerk’s timepieces are truly based in traditional watchmaking, but they also represent things yet to come.  Urwerk’s limited-production, handmade watches are for the serious individualist.

URWERK 103.09 RG – MINT CONDITION – MEMBER IWJG $38,995.00

URWERK POWER RESERVE 103.07 in WHITE GOLD LNIB $32,500.00

URWERK 103.03 in ROSE GOLD LNIB $30,000.00

ALIEN ON MY MIND – Same CD Rare 97 1.pr URWERK $36.99

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