Creating Urwerk
In 1995, Felix Baumgartner, a promising young watchmaker, and Martin Frei, an industrial designer, first met in order to discuss the idea of creating a new way to perceive time. From their meeting, Urwerk was born, a combination of the words Ur – the city where time was first measured over 6,000 years ago using sun-lit obelisks and Werk – which means "to create" in German.
Felix Baumgartner first learnt about watchmaking in his father’s atelier, who restored historically significant clocks, including the Campani brothers’ night clock from 1656, believed to feature the first ever wandering hours complication. He would later attend the prestigious watchmaking school in Solothurn and create complicated watches for independent Sven Andersen. The other half of Urwerk, Martin Frei has a background in graphic and industrial design, complementing Felix’s watchmaking abilities.
Following their meeting, the pair established Urwerk in 1997. In the same year, they launched the UR-101 and UR-102 watches at Baselworld, the first steps in their mission to push forward innovative ways of displaying time. With their atypical time display, use of modern materials and futurist design, the first Urwerk watches certainly surprised the rather conservative watch world. As Felix Baumgartner himself recalls, "we were not businessmen. It was extremely risky because we had no idea how our watches would be accepted.”
The wandering hours complication
It is believed that the wandering hours complication was first used on a night clock designed for Pope Alexander XII in 1656 by the Campani brothers, a well-known family of clockmakers in Rome. The insomniac pope requested the ability to read time in the dark, so an oil lamp was placed inside the clock case, illuminating the dial and allowing him to read the time through the open-worked numerals. The concept was briefly translated to pocket watches but was supplanted by the two-hand method of displaying time. It is either an improbable coincidence or an early source of inspiration that Baumgartner’s father was once involved in its restoration, at a time when his son would have been around the workshop.
This Urwerk 103.01 EW offers a contemporary take on the wandering hours complication, with a monochromatic colour palette and a futuristic design inspired by science fiction and space exploration. Having released the UR-101 and UR-102 in 1997, the manufacture ran with their hearts and brought the brand new 103.01 to the world six years later. This radical development is widely considered as the reference which put them on the map, with a redesigned wandering hours complication and an entirely new case profile.
The 103.01 displays time thanks to three satellite discs, which rotate on a centre wheel, where the hour and minute hands are usually attached. The hours on the disks point to the minutes on a 120-degree sector, gliding over them over the course of an hour. The rotating ring turns 360 degrees, one full turn, in 3 hours.
A futuristic design
Aesthetically, the 103.01 EW embodies Urwerk's approach to watchmaking, with a futuristic design which has become synonymous with the brand. The case is made out of white gold, which has developed a light patina over time. Deep, linear, engravings run vertically down the curved case surface, whilst a curvaceous sapphire crystal offers full view of the wandering complication. The atypical sapphire crystal and distinct case proportions are reminiscent of a spaceship, enhancing the whimsical nature of the watch.
A recessed crown at 12 o'clock features deep engravings, allowing the user to wind and set the watch with ease. Whilst this too resembles some kind of aeronautical exhaust system, it serves as a gentle reminder of the manufactures industrial, engineering background; whilst style and form hold strong, high functionality remains equally apparent.
On the case back, dual automotive-like dashboard apertures in a grained finish show the running seconds and a 15 minute setting window, of which the numerals have been engraved into. Other than providing a welcome change in texture to the metallic case, these apertures allow for greater accuracy when setting the time, though does so in a satisfying, yet subtle way. The 15 minute hand is in gold, adding a small touch of colour to the relatively reserved palette, whilst the seconds hand is in silver. Aside from these, an arching power reserve indicator is also on the caseback, adding yet more functionality.
The Movement
Powering the wandering hours satellites is Urwerk’s manual-winding Calibre 3.03, beating at 21,600bph/3Hz, with a power-reserve of 43-hours. Additionally, there is also a user adjustable fine-tuning screw on the caseback, that acts on the index which changes the rate of the balance, by altering the effective length of the balance-spring. The owner can thus adjust the rate of the watch to gain or lose up to 30 seconds a day. This was a feature commonly seen in Pocket-watches, often left un-sealed so the owner could easily open the watch and set the index fast or slow. However some makers, including Abraham-Louis Breguet, provided for adjustment without opening the case, as seen in this Urwerk 103.01 EW. Such a device is extremely rare in modern wristwatches.
The Set
This Urwerk 103.01 EW comes with its Urwerk travel case and retailers receipt, confirming the sale in 2018 - Pennsylvania USA. It also comes with its original brown alligator Urwerk strap and white gold manufactures buckle, alongside a new woven anthracite fabric Urwerk strap.
If sold within the United Kingdom, this Urwerk 103.01 EW will be subject to 20% VAT. Viewings are currently suspended for the time being.
