287 articles found · page 8 of 10
Quill & Pad
The Opus 5 by Felix Baumgartner/Urwerk for Harry Winston is one of the best of this series of exceptional timepieces. But, as this drawing by Urwerk designer Martin Frei from June of 2003 shows, one of the original ideas behind Urwerk’s Opus 5 was a digital display in a model christened with the working title "Time Bandit." Check out this superb almost-was timepiece!
SJX Watches
Self-taught Russian clock- and watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin, who has built notably complex timepieces, is ironically best known for the Joker, a relatively simple watch. The Joker is powered by an ETA 2814 base movement with an in-house module of just 61 parts that drives the novel time display: two sub-dials, positioned like eyes in a face, for hours respectively minutes, and a moon phase at six o’clock resembling a smiling mouth – the funny face of time. When first unveiled the inaugural Joker in steel at Baselworld 2017, the 99-piece limited edition sold out quickly. The watch also enjoyed critical acclaim; the subsequent Joker Clown won the Audacity Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve 2018. Konstantin notes he was particularly surprised how eagerly the love-or-hate design was embraced by collectors of high-end watches. So his extended the Joker concept to the top-end of the price spectrum, with the limited edition Joker automaton developed with fellow independent watchmaker Svend Andersen. And then Konstantin recently revealed he was participating in charity auction Only Watch 2019 – alongside peers like Akrivia, F.P. Journe, Urwerk and De Bethune – which piqued my interest, so I reached out to Konstantin to find out more. The Joker automaton by Andersen and Chaykin Inspiration strikes As Luc Pettavino, the founder of Only Watch, was planning the 2019 event, he approached Konstantin to suggest a straightforward variant of the origin...
Revolution
On this episode of the Revolution Watch Podcast, Urwerk’s Felix Baumgartner walks us through the creation of the brand and its extraordinary timepieces.
SJX Watches
When Urwerk cofounder Felix Baumgartner was in town recently to launch the UR-100 SpaceTime, I quizzed him on the De Bethune and Urwerk collaboration for Only Watch 2019. While the other brands taking part in the charity auction had already unveiled photos or renderings of their respective creations, Urwerk and De Bethune only offered a pen drawing. Felix replied that the movement had been completed and delivered to De Bethune some weeks ago, and Denis Flageollet, De Bethune’s resident technical genius, was working on building the one-off titanium case. And now Mr Flageollet has completed the watch, and this is it. The initial drawing The meeting of minds Named the Moon Satellite, the watch is essentially an Urwerk wandering hours time display module – with the time indicated on satellites – mounted on top of a hand-wound De Bethune movement, resulting in the cal. DBUR2105. Visually the movement is trademark De Bethune. The calibre has a delta-shaped barrel bridge that is entirely mirror polished, as is the base plate, one of the most distinctive movement treatments of De Bethune. And in striking contrast against the polished surfaces, the balance and shock absorber bridges are in blued steel. The base movement cal. DB2105 boasts several of De Bethune’s patented innovations, including a spider-like titanium balance wheel, the triple pare-chute shock absorber for the balance, as well as the De Bethune hairspring and silicon escape wheel. And it also incorporat...
Time+Tide
The horological mavericks at Urwerk have just dropped their latest wristwatch and it is, pardon the pun, out of this world! The Urwerk UR-100 SpaceTime is a stratospherically cool and novel concept for a timepiece, and one that seems very, very complicated indeed. Essentially, the SpaceTime will not only tell its lucky owners the time, but the … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Urwerk UR-100 SpaceTime appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
Known for its innovative, avant-garde complications and cases inspired by sci-fi, Urwerk’s latest creation is doubly interesting. The UR-100 SpaceTime takes the astronomical theme even further with two quirky, celestial indicators – and it is also priced as an entry-level model. The UR-100 utilises the brand’s signature wandering-hours satellite display, where conventional hands are replaced by a semi-circular minute gauge, across which three discs mounted on a carousel sweep successively. It was originally invented in the 17th century for a Vatican City clock, then popularised for wristwatches in the early 1990s by Audemars Piguet with the Star Wheel. But it was Urwerk that took the wandering hours into the 21st century when it launched at UR-103 in 2003; though it was not the first Urwerk wristwatch, the UR-103 was the watch that put the brand on the map (and the recent UR-105 is a nod to the original). Celestial hours On the UR-100 SpaceTime, the hours wander even further: once the red minute pointer completes 60 minutes (or an hour), it disappears under a bridge and reappears through a cutout at 10 o’clock to indicate the distance travelled from the Earth’s rotation on its own axis, as measured at the equator, or 555km every 20 minutes. Another red pointer at two o’clock measures the distance travelled by the Earth orbiting the Sun, which is 35,740km every 20 minutes. Both astronomical distance displays, however, are a philosophical exercis...
Time+Tide
Johnny Dowell has been on the watch world’s radar for some time (heck, we interviewed him here), having worked with Urwerk and others on some pretty spectacular production pieces, as well as numerous custom jobs. But, perhaps unsurprisingly, Johnny’s career in engraving didn’t start with watches - he went through the far more traditional route … ContinuedThe post RECOMMENDED READING: Chatting to engraving royalty with King Nerd appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
SJX Watches
The average Urwerk is distinctly sci-fi in appearance, more Star Trek than Games of Thrones. But every once in a while Urwerk gives one of its watches the ornately-fully-engraved treatment, with the latest being the UR-111C “Pistol”. It’s a one-off creation based on the UR-111C, a watch inspired by the earlier and much more expensive UR-CC1, itself modelled on the 1950s Patek Philippe ref. 3414, an experimental wristwatch nicknamed “Cobra”. The standard UR-111C has a streamlined case with a mechanical looking details, very much in the house style of Urwerk. The Pistol, in contrast, is decorated on all surfaces with an ornate motif that’s hand-engraved by Urwerk’s go-to engraver. It was commissioned by a client who has a soft spot for such engraved Urwerk watches; the UR-111C “Pistol” is his third fully engraved watch. (Editor’s note: This Pistol shares the same name as the EMC Pistol from 2015, and was decorated by the same engraver, but is a completely different model.) Inspired by 19th century French wrought iron fixtures, the motif is in relief, raised against the background by only a fraction of a millimetre but enough to give it significant depth. Add to that the refined, narrow and perfectly straight lines of the decoration, and the talent of the engraver is obvious. Credit for the work goes to Florian Güllert, an Austrian engraver who trained as a gunsmith and usually decorates firearms. Based in Klagenfurt, a city in the south of ...
Revolution
URWERK creates the UR-105 The Hour Glass to mark the Singapore based retailer’s 40th anniversary.
SJX Watches
Singapore retailer The Hour Glass kicked off its 40th anniversary limited editions with the all-platinum Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph, now followed by a pair of watches from leading independent watchmakers, De Bethune and Urwerk. The Singapore retailer is getting a three-piece limited edition based on the current UR-105, but one that’s also a throwback to the brand’s early creations. In aged bronze and titanium, The UR-105 “The Hour Glass” similar to the UR-105 CT Bronze unveiled earlier this year, but streamlined and sans the sprung lid over the front – a simplification of the design that’s also an improvement. Appropriate enough for a retailer that’s been selling Urwerk for 15 years, the commemorative edition features elements borrowed from Urwerk models over the years, creating a watch that’s a nostalgic reminder of the brand’s foundational watches from the early 2000s. UR-103 reborn The UR-105 was launched in 2014 as the successor to the UR-103, first launched in 2003. The bestselling Urwerk to date and arguably the brand’s signature watch, the UR-103 was the watch that made Urwerk a champion of avant-garde mechanical watchmaking. A nod to that milestone watch, the commemorative UR-105 features a U-shaped sapphire crystal, just as it was on the UR-103.03. While the very first version of the watch, the UR-103.01, featuring a narrow, curved window for the time, the UR-103.03 of 2005 expanded the view with a far larger cry...
Deployant
At Urwerk, we have 3 novelties. We begin with the UR-111 Black. A new color way in black PVD over SS with orange and yellow SuperLuminova. Limited to 25 a year. CHF 130,000. Next is an interesting collaboration with the artist Emmanuel Esposito who make art knifes, from Torino Italy. Knives and watches. Emmanuel’s specialRead More
Revolution
Urwerk, Revolution and Johnny ‘King Nerd’ Dowell combine forces for the fifth time to create the five piece limited edition, UR-T8 Skull.
Deployant
Urwerk presented 3 watches. First the UR-111C which was released last year. We have covered this in detail. See our full review here: https://deployant.com/review-urwerk-ur-111c/ The final version of the UR-105CT Maverick. Case in Ti, bezel in bronze which will patina. LE 22 pcs. CHF 67,000. The UR-AMC watch / atomic clock is now a commercial reality.Read More
Revolution
Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner of URWERK on winning Revolution’s Revolutionary Watch of the Year 2018 and crafting timepieces to the accuracy of an atomic clock.
Revolution
Urwerk debuted the very first Project AMC at Westime Miami.
Revolution
Once again, the global editors of Revolution weigh in on the best timepieces of the year, as well as the personalities that shaped the watch industry.
Revolution
An atomic clock, a crown roller, optical fibers, kryptonite and Robert Downey Jr - just some of the things that have been cooking at Urwerk this last year.
Deployant
We take a look at the latest timepiece from Urwerk: the UR-111C. How does the UR-111C stack up against the other Urwerk? Click here to find out.
Revolution
The new UR-111, which walks back a few of the linear displays in order to emphasise linear minutes on a rotating cylinder and interlocking seconds.
Revolution
Revolution
The series continues with the UR-105 Bronze Guardian Lions with the engraved artwork of our in-house master engraver, Johnny “King Nerd” Dowell.
Revolution
Revolution goes hands on with key novelties from URWERK x Revolution at Baselworld 2018.
Revolution
Revolution gets a lesson in URWERK’s Atomic Mechanical Control, straight from the brand’s founders, at Baselworld 2018.
Deployant
Technical notes on the Urwerk AMC. A technical discourse on how it works, why it is an important step in modern horology, and how it is related to the Breguet Symphatique.
Revolution
Johnny shares how he became an engraver, what attracted him to watches and what eventually led him to collaborate with Revolution to create unique URWERK timepieces.
Revolution
The first brand that Revolution collaborate with was URWERK because of the intellectual and philosophical alignment between the brand and Dowell’s work.
Deployant
Time Æon Foundation announces the support of Robert Greubel, Stephen Forsey, Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei on a new project by two young and talented watchmakers: Dominique Buser and Cyrano Devanthey.
Revolution
Once again, the global editors of Revolution weigh in on the best timepieces of the year, as well as the personalities that shaped the watch industry.
Deployant
We spotted Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah sporting a timepiece from independent brand Urwerk while attending the 2017 CAF African Player of the Year.
Revolution
Just ahead of kicking Dubai Watch Week off, Urwerk introduces the UR-210 Dubai, fully engraved by longtime collaborator, Florian Güllert.
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