The Complete Urwerk Story

[Josh]

THE COMPLETE URWERK STORY

From Struggle to Success - in their own words





By Wei Koh

Fade up from black. The void recedes and there you have it… that first moment where the screen hero materialize and speaks. In all of the screen writing books, you’re told that it’s the first words uttered by your protagonist that define him. Having provided this genesis, the words then set-up the arc of his evolution in the scenes to come. In the celluloid universe as in reality, language IS character. So it was that as a child, Felix Baumgartner, founder of URWERK, said the word that would come to define him; that would come to jack-hammer the fierce outline of his future; and that in many ways would set into motion a revolution in the world of high watchmaking. Baumgartner recalls, “My first word was not “father” or “mother” , but UR: the German word for clock,


Felix Baumgartner

The books say that the environment enforces your character’s identity and reveals his over riding needs. Felix Baumgartner grew up amid a pantheon of watchmaking’s greatest achievements. His family home and atelier were lined with clocks and chronometers from watchmaking’s Golden Age. They were relics of the 18th century; when horology, that fusion between science and magic, was cherished above all other art. Names like Le Roy, Breguet and Janvier were written across the dials of these chalices of human passion, these engines of fire, and collectively they told him the story of timekeeping. Says Baumgartner, “My father (Gerry Baumgartner) has restored some of the most significant old clocks in history, including the resonance clocks created by Antide Janvier. I grew up surrounded by the history of watchmaking.”



Had he played it safe, had he followed in the unerring path of un-ambitious acquiescence, Baumgartner would today be one of the top watchmakers at Vacheron Constantin or Patek Philippe having experienced a steady metronomic rise to the top of his profession. But having learned at his father’s bench the vast mythic secrets of ancient horology, he knew he had to create rupture. One as profound and personal as the filmic rupture expressed by Goddard. Because Baumgartner understood that the world around him was changing, its jaded vernacular fading to dust. In its place a new world was rising: a world of globalization, of non existent frontiers, of environmental commerce, of war over oil, of new forms of cinema. This world resonated with a new urgency in music and art and was presided over by an emerging New Power Elite. This new generation sought out the deep artisan values of watchmaking because it connected them to the innate humanity of luxury. But at the same time they sought to define luxury on their own terms, through the forceful interpretation of new linguistic and visual symbols. And it was Baumgartner that felt he could sing their anthem.




THE BIRTH OF THE ORBITAL TIMEKEEPING


Martin Frei

In the filmic journey of the hero, the protagonist meets the right people to help him achieve the need burning at his core. In 1995 Baumgartner and his brother Thomas met Martin Frei, a graphic designer and artist with a flair for sculpting form that expressed high velocity with a cool minimalist flair. At this time, both brothers had made a name for themselves working in the grande maisons of watchmaking’s high culture and they desperately sought the means to transpose its traditions of refined finish and artisan values into a timepiece that looked like it has been transported light years from distant alien shores. At the core of their concept was an ancient method of time telling using a carousel fixed with orbital hour indicators floating beside a fixed minute track. The Baumgartners had become mesmerized by this form of showing time. The indication was first found in a night clock created in 1656 for Alexandre XII by the Campanus Brothers and it offers an appealingly poetic method of representing time. One where there are no hands to chase each other in a perennially reinforcement of time’s fleeting nature. Time here was primary … naked and bare and pure. Somehow the minimal nature of the orbital display – where only the precise moment that you are in is shown – was evocative of the Zen Buddhist philosophy of embracing the moment. This message would have huge relevance in the globally tumultuous years to come. But for Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei their journey had only just begun, in 1995 and over the next decade they would experience hardship and struggle before ultimately achieving incendiary success.

The following interview was conducted by Wei Koh and Ng Tjeng Jaw with URWERK at their Geneva atelier. All images are by Josh Hu. HoroMundi would like to thank Yacine Sar for putting us all together.



Why did you settle on the orbital hour display as your signature focus?

FB: I loved the Campanus brothers clock because of its simplicity, because of its orbital poetry, and because it was a very complex mechanism that created a simple, almost serene ,expression of time. It’s like in Stanely Kubrick’s 2001 where you see the space stations orbiting and they are engaged in a graceful zero gravity dance. What I liked about Martin’s drawing was that the watch was closed so that you only saw the only absolute mimimum needed for telling the time.

MF: We met in Zurich and Felix and Thomas showed me their indication of time based on this 17th century design. At first I didn’t understand the indication, but once they explained it to me I realized how simple it was. I really liked this contrast of an object that appears almost intimidatingly complex at first, then, when you know its secret, it is so enchantingly simple. For me the original concept of URWERK was related to minimalism; how little could we show to give a reading of time. So our first two watches have a very strong minimalist feel. We took advantage of this indication to have a huge expanse of space for the case with no indication except at the very top. It became a time telling sculpture.

You augmented the orbital hour indicator using Maltese crosses that vastly improved its function is that correct?

FB: We studied the mechanisms that were used in orbital clocks and we discovered that they all used star wheels inside the satellites to get them to rotate. This is exactly the same type of mechanism used by Audemars Piguet in their Star Wheel watches. The problem with the star wheel is that you need a spring to drive it; this spring takes quite a lot of energy so you have a drop in the watch’s amplitude each time it changes hour. Also, if you set the time too quickly, the star can jump more than one hour. So it was our idea to use a Maltese Cross instead of a star wheel. There were significant advantages to this: a Maltese Cross doesn’t take energy when it changes and you cannot make it jump or skip an hour.

THE DESIGNS OF THE UR 101 AND 102 – POPULAR CULTURE MEETS HIGH WATCHMAKING



FB: Martin made a lot of drawings and the one I liked best became the 102. I saw it and I said. “We have to do this”. Its interesting because the designs that Martin likes use rounded forms, but always cut by very hard lines and, if you think about it, this is sort of a universal expression for speed. Whether you are looking at Ferrari’s new 599 or a Wallypower yacht, the recurring means for invoking high velocity in a man-made object uses this contrast of an organic form cut by hard lines. The 102 was inspired by the Soviet satellite Sputnik while the 101 was inspired by Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon from the film Star Wars.

MF: It was perhaps quite significant that at this time we were the only high-end watch brand that was actively seeking inspiration from contemporary culture. This probably started with my involvement because the Baumgartners could have easily found a watch designer amongst their watchmaking peers. I felt it was essential to stress the asymmetry of the watch; if we were going to have the time indication on one side only then it was important to style the opposite side of the watch differently, to make almost a small animal out of the case, giving it a sense of head and tail which again emphasizes speed.

FB: We are not businessmen, initially we began as a core group of artists that wanted to interpret time differently. You can’t do something this radical as a businessman because in that context you might take some risk, but not risk everything. You want to have some assurance your products will be accepted. We went really to the extreme of risk because we had no idea how our watches would be accepted. When we first launched our watches in 1997 people thought we were essentially crazy. But we wanted to bring something original to watchmaking. I come from three generations of watchmakers and I knew I couldn’t keep repeating the past. We had to build something new on the solid foundations of the culture I was born into.



THE LEAN YEARS
URWERK first unveiled its vision for timekeeping in 1997 and it would be something of an understatement to say their watches were ahead of their time. Indeed, the ground-level enthusiasm was tempered by little commercial and critical acceptance. This reaction of baffled amusement would set the tone for the brand over the next half a decade. During this period URWERK would build a small cult following, in particular, by like-minded visionaries such as the owners of the American cult jewelry brand, Chrome Hearts. But the brand would stay largely undiscovered. During this period Baumgartner and Frei clung tenaciously to the dream that their vision of new wave high-watchmaking would take root in the larger consumer landscape, but for a long dry period their force of will was the only thing that compelled them to continue.



When did you launch your watches and what was the reaction?

FB: We launched both the 101 and 102 at the Baselworld AHCI stand in 1997. When you do something with a lot of passion you feel great when people react strongly to the watch. We had people saying they thought it was great, but two major problems were that no one bought it and no one wrote any articles on the watch.

MF: That was a hard year. The first time we presented the watches we placed them on heating plates, which I thought looked really cool. It was a bit like installation art but the other watchmakers were very upset by this because they felt it wasn’t horology.

How did the brand survive?

FB: From time to time we were doing special commissions like the Rothschild watch. We were commissioned by someone from the Rothschild family to incorporated the five arrows from their family coat of arms into a watch.

Any more near misses?

MF: Another idea that we had was to make a sort of salon table incorporating a three dimensional astrolabe. The people building a very exclusive hotel in Dubai said they had wanted us to include a kind of space ship-like desk clock that was integrated in the wall and that emerged when you wanted to use it. The clock actually had a projector beam that would shoot the time up on the ceiling. But this project was abandoned.

How did you survive?

FB: I worked on one very interesting movement for Vacheron Constantin: an entire movement held in place using ball bearings. Only the balance and the anchor used rubies. I remember being fascinated by this movement and perhaps it was at this point that I became interested in using ball bearings in our complications.

MF: I remember around this time I would go over to Felix’s atelier and we had a original 45 of the Rolling Stones, "Time Is On My Side". We would play it over and over again to keep us inspired to keep going on. Sometimes we were depressed by how difficult it was to continue having absolutely no money. But then we would start talking about the watches and the passion would fuel us; it would fill us up and we would always end the evening feeling more hopeful and believing in the future.

THE GOLDPFEIL PROJECT
As one millennium came to an end, a new one began: Baumgartner and Frei were approached by the German luxury giant Goldpfeil to create a series of watches for an ultimately ill-fated collaborative project they had began with the Academy of Independent Watchmakers.



Why did the Goldpfeil project fail?

FB: The concept of the Goldpfeil project was that there would be seven members of the Academy who would unveil their watches simultaneously. But when it came time for the launch, only three of us were ready. Honestly, I felt that the amount of time given, which was six months, was not sufficient to make a really good watch, to conceptualize, to construct and to build something really original. So this is why we decided to do something very simple, so that we could ensure that we were on time. Goldpfeil decided to put millions into the communication and marketing of this project, but not enough into the product itself. Maybe I’m being a little but tough. But I think that is where I see the greatest contrast between the Goldpfeil project and Harry Winston’s Opus Projects. The difference is that Max Busser loves horology and also respects it. He understood the realities of coming up with a truly innovative timepiece and pushed us to do out best work.

At the same time it would be unkind of me to disparage the Goldpfeil project because the truth was their order for watches kept us afloat. Business was really not what we’d hoped and we were in something of a depression. We thought that perhaps we could not make URWERK run on its own. So at the time we put a lot of hope and aspiration into the Goldpfeil project. At first there was so much excitement about the project ,but then it all quickly fell apart. I have to tell you at this point our morale really hit rock bottom. It was as if we were always just so close to success, but never making it.



Were you paid for all your efforts?

At first we weren’t paid. Then in 2002 they ended up paying us by accident because they had intended to pay someone else and accidentally sent us a check for the money we were owed. So essentially at this stage we had exactly 100,000 Swiss Francs operational funds for our company. And we all sat in this room and looked at each other. We had done the 101 and the 102 and we had already started designing the 103 to incorporate my father’s idea of placing the time indication on the bottom of the watch. We asked ourselves the big question, “What should we do with the money? Should we shut down the company? Should we all take a big holiday? Are we too burnt out to continue?” And in the end we all looked at each other and decided to push on. We believed in our hearts that URWERK had a reason to be and surely there were customers out there, that were fans of true watchmaking but wanted it to be defined in new terms. There had to be people that shared our vision. So instead of playing it safe we took a huge gamble, sinking every cent of this money, plus my entire savings of 40,000Sfr which I made working at Vacheron Constantin, into a watch called the 103.

BREAKTHROUGH – THE UR 103.01

In 2003 after enduring 6 years of hardship, rejection and struggle, URWERK unveiled the 103.01, a watch that Baumgartner and Frei sunk all of their life savings into creating. The phenomenal gamble paid off! Word began to spread of this timepiece that electrified critics and consumer alike. The 103.01 differed from the UR 101 and 201, both of which used two satellites fixed to a larger carousel. In the 103 series, an ultra-light titanium orbital cross bears four hour satellites each bearing three hour indices. Satellite one is engraved with the 1,5 and 9 index, satellite two bears 2,5 and 10, satellite three bears 3, 7 and 11 and fourth and last satellite bears 4,8 and 12. Each of these indices is engraved at an inclined angle so that users can check the time as it orbits at the bottom perimeter of the watch along the minute track, without shifting their wrist position. This also holds true for checking time while driving with your hands on the steering wheel of a car. The UR-103 series were also the first URWERK watches to feature control boards integrated into the watch backs. This offered readings for power reserve, precise minutes that were synchronized to the front side carousel, and an externally accessible fine regulator that could allow fine tuning of timing precision without having to open the watch. The UR 103 was revelatory, combining science fiction with the fluid drama of Umberto Boccioni’s futurist sculpture with innovative time telling expressionism and a vast array of interactive functions.

When did you decide to shift the time telling indication to the bottom of the watch as seem in the UR -103.

MF: Initially we were doing all the indications on the top of our watches. And it was actually Felix’s father that said why don’t you invert it? If you put the indications at the bottom edge of the watch then people will be able to read it when they have their hands on the steering wheel when driving.

This watch has a fantastically complex case can you elaborate?


Christian Gros

FB: We first met Christian Gros when he had fabricated all the cases of the Goldpfeil watches. We were really impressed what he could do with his five-axis CNC machines and this gave us a great deal of liberation in the design of the 103. Here was a very pure strong shape that was also very complex to execute. After he made the 103 Christian explained that this was the hardest case he ever had to make . . . and he had made the case for the Opus 3! The development cost for developing the case and the sapphire glass was huge. The sapphire glass is curved on two axis which was considered impossible to manufacture at the time. Every cent we had went into making the first series of five 103 watches in steel. And we were by no means certain that this watch would be embraced because we had such success with the 101 and 102 and this time we had created a super crazy watch.

How was the UR 103 received?

MF: When we launched the 103, perhaps the market had evolved and perhaps our vision had also matured. But it was the first time that people really took us seriously. I remember that they were initially fascinated by the three dimensional inclination of the satellites, but what hooked them was when they turned the watch and saw the control board.

What was the challenge with this watch?

FB: Creating the carousel mechanism was far more challenging than anything we’d done before. It is 160 times heavier than a pair of traditional hands so we used titanium and aluminum to make it as light as possible. As a watchmaker it was a big challenge for me to get this mechanism balanced, to rotate smoothly, and be dependable. Today our watches are amongst the most challenging to assemble because of the fine balance needed for the carousel.

Where the idea for the control board come from?

FB: The idea for the control board came from the marine chronometers where you had many different types of information which are functional, but not used all day, so they put them on the back. So you see again we have done a modern interpretation of classic horology.

MF: I like the idea of the control board as telling you the condition of the watch. It’s almost like a information center that monitors your watch’s health?



Why did you place a screw on the board that allows people to adjust their watch run faster or slower?

FB: The self-regulating feature comes from Abraham Louis Breguet who put them on his pocket watches. It gives the wearer the opportunity to interact with his watch. The other benefit is, when you bring your watch in for example to get the strap changed, the watchmaker can do a quick adjustment for timing accuracy without having to open up the watch and compromise the water resistance.

Are you concerned that people will damage their watches using this?

FB: No. The mechanism is built in such a way that you can turn it 50 times in one direction and it will not do any damage to the movement. There is a fork and an ex-center piece coming into the fork. Even if you make a complete revolution of the ex-center you still only affect the timing by so much.

Four years after it was launched the 103 is still as fresh and vibrant as ever. What’s the secret to its longevity?

MF: We are now in a period where people are making increasingly wild “machines” that can be strapped to the wrist and worn as a type of horologically related jewelry. But for URWERK it was always important to be respectful of watchmaking’s history; we respect the human anatomy in the way we design watches because we understand they must be worn. The 103 was a big watch, but when you wear it is very comfortable and I like this contrast of something very futuristic looking that ends up being surprisingly interactive with the human body.



Who played the biggest role in the success of the UR - 103?

FB: John Simonian, the owner of Westime in Los Angeles, played an instrumental role in the success of URWERK. He was really the first to back us up with an order that expressed his confidence in the brand. Pierre Halimi introduced us to John during the 2003 Basel Fair. He took a look at our watch and then he placed an order of 14 pieces of the 103. We almost fell out of our chairs, for us it was really incredible and a very emotional moment. We had struggled for so long and when John placed this order to a large extent we felt things were starting to change for the better and that at long last people understood our vision for high watchmaking.



In 2005, in tandem with the launch of Harry Winston’s Opus 5, URWERK launched the 103.03 resulting in another major commercial coupe. While the change that resulted in this watch sounds simple, it was profoundly difficult to execute. Designer Martin Frei opened up the case of the 103.01 to create a transparent sapphire canopy that unveiled the stunningly architectural titanium orbital cross and luminous satellites. Viewed in low light conditions, the four luminous satellites look like a squadron of UFO’s in a pre-attack flight pattern. The complexity of the sapphire glass “Targa” top made it nearly impossible to render until new techniques were developed specifically to create it. Opening the watch created a sense of cockpit for the watch, making it instantly evocative of high speed power yachts or artisan race cars. Such is the visual impact of the UR 103.03 that it can be found on the wrist of celebrities such as NBA legend Michael Jordan.




Was there some initial resistance from Martin to put a glass top in the UR -103?

FB: You have to understand that the original idea of URWERK was to make a watch that was very pure, very stark and somehow very minimalist so we did not think for sometime about revealing how the orbital hour indicator worked. But my question to Martin was, 'Should we show the huge effort we put into the carousel?' I guess I was thinking like a watchmaker. I do the work that goes into the watch so it’s natural that I want people to see the technical effort within. At first there was some resistance from Martin because this went against the artistic minimalist ethos of the brand. But then we realized that by fabricating a large part of the watch in sapphire we could also create a largely scratch proof case and this gave us a functional impetus to proceed.

MF: Once I got past my resistance to the idea I started to think about how to open up the case and I started to find it quite appealing because you are taking functional elements and giving them an aesthetic significance. Felix was right, once we opened it, you could see people’s eyes gravitating toward the watch, drawn their by the unique appearance of the mechanism.




Your next watch would take the orbital complication one step further, even further than Opus 5?

FB: We really try to stretch the definition of “complication” with our orbital expressions of timekeeping. I have a huge amount of respect for Richard Mille. He is a real innovator regarding style, design, new types of indications such as his torque indicator and the reinterpretation of luxury using lightweight watches, but he has not yet focused on creating new complications. His watches feature traditional complications like the rattrapante or the tourbillon. We want to make the type of watches, and ways of interpreting time, that have not existed before. We did this with our next project, The Hammerhead!

THE CRITICAL SMASH – OPUS 5






In 2001, Harry Winston had created a huge buzz in the watch industry. At the behest of its charismatic young Managing Director Max Busser, Harry Winston commenced the Opus Project in which the legendary jeweler teamed up with brilliant, but largely unknown, independent watchmakers, to forge some of the most inventive examples of timekeeping art in history. The Opus project had been instrumental in bringing names like Francois-Paul Journe and Vianney Halter to the forefront of consumer’s consciousness. In 2003 URWERK was tapped to create what would be the last Opus watch under Busser’s helm at Harry Winston. And while the opportunity was a huge commercial boost to URWERK, it would also lead to some of the most emotionally difficult and tumultuous years for the young brand.

How did you become involved in Harry Winston’s Opus Project?

MF: In 2003 someone from Harry Winston came to our stand; he liked our watch (ur-103) and invited us to the Harry Winston booth to meet Max Busser. Max as he likes to say was “really blown away” by the 103. After talking we decided to conceptualize the Opus 5. Initially the agreement was for a watch that we code-named, 'Time Bandit'.



Did this have anything to do with a slot machine?

FB: Yes, you had to arm it like a slot machine. The time indications were placed on cylinders, but the watch did not show the time until you armed it. Once you released the arming lever these cylinders would turn until they stopped precisely at the right time. It was a completely crazy idea. It was really more complicated than a minute repeater; in fact, the base of this watch was essentially a minute repeater. You had a time telling base caliber and then a system of snail cams and racks like that in a minute repeater. When you armed the watch you would essentially be arming something similar to as strike barrel. But instead of translating the time into hammer strikes on gongs they would operate this one arm bandit like indication. And this indication involved a whole additional mechanism.

When conceptualizing the watch we were joking that we were gambling with time, because we didn’t know if it was possible to create in a little over one year. This proved right.

CHALLENGES
Because you ultimately cancelled the project; correct?

FB: Yes. Because the watch was so complex to produce I had large concerns about its functionality. What I didn’t want was to create something that looked impressive but then became a source of frustration to its owner because it was so delicate. As a watchmaker you need to be honest to yourself about how functional and reliable the watch you are creating is. Anyone who buys an incredibly expensive complication and then has nothing but problems with it may be put off horology forever because of the nightmare. For me a true complication must be wearable; it must work; and you must be able to wear it everyday.

It is a very difficult thing to say that you think a crazy idea is not going to work. Before we went to see Max we knew we had to come up with an equally mind blowing alternative to the Time Bandit!

Is this when the three dimensional pyramids comprising the Opus 5’s hour indicators emerged?

MF: Yes. The alternative idea came from a drawing I made of a watch with hands shaped as three-dimensional cones that rotated at 90 degrees to the central rotational axis.

How did Max Busser feel when we told him we had to drop the Time Bandit?

FB: Martin and I went to his office in Geneva and I told him, “I’m sorry but as a watchmaker I don’t think it’s safe to proceed in this direction.” He looked at us and swallowed hard and said, “OK.” We showed him different concepts and one of them was this watch with the three dimensional cones at 90 degrees. He immediately gravitated to this idea. I had by this point added the huge retrograde indicator as a kind of marriage between Harry Winston and URWERK as the retrograde indicators are a signature element of Winston’s watches. (Harry Winston created the world’s first double retrograde perpetual calendar)



But this was no mere retrograde hand correct?

FB: This hand was a big achievement. It doesn’t simply pivot on one point but it follows a track on the perimeter of the carousel. I had to learn how to fabricate a special coiled spring that is 5/100th of a millimeter in diameter to load the hand, and I used ball bearings to allow the hand to slide freely on the track. I got the idea for the ball bearings from the old Vacheron Constantin movement I repaired.



Opus 5 is often considered the most stunning of the Opus watches; did its success help promote your name?

The Opus 5 and its big critical and commercial success really helped bring our name to a wider audience. At the same time the independent success of the 103 range of watches was also propelling us forward. Now we had a sense that people really embraced the philosophy of URWERK.



DARKEST HOUR
The company went through some personal changes during this period is that correct?

FB: During the period when I told Max Busser that we had to completely change the Opus 5 we had an even more damaging experience. My brother Thomas became very sick and he had to leave the company at the end of 2003. Thomas had previously handled all the business and communication of the project. It was really a big emotional blow for us.

I have to really commend Max Busser. He continued to have confidence in us and in some ways his confidence gave us more inspiration. John Simonian was also concerned because he had made the single largest order we had ever had. At this time Martin was still primarily working as an artist and I told him that we had to go see our clients and explain the situation to them Martin and I started to visit people and when we went to see people like John or Max, we were really touched that they gave us so much confidence. After 6 months we were back on track.

MF: From my point of view, I had known Thomas first, then I got know Felix. But at some point I realized that that every time I came to Geneva Felix was handling more and more. He was stressed during this period but he handled it very well. I am proud of him.

FB: (Laughs) I am naturally a stressed guy. I’ve never had a really traditional job. I’ve spend my whole life watchmaking and I am grateful that I have this energy to go further; there is something within me that compels me to always do more.

BIRTH OF THE HAMMERHEAD



The first sketches of the UR 201, code named “The Hammerhead” revealed a squatter and more hyper aggressive looking watch case than that seen in the 103 family. They also revealed the intention to take the concept for the revolving 90 degree hour satellites, first seen on URWERK’s collaboration with Harry Winston on the ground-breaking Opus V, to a higher evolution. From its inception in 2007, URWERK’s signature visual flourish has been the use of floating hour indicators - where time is told by satellites that drift beside a fixed minute track. But in the UR 201 the brand has completely exploded the boundaries of this type of indication to boldly tread where no one has gone before.

On the dial-side of the 201 is an extremely wide arc dial with a 5-day power reserve indicator on the left and day/night indicator on the right. Here, three hour-satellites, as compared to four in the UR 103, allows the 60 minute scale to be read over a larger and easier-to-read 120 degree arc. As each hour satellite descends, a telescopic needle inlaid with luminous material emerges from inside the satellite. This telescopic minute hand constantly changes length over the irregular arc of the minute trackso to always maintain a constant distance from the luminous minute markers. Then, precisely at the 60 minute mark, the telescopic hand instantly retracts like the blade of a stiletto knife.

URWERK’s designer Martin Frei’s twin inspirations are clearly evident: the WallyPower high performance super yacht is seen in the crisply ironed edges and angular flat planes of the case, while the Hammerhead shark’s cranial silhouette is reflected in the shape of the sapphire crystal. Overall, the watch is more reminiscent of a miniaturized high-tech military assault craft than a high-end timepiece.



How did the Hammerhead come about?

FB: ery shortly after we launched the 103 I wanted it to have a bigger brother. Something like the Time Bandit was cool, but there was not enough of a connection to our identity. Even before we created Opus V we brought the three dimensional satellites into our own model range. Opus was an important watch because it gave fulfilled our creativity and demonstrated there was a market for a really original concept for time keeping.

Wasn’t it quite intimidating to create the successor to the successful case shape of the UR- 103?

MF: This was definitely a challenge, but as a designer this is also where the process becomes fun. We had established a great deal of critical impact with the 103 series and also Harry Winston’s Opus 5. For the next watch we needed to do something that was very different; that represented an evolutionary stage; but was also immediately recognizable so that expressed the cannon of our ideology. But the most challenging thing to do is the transition from emotion into execution; to give shape to your feelings. We had one iconic model, but we knew we had to develop a second model that expressed the URWERK DNA.

The Hammerhead encapsulated over two years of ideas.



Where did the idea for a telescopic minute hand come from?

MF: Long ago I had an idea that the duration of an hour, for the hour indicator, could be a period of play. It should be a celebration for that one specific hour in life, and you should have on your watch something exciting, thrilling and engaging to represent this. It’s a bit like each hour is a person hooked to a ski lift, when it brings you to the top you disengage from the lift and enjoy yourself skiing down before returning to the lift.

So what we decided to do was to create a minute indicator that was unique and interesting. At one point we were thinking of doing a minute hand that flipped open from the side like a switchblade knife. But I liked the idea of a pantograph and how the needle follows a line. So we decided to create a kind of needle that could retract and extend following the line of the minute track.

FB: What was needed was for the needle to retract suddenly when it reached 60 minutes: otherwise it would jam against the side of the case, unless you expanded the size of the watch dramatically which would make the watch unwearable.



How exactly does the minute hand expand and contract with such precision?

What is important to know about this indication is while it looks simple it is hugely complex to create. Because of the irregular curve of our minute indicator, the minute needle continues to extend and retract through out the entire 60 minute period it is visible. We had to calculate 200 separate points on the minute track and use these to create special profile cam that you see positioned below the carousel mechanism. You have a hidden control arm / transporter that traces the pattern of this special cam and simultaneously controls the spring loaded contraction and expansion of the telescopic minute needle so that it always maintains a uniform relationship with the minute track.

The cam is the element that receives the perlage decoration. Then on the carousel, you have these additional Ninja star like protrusions. Underneath these protrusions is the transporter mechanism for each satellite. The transporter cam is made from MOVIC treated beryllium brass. The arm of the transporter is in titanium to keep it as light as possible and the needle that contacts the cam is made from MOVIC treated steel. You can see in our sketch the calculation we made for the shape of the cam. It took us over one year just to get the calculations of the cam and the retracting minute hand working correctly. There were many different solutions for making the telescopic hand but we wanted to make a watch that was extremely reliable. So the transporter traces the shape of the cam below, and in turn, pushes in or releases the telescopic minute hand which is loaded using a very small diameter coiled spring. I learned to make this kind of spring when I was working on the retrograde indicator on the Opus 5. The goal was that the whole complication would function without oil. But in the end I had to place a tiny amount of oil between the cam and transporter. Apart from that the entire carousel mechanism and all the hour indications function completely without oil.

MF: If you think about the transporter mechanism is a bit like something you would find in the old automatons where you would have a robotic figure that could write words. This is not unlike the mechanism we’ve created.

FB: The challenge is that the cam had to be calculated extremely precisely to allow the minute hand to change lengths. But the cam’s profile also had to be really smooth so as not to generate too much friction. If you have one point where there is just a bit too much friction you could actually stop the forward progression of the carousel. Furthermore, when machining these pieces we were dealing with really precise tolerances because the smallest deviation could affect the position of the hand.

We are quite confident in the long term viability of the mechanism because we are very familiar with the materials that we use. We use Arcap, titanium and this MOVIC treatment. I had initially wanted to use a ruby for the needle of the transporter but I was concerned that it could be a bit brittle. We didn’t want to take an additional risk to add it to the already 100 thousand risks we created for this watch. For example, the spring that controls the tensile pressure on the retracting hands are manufactured for me by the same company that did the springs for Opus 5 . . . but they had to make them even thinner! There are many more pieces in this complication that you would find in a tourbillon. With the 201, you are approaching the complexity of a minute repeater.



For the first time there are small touches of color in your watches…

MF: In the end we were quite proud of the work we did with Opus 5 and so we took the day and night indicator that we created for this movement. This adds a small touch of warmth and color to the watch.

FB: If you look at the back of the watch on the control board you’ll see that there is also a service indicator. Here it appears as an oil change indicator: a functional indication because what do you do when you service a watch? You re-lubricate it! That is the goal of the service, because regulation can be carried out largely through the external regulator device without compromising the water resistance of the watch.

Then we have an indication that shows the total running time of the movement. This indication does not take any take energy from the movement because the indication is driven off the ratchet wheel. When you wind the watch you also activate this indication.

FB: We’ve been working on this watch for over three years and I have to say it’s the very first time I’ve been super happy with the result from the moment we finished the watch. We are a young brand and so we want to build and solidify our identity based on the orbital complication before we come out with new complications. We have a huge amount of ideas in terms of the kind of watches we want to do. But at the same time we will continue with the 103 family which has become sort of our iconic range of watches.

[alex]

What an amazing read! Loved every word :-) Thank you. Urwerk's story just shows that if you are true to your faiths and work you can always get what you want.

[Geo]

Thanks for posting this huge piece of information.
Very interesting reading and good to have everything together.
Geo

[IanS]

As usual Jaw asks the questions that probe and Josh's photos bring an atmosphere of reality.

There is one more question I'd like answered . . . about that $100,000?

[Wei]

Thanks for the kind comments it is our pleasure to bring this to you. It was important to us that we accurately portrayed URWERK that hasn't had exactly "overnight success." We want to show the real struggle they had initially to get their products accepted. It makes me even happier for their current critical and commercial success

Cheers

Wei

[jimsbk]

Time certainly is on their side now for Felix and Martin. I wish them more success in the future. Thanks for sharing and pleased to have one of their iconic time piece.Cheers, Jim

[Jaw]

Thanks Ian,

I was there, but Wei, Felix and Martin did 99.9% of the work, I was enjoying the coffee, licourice and snacks while some serious conversation was going on

Jaw

[Evo900]

Great article on the people at Urwerk. I wish them more continued sucess!

[ronaldheld]

Yes it was quite an article. Thanks, Ian.

[josko]

And a great story, thanks Wei!

[cmeisenzahl]

Wonderful post, thanks!

Great interview Wei ! You really captured the essence of that dream team.

You appreciate much more good food, when you have experienced real hunger. And Felix and Martin have come a long way...

One of their main strengths is their phenomenal alchemy. That team has not only great talent, it is completely driven and they complement eachother perfectly. At the end of the day, they know what they want, and they achieve it - without bothering with what the market says. For me that is real vision.

One can say there has been a before and an after-Richard Mille in our industry, but I believe there will also be a day when we will have to acknowledge a before and after-Urwerk.

And for those who relate to the Urwerk way of horology, there is plenty more to come...!

Max

[Wei]

Thanks so much for your kind comments my friend!

I agree completley URWERK is poised to indelibly change the course of modern horology in the way that you have already done.

There was definitely a world before and after Max Busser and you have added a vast measure of creativity to what is already THE most exciting luxury industry in the world.

Cheers

Wei

[Clublon]

I had seen some Harry Winston watches in the Carribean several years ago. I was not that impressed with them. Then when I saw the Harry Winstons done by these guys, I knew the company had taken their watches to a whole new level. No longer where they just pretty jewelry watches, Harry Winston was on the leading edge of design and technology. Thanks for the great post.

[Tyler]

I've never seen watches like this before! Love the 3 demensional shapes (Hammerhead). Wei, great read. I'm kinda of a newbie to the watch scene. I recieved my first watch mag late last year. Clublon, turned me on to your site great reads, very informative. I think I've learned more about watches in the last couple of weeks here than pageing through the ads in the magazines.

[IanS]

amoung friends than here at Horomundi.

Be warned though; drugs are nothing as addictive as being bitten by the watch bug. The more you learn here, the more you want (or need) to spend!

[ronaldheld]

Ian is correct, this is far worst than drug addition.

[SteveW]

That was a great read...the pictures were great, and I really enjoyed seeing the quest from sketch to metal. Really makes you realize how much vision it took to create such a spectacular machine. --Steve

[Milan]

I came back to this article after enjoying reading the URWERK story in my Revolution US Edition during my Sunday afternoon cigar session. This detailed & personal interview was just a joy to read & yes re-read once again. Really KUDOS to all in the Team HM (Wei, Jaw, Josh, etc) for doing a superb job. The openness of the story told by Felix & Martin, the inspiration of their rags to riches story all while overcoming various obstacles YET maintaining the true integrity of the original goal that brought them together. I loved all the little the technical details & solutions that were used also displayed in a way that a lamen (like me) could appreciate & understand. I have to say that I have been slowly transformed from a nonbeliever to an URWERK believer.

[VadimT]

Thank you for this great article . So great pleasure to read so many new. This information winded my brain to new ideas. Will read it some more times.