URWERK’s amazing AMC Project
“Day & Night” magazine caught up with URWERK’s co-founder and master watchmaker Felix Baumgartner for a chat about the recent creations of the brand on the side lines of Baselworld 2018. And, of course, most of our conversation revolved around the marque’s historic AMC Project…
Can you tell us about the ArpalOne that you unveiled for Only Watch in 2017? Are you making other similar watches? And how will they be sold?
The ArpalOne that we made for Only Watch is a more traditional-looking watch with a finish that is more aligned to Laurent Ferrier. We are making only four more watches in titanium, and in these watches, the titanium case and the matt look is more URWERK. It has the same stealthy look to it, which is totally different from our usual work. It has the same movement and the same case as the Only Watch version, but the finishings on both are totally different.
We are selling them through the Only Watch foundation in Monaco, and a percentage of the sale price will go to the foundation. We are now taking orders over the next 3-4 weeks, and then there will be a lottery held in a casino, which will determine who can buy the four pieces. The arrangements for all of this will be handled by Only Watch, and we are not involved at all in the sale of the watches.
What is different about your latest rendition of the UR-210 that you unveiled at the SIHH?
It has a new case of platinum and titanium with black DLC coating; it has a new structure and décor. It is a circular design engraved on the platinum case giving the watch a strong appearance, with a red finish to the movement. It has red SuperLuminova, and red aluminium in the carousel; we have a grained platinum case with titanium back.
Why a case in platinum with DLC, when it is such a heavy material?
That is a good question; it is more of a playful choice because usually people are not used to black watches being heavy, and we like to surprise. This is something we started in 2006 with the UR-103 Blackbird; we were the very first company to work with platinum, it had never been done before. It has become our culture at URWERK, doing very limited editions on black platinum. It is a nice finish on a surprisingly heavy material; we like the emotional satisfaction we get from this.
How did the idea for the UR-210 Dubai watch that you unveiled during Dubai Watch Week come up?
That is a unique piece that we collaborated with Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons to create. It has an absolutely unique engraving that Florian Güllert worked on; it took him more than one month to engrave this piece as it is a superb design and engraving, a totally unique watch.
Can you tell us about URWERK’s highlight piece on which the brand has worked for so long?
It is a talking piece, a research piece, and an invention piece. Our AMC or Atomic Mechanical Control Project is one of the most precise atomic modules that is working inside of this clock, and would lose one second in 300,000 years. The Master Clock is like a rectangular aluminium box and weighs 30 kg. The wholly mechanical wristwatch connects with atomic master clock, into which it can be clicked into place; once it is placed there, it will be winded once a day. The winding is done automatically at midnight; you can also do the winding as needed by pressing a button. During the day, it can be worn as a wristwatch, and during the night, it is docked into the master clock, which regulates, sets, and winds the watch. It is transmitting the atomic precision into a mechanical movement, so this is the first atomic-regulated mechanical movement. This is an absolutely crazy concept that we have developed over eight years, and we are doing only three pieces.
More than 200 years ago, Abraham-Louis Breguet first created his ‘Sympathique’ clocks – a similar concept of a very precise clock with a pocket watch, which it regulates, sets, and winds. We are doing this as homage to Breguet, but we are doing this with the possibilities of today.
So how long would it take URWERK to create the other pieces? Or would it be only by order?
We will be able to make one piece a year; this piece will be finished by the end of this year. We would do another piece next year and the third one a year later. The Master Clock usually displays the hour, minutes, and seconds, but the thousandth second display can also be seen if required. The whole clock can also be reset by the push of a button – we do not foresee any necessity for that unless there is a power failure due to a major catastrophe, etc.; then you would need to reset this. This is a seriously crazy piece of watchmaking, but we have to remember that Abraham-Louis Breguet created his ‘Sympathique’ clocks two centuries ago.
