URWERK
 | |
| Private | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Luxury watchmaking |
| Founded 📆 | 1997 |
| Founder 👔 | Felix Baumgartner Martin Frei |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | , , |
Area served 🗺️ | Worldwide |
| Products 📟 | Watches, clocks |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | www.urwerk.com |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
URWERK is a Swiss watch brand, founded in 1997 by Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei, in Zurich, Switzerland. The head office is in Geneva, Switzerland.
History[edit]
In 1995, Felix Baumgartner – who had just graduated from the Solothurn Watchmaking School – met Martin Frei, a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in Zurich. They soon agreed to express their vision of time by creating a luxury watch brand. URWERK was founded in 1997...[1], the year when the first UR-101[2] and UR-102 watches were presented. The name of the brand stemmed from a specific thought process. Ur was a Mesopotamian city where remains have been found of sundials dating back over 6,000 years. It is to the Sumerian people of the city of Ur that we owe time calculation as we now know it. Werk is a German word referring to work, evolution, creation, crafting and the stirring of emotions [3]. Since 2003, URWERK annually unveils a new model and produces about 150 watches per year[4]
Concept[edit]
The UWERK concept is based on three pillars:
- The alternative time display. The "Satellite" collection is the most iconic. Orbiting satellites show the time in hours and minutes in a 120° arc dial.
- Precision. Throught its "Chronometry" collection URWERK returns to a more traditional display, but challenges the limits of mechanical time measurement.
- Innovation through the alliance of horological technology and art.
Awards[edit]
- 2011 : 2011: Design Watch Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for the UR-110[5] watch.
- 2014 : Innovation Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for the EMC[6] watch.
- 2014 : Mechanical Exception Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for the EMC[6] watch.
- 2019 : Audacity Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for the AMC[7] watch.
- 2020 : Prix GAÏA Spirit of Enterprise Award from the International Museum of Horology[8]
Iconic pieces[edit]
- AMC Atomic clock
UWERKS’s AMC Atomic clock is a real collector’s item. It’s composed of two autonomous elements that work together. The atomic horloge is associated with a wristwatch and allows to automatically wind the watch, set the time and regulate the balance rates. At the cutting edge of technology, it gives the most accurate time possible by measuring the vibrations of atoms at high speed. With only three units in the world, it is considered as one of the most accurate and complicated timekeeping devices in the world. This extreme precision is the result of more than 10 years of work. At the end of 2018 it was auctioned for 2.7 million dollars[9]. With this sale, this timepiece has truly entered the history of watchmaking. For its imagination, Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei, the founders of URWERK, were awarded the “Prix de l’Audace[10]” at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie in Geneva in 2019 .
- Ur-103
This collection is one of the most famous of URWERK. The UR-103 watches are considered emblematic due to their design and high technology. Indeed, watches of the collections show the hour in a conic or arc satellite that glides from right to left along the minute scale. This original piece was presented at the Basel Fair in 2003[11] where it had the effect of a small bombshell in the horlogerie world. Journalists and watch lovers compared the UR-103 to the sun’s path. Over the years, the original UR-103 has undergone radical transformations and gave birth to UR-103.01 and UR-103.03 among others. The iconicity of this timepiece is also due to its brutal and unhoped stop after seven successful years[12]. Its creators said that they preferred to focus on new challenges.
Notable patrons and owners[edit]
- Jackie Chan made URWERK famous by wearing the UR-202 AlTiN in his blockbuster Chinese Zodiac.
- The Swiss brand became known to the general public thanks to Robert Downey Jr who wore URWERK watches in several of his films. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, the UR-110 RG is an integral part of the film[13]. At the actor's request, the UR-111 "Black Cobra", as well as the UR-105 CT[14] were seen on his wrist in the latest Iron Man movie, Avengers: Endgame.
- Ralph Lauren has an impressive collection of watches, including an UR-210Y.
- Mohamed Salah, the famous Egyptian footballer is also known for his refined taste in original watches. He has been seen several times wearing an URWERK UR-105 CT Streamliner[15].
- Michael Jordan is also a fan of independent luxury watches. He owns an UR-202 and an UR-103[16]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Urwerk". The Hour Glass.
- ↑ "History". Fondation High Horology.
- ↑ "Urwerk History". World Tempus. 10 December 2011.
- ↑ "Urwerk". Time Transformed. 13 March 2016.
- ↑ "The Prize List 2011". Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Prize List 14". Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
- ↑ "Prize List 19". Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
- ↑ "Prix Gaïa pour les fondateurs d'Urwerk". Fondation Haute Horlogerie Journal (in français). 25 September 2020.
- ↑ Naas, Roberta. "Meet The Urwerk $2.7 Million AMC Atomic Clock And Paired Wristwatch". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
- ↑ Maillard, By Serge. "Urwerk Atomic Mechanical Control". www.europastar.com. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
- ↑ May 29, Stephen Pulvirent; 2020. "Found: One Of Two Urwerk UR-103 Prototypes In Stainless Steel". HODINKEE. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
- ↑ "The UR-103 is dead, long live URWERK". www.europastar.com. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
- ↑ "Iron Man's Watch: The Urwerk UR-110RG". Phillips. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
- ↑ "Urwerk to Sell UR-111C Worn by Robert Downey Jr. for Charity | SJX Watches". watchesbysjx.com. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
- ↑ "Mohamed "Mo" Salah - Urwerk UR 105 CT Streamliner Iron". Superwatchman.com. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
- ↑ February 19, Stephen Pulvirent; 2020. "Watch Spotting: Michael Jordan Wearing An Urwerk UR-202S At The NBA All-Star Game". HODINKEE. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
See also[edit]
External Links[edit]
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