Urwerk
Geneva, Switzerland · Est. 1997
Founded by Felix Baumgartner, Martin Frei
Urwerk was founded in Geneva in 1997 by watchmaker Felix Baumgartner and artist Martin Frei, and produces watches in which satellite-mounted hour numerals orbit around a dial to indicate the time. The brand's wandering-hour complication is an entirely original approach to displaying time and has become one of the defining concepts of contemporary independent horology.
- Founded
- 1997
- Headquarters
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Group
- Independent
- Price Segment
- Ultra
- Status
- Active
Key Collections
- UR-100V — URWERK's most accessible model and one of its most popular, featuring the brand's signature satellite complication where three rotating carousel arms each carry three hour numerals that sweep across the dial to indicate time. The UR-100V added a unique secondary function: it measures the distance the Earth rotates in 20 minutes — 555 km at the equator — displayed as an additional complication. It comes in steel, titanium, and PVD-coated versions.
- UR-111C — A radical departure from conventional watch design, the UR-111C features a cylinder mounted on the side of the case through which a linear time display is read, with a roller-ball crown for winding and setting. It represents URWERK's most architecturally experimental model and challenges every assumption about what a wristwatch should look like. The case construction references industrial machinery and science fiction aesthetics.
- AMC (Atomic Master Clock) — A unique collaboration project between URWERK and F.P. Journe in which a mechanical master clock is paired with a satellite wristwatch, allowing the mechanical watch to be automatically regulated by the master clock. The AMC explores the relationship between mechanical timekeeping and atomic precision, and exists as a single unique piece — a philosophical and technical statement about the nature of time.
Timeline
- 1997 — Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei found URWERK in Zürich, naming the brand after the Sumerian city of Ur, believed to be the origin of the earliest timekeeping.
- 1997 — URWERK presents its first watch, the UR-101, featuring the signature wandering-hours satellite complication.
- 2005 — The UR-202 is released, introducing a regulator system that allows the winding efficiency of the automatic rotor to be adjusted.
- 2011 — The EMC (Electro Mechanical Control) is unveiled, a watch that can measure its own accuracy and allow the owner to adjust its rate without specialist tools.
- 2016 — URWERK unveils the AMC, a mechanical master clock paired with an adjustable wristwatch — a unique collaboration with F.P. Journe.
- 2025 — Collaborates with Ulysse Nardin on the UR-Freak (100 pieces), combining wandering satellite hours with the Freak rotating movement via new UN-241/UR-241 calibre. Completes the UR-230 trilogy with the Black Star.
Frequently Asked Questions about Urwerk
- What makes URWERK's satellite complication unique?
- URWERK's signature satellite complication uses revolving carousel arms, each carrying three rotating cubes or cylinders engraved with hour numerals. As time passes, the correct numeral sweeps across the dial and pauses over a retrograde minutes scale, before the next hour arm takes over. This mechanism has no equivalent in conventional watchmaking and is entirely URWERK's own invention.
- Are URWERK watches considered luxury watches?
- URWERK occupies the highest tier of independent watchmaking — sometimes called 'haute horlogerie indépendante' — with prices typically ranging from CHF 50,000 to well over CHF 200,000. The brand produces only a few hundred watches per year and each piece requires months of hand assembly, placing URWERK firmly in the category of the world's most exclusive timepieces.