The pioneering Urwerk UR-111C in two tones

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Since its founding, the independent Swiss watchmaker URWERK has been innovating. Its brand-new UR-111C model, now available in two-tone black PVD, brushed steel, and a teardrop case, is also a pioneer.

The UR-111C boasts three key advancements. First, its linear retrograde minute display and its pilot's watch style and assembly. This is a derivation of the mechanism invented for the UR-CC1. With an added invention: in this case, the digits are arranged at a 30° diagonal angle for greater legibility. This means that the rotating cylinder on which the minute indicator is drawn must rotate 300 degrees relative to its axis, the winding time of its hairspring. At the 60-minute mark, the spring is released, which sends the indicator up to 60 degrees further, before returning to its starting position. At the same time, to its left, the hour indicator also pops up. The result is a pleasing optical effect, that of a cylinder that rotates smoothly and tirelessly. The second innovation is the seconds display. The Arabic numerals are engraved on two wheels, both graduated in ten-second increments. Each wheel has been designed using a sophisticated lithographic, electroplating, and molding process, specifically designed to create very lightweight, specific structures. The truth is that each wheel, with its six numerals, weighs just 0.025 grams—and even better, given the extremely delicate dance they perform. Interlocking like the teeth of a gear, they capture the gentle passage of seconds. One might even wonder how the owner will be able to perceive such tiny elements, as they travel a distance of one-tenth of a millimeter in what appears to be a circular magnifying glass, but is actually a cluster of optical fibers. The third and possibly most exciting innovation introduced by the UR-111C is the winding and adjustment mechanism. Leaving aside the conventional notion of a crown mounted on the side of the dial, the brand new URWERK model features a roller system positioned across the center of the top of the case. The winding mechanism in turn winds the automatic movement. When the small lever on the right of the case is released, the roller itself sets the time, complete with a stop-seconds device. Undoubtedly, it wasn't easy to configure these micro-mechanisms until the UR-111C was created. The transmission had to be reconsidered so that a horizontal movement could allow a vertical reading of the time within the glass-encased truncated cones of the crystal on either side of the linear display. Linking a roller crown to the winding stem in this way requires true engineering feats, and although it all seems minute, the effect is spectacular. But this is precisely the design philosophy of URWERK co-founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei. The UR-111C isn't content with simply telling the time in a sophisticated manner; it combines a visual delight with a tactile pleasure that's unique in fine watchmaking. Its owner will enjoy the interest and fascination it inspires for a lifetime.

Felix Baumgartner, master watchmaker and co-founder of Urwerk

" When we founded URWERK, the idea was to enjoy the excitement you feel when you try something new. We needed a different approach to the wristwatch, one that shouldn't just incorporate a sophisticated mechanism, but also provide pleasure. With the UR-111C, we focused on an element of the watch that hadn't changed since its introduction in 1840: the winding crown . We transformed the design to the point of transforming the winding process. To do this, we had to reconsider the entire winding system. It's a very complicated process and took time, but we've achieved it. We've conceived a different way of interacting with the watch, establishing a different connection between the watch and its owner. I've read somewhere that for their well-being, a human being needs at least eight physical contacts with another person a day. The same thing happens with a mechanical watch. If you neglect it, it becomes an inert, soulless object . But if you handle it and set it in motion, you give it life. This near-resurrection is evident in our UR-111C: the seconds wheel starts moving, the minutes begin their ascent, and the hours advance inexorably in tandem.

Martin Frei, artist, chief designer and co-founder of Urwerk

Sometimes Martin Frei takes a quick look back and finds inspiration fortuitously and unexpectedly: " I remember as a child my father and I would go to jewelry stores (jewelry was his thing) and I would see that a natural mineral could perfectly serve as a magnifying glass. If, for example, you place it on top of a newspaper, what is on the paper comes through clearly right up to the top of the stone. I would even say that the stone illuminates what is beneath it. It's astonishing. This memory is so strong that several decades later I began to think that perhaps this property could be used to design a watch. In the end, we opted for a somewhat more technological alternative, and I still wonder why the watch industry hasn't taken greater advantage of fiber optics. I believe that a watch should incorporate the seconds display, as it's how we see time passing, just like in an hourglass. And I think the way the two wheels of the UR-111C's seconds display fall into each other is similar to the way the sand flows through an hourglass. This presentation is a celebration of the passing of seconds ; ultimately, it's about giving pleasure—a haptic pleasure.

UR-111C TT
Edition: Limited to 25 copies
Movement: Self-winding caliber with stop second
Jewels: 37 Jewels
Escapement: Swiss lever escapement
Power reserve: 48 hours
Materials: Anodized aluminum cylinder; LIGA nickel-plated seconds wheel
Surface finishes: Circular grain, sandblasted, Côtes de Genève, polished screw heads
Indications: Jumping hours, retrograde linear minutes, digital minutes, digital seconds
Case size: Width 42mm, length 46mm and thickness 15mm
Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
Watertightness: Pressure tested at 3ATM (30m)

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