Urwerk Starts a Revolution

Urwerk celebrates its 20th birthday in 2017 in style. No fireworks, candles or even congratulations but instead another opportunity to step out of the ordinary, to swim against the current and to amaze.

Urwerk, the independent watchmaking company, today presents the UR-T8. It’s not only a new timepiece but an Urwerk that could again transform our concept of the wristwatch.

The UR-T8’s caseback is textured.

The UR-T8, which marks the 20th anniversary of the brand, is Urwerk’s first transformable watch. A series of precise actions unlocks the case from its cradle, flips it over and returns it with a satisfying click to protect the time beneath a titanium shield.

Squeeze again the two buttons on the side of the case to release it, lift it vertically, rotate it 180° about its axis and click it back into its cradle to return to the present time.

There you discover a new version of Urwerk’s trademark wandering-hour indication — the most intuitive way of telling the time. The 12 hours in groups of four on a three-armed carousel successively sweep across the scale of 60 minutes to show the time both digitally and analogically. It is the biggest and most elaborate carousel configuration yet applied by Urwerk, with each arm supporting a satellite carousel bearing the four hour numerals. A complex planetary gearing transforms a tangle of wheels, screws and jewel bearings into a meticulously orchestrated ballet.

Another technical feature unique to Urwerk is the pneumatic control of the self-winding system. A gilded spinning vane connected to the winding rotor absorbs any sudden and violent movements of the rotor without compromising its winding efficiency.

The entire case is reversible.

Urwerk’s convention-defying time indication and mechanical elegance are the result of painstaking efforts by the company’s chief watchmaker, Felix Baumgartner. “Our UR-T8 is a milestone in the story of Urwerk. Our first 20 years were dominated by the wandering hour; the rest of the story has yet to be written for there are so many areas we have still to explore. It’s now the time to turn a page and we want to do it with style. “

Felix and Martin founded the company in 1997. Together they have developed an original vision of time, creating wristwatches that are revolutionary in both design and engineering.

The UR-T8, an exemplary expression of that vision, is available in an initial series of 60 watches in natural titanium or with a black PVD coating.