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Lot Essay
Launched in 1997, a golden age for many independent watchmakers, Urwerk stunned the watch world with their unusual and avantgarde design language in their UR-101 model. Their inaugural timepiece featured an 18k white gold asymmetric case with lugs found only at the bottom, and a semi-circle wandering hours display. A year later in 1998, the brand launched their second model, the UR-102 such as the present lot.
The UR-102 features the same wandering hours semi-circle display but is now fitted in a 38 mm. symmetrical case with four claw-like lugs on each side. This ornate lug design was inspired by the original Soviet Sputnik 1 satellite from the 1950s. The UR-102 futuristic space-age watch would go on to help lay down the foundation and success of this pioneering independent brand.
The present piece unique UR-102 has several points that differentiate it from standard UR-102s. Firstly it is part of a limited edition 'black series' of which only ten created. Second and confirmed by the brand, it is the only one from this series diamond indexes on time display.
URWERK:
'We don’t try to bring out new versions of existing complicated mechanisms', explains watchmaker Felix Baumgartner, co-founder of URWERK. 'Our watches are unique because they are all designed as original works, which makes them rare and priceless. Our main aim is to go beyond the traditional horizons of watchmaking'. The original styling of each URWERK model is signed by chief designer Martin Frei, the company’s other co-founder. 'I come from a background where creativeness has no limits. I am in no way prisoner of the traditional constraints of watchmaking, and I can therefore be freely inspired by my cultural heritage'. Although URWERK is a young company established in 1997, it is recognized as one of the forerunners of the new wave of fine watchmaking. Producing just 150 watches a year, the company sees itself as a craftsman’s studio where traditional expertise coexists with avant-garde styling. The company manufactures modern and complex watches that are unprecedented and in keeping with the most demanding criteria of fine watchmaking: independent design and research, advanced materials and handcrafted finishes.
The UR-102 features the same wandering hours semi-circle display but is now fitted in a 38 mm. symmetrical case with four claw-like lugs on each side. This ornate lug design was inspired by the original Soviet Sputnik 1 satellite from the 1950s. The UR-102 futuristic space-age watch would go on to help lay down the foundation and success of this pioneering independent brand.
The present piece unique UR-102 has several points that differentiate it from standard UR-102s. Firstly it is part of a limited edition 'black series' of which only ten created. Second and confirmed by the brand, it is the only one from this series diamond indexes on time display.
URWERK:
'We don’t try to bring out new versions of existing complicated mechanisms', explains watchmaker Felix Baumgartner, co-founder of URWERK. 'Our watches are unique because they are all designed as original works, which makes them rare and priceless. Our main aim is to go beyond the traditional horizons of watchmaking'. The original styling of each URWERK model is signed by chief designer Martin Frei, the company’s other co-founder. 'I come from a background where creativeness has no limits. I am in no way prisoner of the traditional constraints of watchmaking, and I can therefore be freely inspired by my cultural heritage'. Although URWERK is a young company established in 1997, it is recognized as one of the forerunners of the new wave of fine watchmaking. Producing just 150 watches a year, the company sees itself as a craftsman’s studio where traditional expertise coexists with avant-garde styling. The company manufactures modern and complex watches that are unprecedented and in keeping with the most demanding criteria of fine watchmaking: independent design and research, advanced materials and handcrafted finishes.