Urwerk UR 1001 Amadeus
There are few watch brands capable of making a 1,000-year mechanical counter seem almost logical. Urwerk is one of them. The independent Swiss brand has spent nearly three decades challenging conventional notions of how we read and perceive time, but its new one-of-a-kind UR-1001 Amadeus takes that philosophy to an almost unimaginable extreme. It measures time not only in seconds, minutes, hours, days and years, but in centuries and, ultimately, an entire millennium.
The Urwerk UR 1001 Amadeus pocket watch.
Yet, for me, the most fascinating thing about the Amadeus isn’t simply how far into the future it counts. It is the extraordinary juxtaposition of that futuristic mechanical thinking with a case that looks as though it could have emerged from another century. Elaborately hand engraved with Baroque-inspired motifs, the massive titanium pocket watch surrounds Urwerk’s decidedly unconventional mechanics with centuries-old decorative artistry.
I have been following Urwerk since its founding in 1997 and have met often over the years with co-founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei. Their watches have never been about simply putting a new face on familiar complications. Instead, they continually rethink our relationship with time itself. Even in that context, the UR-1001 Amadeus stands apart.
Urwerk UR 1001 Amadeus retails for CHF 450,000.
The original UR-1001 was conceived as what Urwerk calls a “Zeit Device,” essentially mapping time across multiple scales. Here, that concept becomes even more fascinating. On the front, a flying satellite hours display at 6:00 works with retrograde minutes, while a satellite annual calendar at 12:00 uses three orbital arms to cycle through the months and dates, accounting for months of 28, 30 or 31 days. There is also a hand-painted day/night indication and 39-hour power-reserve display.
Of course, displaying hours and an annual calendar isn’t nearly enough when you’re Urwerk. Turn the 106mm by 62mm pocket watch over and Urwerk takes the long view; very long. There is a mechanical counter that records up to 100 years and, incredibly, a second counter designed to track 1,000 years. At the end of each century, the 100-year mechanism sends a pulse to the millennium counter. There is also the brand’s signature five-year “Oil Change” service indicator.
The Urwerk UR 1001 is equipped with a mechanical counter that records up to 100 years and, incredibly, a second counter designed to track 1,000 years.
Urwerk’s futuristic mechanics are surrounded by elaborate Baroque-inspired engraving by Florian Güllert, creating an almost surreal collision between the avant-garde and the historical. More impressive still, Güllert wasn’t carving a relatively accommodating precious metal. He was working with titanium — a notoriously demanding material for this kind of intricate work.
Because titanium is so difficult to carve or engrave, Güllert first rough-cut the titanium using a laser before turning to hand engraving and finishing. The project took nearly three months and approximately 500 hours, with reliefs, open-worked areas and surfaces variously textured, dotted, satin-brushed and matte. The unique watch carries a price tag of CHF 450,000.
(Portions of this article by Roberta Naas first appeared on her column on Forbes.com.)
