URWERK

URWERK was founded in 1997 in Zurich by Felix Baumgartner, a master watchmaker whose family has been involved in watchmaking for four generations, and Martin Frei, an artist and industrial designer. The name 'URWERK' derives from 'Ur' (the ancient Sumerian city and birthplace of Abraham) combined with 'Werk' (German for 'work' or 'mechanism'), reflecting the brand's philosophy of connecting ancient timekeeping concepts with futuristic innovation. The founders met in the early 1990s and shared a vision of reinventing how time is displayed on a wristwatch. Their breakthrough came with the satellite hours complication, inspired by 17th-century astronomical clocks, where rotating satellite cubes indicate the hours while sweeping across a minute scale. In 2001, URWERK launched the UR-101, their first production model featuring the revolutionary satellite time display. The UR-103 collection followed in 2003, establishing the brand's signature aesthetic. The company relocated its atelier to Geneva to be closer to the heart of Swiss watchmaking. The 2014 EMC (Electro Mechanical Control) represented another breakthrough, allowing wearers to monitor and adjust their watch's precision in real-time. It won both 'Mechanical Exception' and 'Innovation' awards at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève, cementing URWERK's reputation as one of the most innovative independent watchmakers in the world.