One of two Urwerk UR-103 prototypes was found in stainless steel

A wristwatch that truly changed the history of modern timepieces.replica Urwerk 103 Watches

Imagine seeing this watch at the Basel International Watch Fair in 2003. This watch is simply unrecognizable. Urwerk was founded in 1996, but its UR-101 and UR-102 watches are still relatively small round cases, and for those who are not trained, they can still serve as "traditional" watches. F.P. Journe’s Chronomètreà Résonance and Vianney Halter’s Antiqua are only a few years old; Richard Mille, De Bethune and Harry Winston Opus projects have just started; MB&F is still a few years away. The watch world is a more conservative place, and UR-103 clearly shows the arrival of a new generation-they are here to compete.

However, the UR-103 we have here is not one of the many production watches made with a variety of precious metals and a variety of gorgeous cases in the following seven years. No, this is more special than this. This is UR-103 prototype #1. It is a watch shown to potential retailers at the Basel International Watch and Jewellery Fair in 2003, with the purpose of persuading them to shoot flyers for Urwerk's crazy new work. There are a total of three prototypes, two of which were exhibited at Baselworld 2003, and one was produced before the formal mass production. The former is made of stainless steel, because the brand has no capital to make gold watches before the order is deposited, and the latter is made of gold and basically performs quality control checks before the final watch case is manufactured. The second watch is in the Urwerk archive, but it is the private collection of watch dealer and collector Steve Hallock, who shared this news with me a few weeks ago. You can see his personal thoughts on the watch. No, this watch is not for sale. Don't even ask.replica Greubel Forsey Quadruple Tourbillon watches

How did this watch evolve from the AHCI booth in Basel to the collection of Steve in Los Angeles? In fact, it is very simple. The watch was originally sold to the owner of Westime, one of Urwerk's earliest retailers, Westime is also in Los Angeles, which may be an appreciation for their early support. A few years later, Westime sold the watches to customers and shipped them from there to Steve earlier this year. There is nothing ridiculous here, and Urwerk happily confirmed to me that this is actually the number one watch and has been in good condition all the time. Normally, watches are in the "out of print" category, which is not the case, so it is nice to see the clean paper here so that we know what to deal with.

Hallock said: "The UR-103 is perhaps the most important modern independent watch, both for my personal journey in this industry and the history of what I like to call "contemporary timepieces"." "It can only Passing from outsiders to traditional systems is usually a process of great innovation in society. Creating it requires extreme persistence, diligence and creativity to sneak in. Its creators did everything they could to create what they believed in. The same. It is very rare for a brand to make such a prototype. Its existence is the product of Urwerk’s unique story and historical timing. Usually, this ingenuity is abstractly distributed throughout the brand or model, but in this case, all Focus on this replica swiss watches online."

The basic bones and internal organs of UR-103 are here and explained. The shape of the case should be as it should be, although it is made of stainless steel and has a slightly rough industrial style finish; movement is as it should be; from the rotating satellite dish on the front to the earliest "control panel" display on the back of the watch , All displays are there. But there are some small quirks that further make this prototype unique.

The back of this UR-103 has two very attractive features. First, the minutes and seconds hands do not match. One is gilded, the other is not. The day before Baselworld, Urwerk's supplier failed to deliver the last gold medal needed for the control panel, and co-founder Felix Baumgartner had to improvise. He pulled out a hand from the standard ETA movement, reduced it to his size, and then installed it on the watch. There is no time and resources to match it. But this is not the only abnormal hand on the back of the watch. The power reserve indicator uses a red second hand. The supplier did not have the money to pay for making one hand red, so they painted the standard hand red with the nail polish of Baumgartner’s brother’s girlfriend. The hands are not even metal, but plastic. Unconventional? of course. But this completed the work.Richard Mille RM 50-02 ACJ Tourbillon Split Seconds

Making this watch presented many challenges for this ambitious young company. This watch is Urwerk's first watch with a three-dimensional case structure. UR-101 and 102 cases were originally hand-processed by Baumgartner's brother, but it was impossible to use UR-103. This means they have to confuse CNC machine tools with 3-D design tools, which brings its own challenges and benefits. Martin Frei, the co-founder of Baumgartner and responsible for the design of UR-103, was living in Brooklyn, New York, which meant he needed a computer to plan this new case. Frei ordered a computer from the legendary camera and electronics store B&H and waited patiently, but it did not show up. It turns out that it was accidentally sent to a rough workshop elsewhere in the warehouse building, and his landlord never paid attention to telling him. Fortunately, he found it before others picked it up. Can you imagine whether Urwerk collapsed due to a simple package loss?

After figuring out the design, the actual housing and components were made. It's not seamless, but there are some happy accidents. Frey said: "On the side, people looking at the polished surface of the wing profile, the shape of the round body that you see is only a little protruding." "The width of the protruding lug is slightly smaller. This detail is due to an error, and the structure is not. Precise. I like mistakes that happen accidentally and decide to use them in my work. In my opinion, the important thing is to have the opportunity to be part of the design."replica HYT H2 Watches

However, pushing boundaries and dealing with these ups and downs has become a key part of Urwerk's approach. Baumgartner said: "I just like to explore the limitations of watches." "And, I still do it."

Although this watch clearly had a huge impact on the entire watchmaking industry, it was also an extremely personal project for Baumgartner and Frey. After completely shutting down the company, they began to study UR-103 seriously in early 2002. Independent watchmaking is a difficult task, and several storms hit them all at once. But they decided to try again, UR-103 was a success or failure for Urwerk. It is also worth noting that it has been more than five years since the establishment of the company. They are already deep. Therefore, you will forgive them for holding their breath when the doors of Basel International Watch and Jewellery Fair in 2003 opened. Fortunately, the matter was resolved and they received the order that afternoon (the couple said that 4:00 pm was the first handshake agreement), and the rest, as they said, were all history.

I asked Baumgartner and Fry about their memories of this watch, and these two watches still hold a special place. Frey said: "I still like it." Frey is primarily responsible for the design of the watch. "It contains the time when we created it, and all aspects of it once again told me the story and its meaning. Life was captured in it." Baumgartner felt the same. He said: "As long as you wear it on your wrist, you will immediately have a new sense of the appearance of the watch." "UR-103 is a milestone in today's high-end watch method. It is certainly not the only one, but it is a Very cool model."breitling colt replica