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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Geneva, Switzerland

Urwerk

Partially verified

Luxury watches with satellite time displays and horological complications

History

Urwerk was established in 1997 by master watchmaker Felix Baumgartner and artist Martin Frei.

The brand name blends a Mesopotamian city noted for early sundials with the German word for work, evolution, and creation. Following the presentation of the UR-101 and UR-102 models in their founding year, the company began releasing one new model annually starting in 2003. The company's philosophy centers on alternative time displays, mechanical precision, and the fusion of ancestral watchmaking techniques with modern art.

The extended history summarises the open references listed under Sources; each statement was checked against the cited passage. Confirm key dates in period documents before relying on them.

Current watchmaking & later fate

  • As of recent reporting, the company maintains its headquarters in Geneva and produces approximately 150 watches per year.

As stated in the references listed under Sources, retrieved 2026-11-03. Ownership and collections change; check the maker's own announcements for the latest position.

Key models

UR-101
The UR-101 was one of the first watches presented by the brand in 1997.
UR-100
Introduced in 2019, the UR-100 tracks the Earth's movement through space.
UR-110
The UR-110 received the design watch prize from the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève in 2011.
EMC
The EMC won awards for innovation and mechanical exception at the 2014 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève.
AMC
Inspired by Breguet's sympathetic clocks, the AMC connects an atomic clock to a mechanical movement.
UR103T
The UR103T features a three-dimensional case and a satellite display system.

Major innovations

  • The Satellite collection uses orbiting satellites to display time in a 120-degree arc.
  • The UR-100 model tracks Earth's rotation and orbital speed to combine the concepts of time and space.
  • The AMC timepiece functions by integrating an atomic clock with a mechanical watch movement.

Known markings

  • The brand produces its watches under the name Urwerk.

Serial numbers

No serial-number system for this maker is recorded in the cited references.

Collecting significance

The catalogued pieces listed on this page show the kinds of objects auction houses, dealers and museums attribute to this maker; each attribution is the source's own.

In the object catalogue

2 catalogued objects are recorded under Urwerk. Attributions are as given by each source and are not independent authentication.

Diagram

top plate or bridgespillar platebalance and cockwheel train between the plates
Schematic: plate and bridge layout. An outline schematic drawn to show the arrangement of the parts discussed here. It is not a dimensioned working drawing and does not depict a particular maker's calibre.

Sources & references

  1. URWERK, Wikipedia (French), retrieved 2026-11-03 (text CC BY-SA 4.0)
  2. URWERK UR103T/de, Watch-Wiki, retrieved 2026-11-03

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.