UrwerkRose Gold WatchRef: UR-103.01

It is not an exaggeration to say that the Urwerk 103 changed the luxury watch landscape. Not only did the UR-103 save the company but its unconventional design and wild take on what a watch could be ushered in the exciting contemporary horology space as we know it today. The brainchild of master watchmaker Felix Baumgartner and chief designer Martin Frei, the UR-103 watch combined a unique sci-fi-inspired curved case with an unconventional time display peeking out through a sapphire crystal window on the bottom of the case. Using a carousel rotating on a central axis, four satellites, each equipped with three hours, travel along a 120-degree arc where the minute scale lies. This contemporary take on the wandering hours complication was exactly the type of modern high horology that put Urwerk back on the map.

Urwerk produced the UR-103 reference for seven years (from 2003 to 2010) in a slew of iterations. This example here is the UR-103.01, which was the very first model — the one that started it all. Urwerk launched the UR-103.01 in a limited edition run, 25 pieces in white gold and 25 pieces in red gold.

This example features a 46mm x 36mm red gold sculpted wing-like case, decorated with deep grooves and furnished with an oversized Roman column-like crown at 12 o’clock. According to Baumgartner and Frei, the crown was placed here so that the Urwerk 103.01 watch would be comfortable on either the right or left wrist. The hours and minutes are read from the front of the case while the caseback is home to what the brand calls the control board. Here lies the power reserve indicator, the 15-minute and seconds subdials for accurate time-setting, and the fine-tuning screw to allow the wearer to adjust the watch’s timing within  +/- 30 seconds per day.

This ultra-modern, mechanically intriguing, and historically significant timepiece is one that changed the course of Urwerk’s history and the watch world at large.

This Urwerk UR-103.01 Limited Edition Red Gold Watch is offered in pre-owned condition, inclusive of a gift box.