Martin Frei was an artist who had been a friend for years: though he was not just an artist. Frei was an artist who had loved and collected watches since childhood, therefore it was natural that the Baumgartners explain their ideas to him and ask for his input. Frei immediately grasped their concept and drew a few sketches which the brothers loved. He had come up with a very distinctive and new look-design!

The Baumgartners built a steel prototype which they showed to friends; the reaction was extremely positive . . . so they built another.

In 1997, Thomas and Felix Baumgartner joined Martin Frei and with 20,000 Swiss francs (approximately $16,000) formed their own company URWERK. Their philosophy was to develop original and innovative new complications and to show that haute horology could encompass more than tourbillons and minute repeaters.

Svend Andersen was looking out for young watchmaking talent for the AHCI. He was worried that if the association did not recruit younger members, as the existing members grew older it would just fade away . In 1997, with Andersen’s support and encouragement, they presented at Basel as AHCI candidate members, a brass prototype of the UR-101 (representing a gold watch), and a steel prototype of the UR-102.

The original prototype had used a star wheel arrangement to turn the hour disks: similar to the one used in Audemars Piguet's iconic Starwheel watch. They found, however, that the star wheel system, which has a spring under permenent tension on the wheel, had too much friction because of that tension which caused it to use too much energy: this in turn reduced the power reserve.

They looked for alternates and found that the *Geneva cross offered a number of advantages: much less friction because there is no spring tension and no tendency to jump an extra step if turned too quickly. The Geneva cross system does demand much tighter manufacturing and assembly tolerances as there has be a slight play between the parts;
Dial side of the 101/102 movement: note the pin in the however, URWERK have mastered this.
Geneva cross on the right. If it is too tight in the slot
the mechanism could jam and if too loose the satellite
might move slightly.

* The terms Geneva cross and Maltese cross are interchangable. Because of possible copyright concerns Geneva cross is becoming more commonly used.

The above images show the difference between the StarWheel and the Geneva cross. Between the 2 and the 5 on the star wheel you can see the spring that the movement must overcome to change to the next position. Not only does overcoming this spring use considerable amounts of energy, there is also the possibility of the wheel jumping an extra position if turned too quickly. On the other hand, the spring on the star wheel holds the disk firmly in position. If you look at one of URWERK's Geneva crosses, you will notice the three U shaped slots that correspond to the three hours on the satellite. If the piece that fits into the slot lacks very precise and minute tolerances, you might notice the hour satellite moving slightly with the play. The Geneva cross system requires more exacting fabrication tolerances, while the star wheel requires more precise regulation and uses more energy.

Note. In Part Two of this article, you will see that URWERK has gone one step further with the Geneva crosses in the Opus V. Felix Baumgartner simplified the system by manufacturing the cross into the base of each satellite.

Click here to view an animation of a Malteses cross (in the winding mechanism): Theory, Stopwork, Maltese. Courtesy of Volker Vyskocil.

The 101/102 watches are minimalistic in the extreme: no dial, no hands; nothing much that might lead you to believe it is a timepiece at all.

A lonely hour digit moves across a semicircular arc, while discreet points mark the quarters and half-quarters.

If the design of the case and complication was not enough to get you into orbit, the 101 was dubbed the 'Millenium Falcon', and the 102 'Sputnik', and with good reason: the travelling hour looks like a satellite moving across space. A variant of the 102, called the "Nightwatch", had a black, ceramic anodised aluminium case with platinum back and luminous hour figures.

102 : Sputnik

Even at that embryonic stage, and remember they had not sold one watch at this time; URWERK created a minor scandal among the traditionalists with their avant-garde watches. While they attracted plenty of press coverage sales did not exactly flood in. though they did receive a few for their steel UR-102 watches which they delivered a year later.

Using the proceeds from those sales, they built a gold watch and 1998 saw them increase sales to two gold UR-101 watches and eight steel UR-102s. The partners were overjoyed with the increased turnover and held was a party held for each watch sold: luckily though they still had their day jobs!

101 : The Millenium Falcon


From these small beginnings turnover increased steadily and has roughly doubled each year.

In 2001 URWERK make 200 watches for Goldpfeil which not only resulted in more public recognition, it introduced them to Christian Gros who ran a small, extremely high quality, precision machining company specializing in watch cases and parts. URWERK and Christian Gros formed a relationship that has endured and deepened to this day to the mutual benefit of both parties.

The URWERK for Goldpfeil

Ther big year for URWERK was 2003. BaselWorld saw the company presenting their new UR-103 model which replaced the discontinued UR-101/102 models. The 103 was a major evolution of the previous models as the hours were now shown by three dimensional satellites at the bottom of the dial which allowed for telling the time at a glance i.e., without having to turn the wrist.

The 103 saw the Control Board make its debut on the back of the watch.

The back of the watch saw the Control Board make its debute. This enabled URWERK to keep the dial clean and clutter free while providing useful (but not often used) complications. Innovative functions such as the precision adjustment displayed on the back of the watch enables the user to fine tune the watch's regulation forward or backwards up to 30 seconds per day. A 15 minute and seconds dial allows for precise time setting.

A couple of special commissons: The Junkers (left) and The Dragon (right).

The UR-103 was not only a much more sophisticated and upmarket evolution of previous models; it also attracted a much large pool of clients and admirers . . . and among the latter was Mr. Maximilian Büsser, managing director of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces.