The Hour Glass Presents URWERK SIHH 2019 Novelties – The AMC Clock and Watch Project, and UR-105 CT Maverick

In creating the AMC clock and watch, URWERK has created a physical marriage between two approaches to chronometry. AMC is not just a fascinating combination of atomic, and mechanical systems; it is a union of both that celebrates the fascination with time itself.

The AMC clock and watch are unique in the history of horology. Each represents in its own way, the peak of evolution of a particular approach to keeping time. The watch represents the tradition of mechanical horology. The combination of balance, balance spring, and lever escapement has been continuously refined over hundreds of years. The atomic clock, on the other hand, represents the cutting edge of modern timekeeping technology.

Urwerk, Atomolith und AMC

The watch, like the atomic clock, is a novel construction and is designed specifically for the AMC project. It includes typical URWERK features such as the power reserve indicator and two stacked barrels for a power reserve of four days. The watch also has URWERK’s Oil Change Indicator, which shows when the movement should be serviced. One full rotation of the oil change indicator will take more than four years, with a recommended service after three and a half years of operation.

However its most ingenious features, though unseen to the unaided eye, are revealed upon close examination of the movement. The watch was design to fit on and work with its base unit — an atomic clock also conceived and developed in URWERK’s workshops. This unit base will rewind the URWERK wristwatch, set it to the correct time and if necessary adjust its rate.

The atomic clock interacts with the mechanical watch in three ways:

  1. The first, and perhaps the most challenging technically, involves regulating the rate of the watch.
  2. The second operation, which is distinct from the rate adjustment, is the exact synchronization of the minutes and seconds display of the watch with that of the atomic clock.
  3. The third operation for winding the watch is straightforward: a shaft extending from the base unit acts on the crown to wind the wristwatch when the latter is placed in its cradle at night.

Urwerk, Atomolith und AMC

The execution of the AMC is entirely avant-garde, a product of the 21st century and URWERK co-founder Felix Baumgartner’s ongoing exploration of strengthened mechanical systems via technological hybridisation. Its inspirations, however, come from 18th-century master watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, who many consider the father of modern canonical horology.

UR-105 CT Maverick

The self-winding Maverick in bronze and titanium is the latest version of URWERK’s UR-105 CT wandering-hour watch. It’s a watch made in honour of mad artists, eccentric inventors, people who think up world-changing ideas. The “Maverick” is a blank canvas or a lump of clay, ready to be imprinted with the personality of the owner and acquire the patina of his lifestyle.

UR Maverick

It is built to take the hard knocks of its transformation into the most personal of possessions. The assaults of the environment — hot, cold, damp or dry — as well as the hazards of everyday life only serve to improve its looks. The Maverick is thus destined to be your favourite watch because you will mould it to your image.

The Hour Glass is the exclusive retailer of URWERK in Singapore.