





50
Urwerk
Ref. UR-102
UR-102
An unusual and cutting edge historically important stainless steel wristwatch with wandering hours display
- Estimate
- CHF20,000 - 40,000€20,800 - 41,500$22,000 - 44,000
CHF63,500
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Urwerk
- Year
- Circa 1998
- Reference No
- UR-102
- Case No
- 50
- Model Name
- UR-102
- Material
- Stainless steel
- Calibre
- Automatic, 17 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- Leather
- Clasp/Buckle
- Stainless steel Urwerk pin buckle
- Dimensions
- 38mm Diameter
- Signed
- Case, dial, movement and buckle signed
- Accessories
- Accompanied by Urwerk travel case, maintenance booklet confirming servicing of the watch in August 2023 and Certificate of Authenticity confirming the production of the watch circa 1998.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Urwerk's UR-102 has now achieved cult like status with collectors, so much so as in Dec 2022 a unique version sold at Phillips New York for above $400,000. In Spring of 2023 the brand announced two limited editions nicknamed UR-102 Re-Loaded that sold out at lightening speed confirming the desirability of the model.
The UR-102, launched in 1997 at the Basel watch fair, is as close as one can get to calling a piece made from Urwerk “vintage”. It was, along with the UR-101 the founding pieces for Urwerk, underlining Urwerk’s ambition to bring a completely fresh and out of the box approach to watches and watchmaking and to make derivative artwork that also tell time.
The brand’s signature wandering hour time display is already present but in a rather minimalistic fashion. One might rightly consider the case design, with its round bombé shape and 8 lugs, as having a somewhat sci-fi vibe, this comes from the fact that the case was inspired by the Soviet satellite Sputnik.
Both incredibly rare and historically relevant, the present UR-102 offers the collector of modern icons the possibility to own one of the earliest watches created by one of the leaders of Creative Independent Horology, a genre that would boost Urwerk to watchmaking heights a few years later.
The UR-102, launched in 1997 at the Basel watch fair, is as close as one can get to calling a piece made from Urwerk “vintage”. It was, along with the UR-101 the founding pieces for Urwerk, underlining Urwerk’s ambition to bring a completely fresh and out of the box approach to watches and watchmaking and to make derivative artwork that also tell time.
The brand’s signature wandering hour time display is already present but in a rather minimalistic fashion. One might rightly consider the case design, with its round bombé shape and 8 lugs, as having a somewhat sci-fi vibe, this comes from the fact that the case was inspired by the Soviet satellite Sputnik.
Both incredibly rare and historically relevant, the present UR-102 offers the collector of modern icons the possibility to own one of the earliest watches created by one of the leaders of Creative Independent Horology, a genre that would boost Urwerk to watchmaking heights a few years later.
Urwerk
Swiss | 1997The Swiss firm's name "Urwerk" is a play on the German word meaning clockwork. "Ur" is an ancient Sumerian city in which the populace used sundials for timekeeping, while "werk" is German for creation. The company started by Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei is known for their innovative avant-garde designs inspired by space travel. With their own take on time indication, like many of their contemporaries, their futuristic timepieces are rooted in high-end traditional watchmaking. Their signature floating method of time indication using rotating satellites traces back to a watch made in 1656. Producing only 150 watches per year, they have impressed connoisseurs with their innovativeness and cutting-edge technical prowess.
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