Urwerk - The Geneva Watch Auction: XX Geneva Saturday, November 9, 2024 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Urwerk
    Year: 2007
    Reference No: UR103.8
    Case No: 15
    Model Name: UR 103.08 TiAlN
    Material: TiAlN (titanium aluminium nitride) -coated stainless steel and titanium
    Calibre: Manual, cal. 3.03, 21 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Leather
    Clasp/Buckle: TiAlN-coated stainless steel pin buckle
    Dimensions: 50mm length x 36mm width
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, and buckle signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Urwerk Certificate and International Guarantee, instruction manual, fitted presentation box, and outer box, July 2024 Urwerk service invoice.

  • Catalogue Essay

    Not only is the UR-103 one of the most recognizable designs from Urwerk but it is also one of the most iconic and groundbreaking watches of modern horology of the past 20 years.

    The timepiece features four three-dimensional orbiting and revolving satellites hour-display, a game-changer to time reading. Operated by an oversized crown at 12 o’clock, the control board sits on the reverse of the timepiece, it features a 43 hour power reserve indicator, a chronometer with minutes and seconds to facilitate accurate time-setting, and to gain optimal precision, an adjustment screw enables the wearer to fine tune and regulate adjustment to +/- 30 seconds per day.

    The UR-103.08 TiAIN was launched in 2007 and features a stainless steel case coated in titanium aluminum nitride (thus the TialN), harder than DLC and has the effect of multiplying the resistance of the underlying metal to scratches, shocks, oxidation and even acids. This coating gives the watch its original and charismatic aubergine hue.

    The present example also features an ultra rare angled crystal (as opposed to the rounded ones more-often found in the UR-103 models), Urwerk had started experimenting with this form of crystal but due to the difficulty of creating them very few were made, in fact less than 20 are known.

    The present watch is fresh to the market, from its original owner and was fully serviced by Urwerk in July 2024 and still under warranty until July 2026.

  • Artist Biography

    Urwerk

    Swiss • 1997

    The 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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Ref. UR103.8
A cutting edge and innovative titanium aluminum nitride-coated stainless steel wristwatch with three-dimensional satellite hour display, power reserve, guarantee, and presentation box

2007
50mm length x 36mm width
Case, dial, movement, and buckle signed

Estimate
CHF20,000 - 40,000 
€21,400-42,700
$23,100-46,200

Sold for CHF30,480

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Deputy Chairman, Watches, Head of Watches, Europe, and Middle East

+41 79 637 17 24
aghotbi@phillips.com

 

Tiffany To
Head of Sale, Geneva

+41 79 460 55 88

tto@phillips.com

 

 

The Geneva Watch Auction: XX

Geneva Auction 9 - 10 November 2024