Tender mechanics are all contained in the 43mm wide by 51mm tall EMC case that is just 15.8mm thick. That isn’t a small watch, but it is a much smaller watch that we initially guessed would house the EMC movement. The case is in titanium and steel, and typical of Urwerk design, but of course something entirely new. It would be wrong to call the case attractive, though we have yet to put one on our wrist. Urwerks seems to have take a rectangular and diamond shape and tried to merge them in order to create the EMC case shape – yet it isn’t symmetrical. There is a sort of beautiful home-grown quality to the design that while far from refined, does encapsulate the well-funded garage nerd spirit that the EMC concept was borne from.
Urwerk continues to impress us with how far they are willing to go when it comes to trying new things. Never satisfied with a winning design or hallmark complication, the brand continues to push further while rarely looking back – that is something we have to admire when it comes to timepieces priced at well over $100,000. If the concept of the Urwerk EMC watch seems strange, futile, and a perhaps a bit silly, then that is because it is. The idea of constantly checking the accuracy of an inherently not perfectly accurate thing is amusing. The ability to adjust it and claim that it is the result of mind-bending effort is even more endearing (or insane). It appears as though Urwerk will produce just 55 pieces of this initial limited edition set of EMC watches in titanium and steel. Price is $120,000. urwerk.com
Technical specifications from Urwerk for the EMC:
Case
– Material: Titanium and steel
– Dimensions: 43mm width, 51mm length, 15.8mm height
– Crystal: Sapphire crystal
– Water resistance: Pressure tested to 30m / 3ATM
– Finishing: satin finish; shot-blasting
Movement
– Calibre UR-EMC calibre conceived, developed and manufactured by URWERK
– Escapement Swiss lever escapement
– Balance wheel in ARCAP P40, linear balance coupled to the optical sensor
– Frequency 28,800 vph – 4Hz
– Balance spring Flat
– Energy source Vertically mounted double mainspring barrels, connected in series
– Power reserve 80 hours
– Winding Manual winding
– Finishing: Côtes de Genève, snailing, micro-bead blasting , polished bevels on screw heads
Artificial intelligence
– Generator Maxon® generator with manual winding charging super capacitor
– EMC system Optical sensor controlled by an integrated circuit board ; 16’000’000hz reference oscillator
– Indications Hours, minutes, seconds; precision delta, power reserve.
– Timing adjustment screw
