Urwerk is one of the more unique independent brands out there today, and its newly unveiled UR-CC1 leaves no doubt about it.  The brand was founded and is led by two extraordinary individuals, Master Watcmaker Felix Baumgartner and Chief Designer Martin Frei.  Urwerk produces small quantities of some very complicated (but in a very untraditional sense of the word ‘complicated’ as used in the watch industry) and undoubtedly exceptional wristwatches.  For starters, have a look at some of the pieces in its 103 collection and  202 collection.   Now I’m not a huge fan or follower of Urwerk (maybe one day-I do admit to having a great sense of curiosity towards Urwerk’s watches), but as one might expect with a brand that produces highly innovative and atypical wristwatches such as these, there is a bit of a cult following.  These folks and many others have eagerly awaited the revelation of the Baumgartner and Frei’s newest creation – the CC1.

I’ll just share some photos for now because the development of this timepiece has been followed closely by noted watch journalist Ian Skellern (follow him on Twitter @underthedial) – and you can read a bit more about Ian’s work on the UR-CC1 here and here, or you can wait for his next report which will surely be coming soon.

So let’s get on with the show, shall we?!

Simultaneous viewing of seconds – linearly and digitally (top of the watch), and linear display of hours and minutes – unprecedented!

On the UR-CC1, there are two horizontal indications displayed by two retrograde cylinders: one for the (jumping) hours, the other for the minutes.  A vertical triple-cam operating a rack (visible through a window in the side of the case) rotates the minute cylinder (seen through case back).

The honeycomb pattern of the silicon structure (see through side of case) resolves the two apparently contradictory requirements of maximum strength and minimum weight.  It is a highly customized creation fabricated in silicon by micro-parts master Mimotec.

The rotating disk which displays the seconds both digitally and linearly.