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Presenting the very first mechanical ‘smart’ watch movement … by URWERK
Geneva, May 29th, 2013 : Since its inception in 1997, URWERK have made
their mark in the world of haute horlogerie with innovative displays and
indications, in particular their signature satellite complications. In
parallel with this, the watchmaking team has always taken pleasure in
exploring new avenues and meeting new challenges.
Some of the wildest projects have emerged from URWERK's U-Research Division – the brand’s ‘experimental laboratory’ – such as the UR-CC1 “King Cobra” with its linear indications, and the millennium-measuring UR- 1001 “Zeit Device”. This innovative, anti-establishment spirit has now been channelled into a watchmaking Holy Grail: the first mechanical timepiece with integrated intelligence.
“The interaction between a mechanical watch and its owner is a theme that has always inspired us,” says Felix Baumgartner, master watchmaker and co-founder of URWERK. “Designing a reliable and precise mechanical timepiece is the foundation of our work. We wanted to extend our ambition by creating a precision timepiece with a system whereby the owner can accurately calculate the timing rate of the movement so that it can be finely adjusted to the owner’s lifestyle and habits. That's the idea of EMC, which we are currently perfecting in our atelier.”
EMC has been conceived, designed, developed and manufactured by URWERK – giving rise to a timepiece never before seen in haute horlogerie. The challenge here is to provide watch connoisseurs not only a precision timepiece, but also the tools to assess and maintain precision. “Our goal with EMC is to give the owner of the timepiece information that, until now, has been decipherable only by a watchmaker equipped with complex apparatus,” says Felix Baumgartner. “To achieve this, we thought long and hard, and then created an easily useable and readable mechanism from scratch.”
From this premise, the EMC was developed. The manufacture movement features:
- A balance wheel made of ARCAP, an alloy long admired by URWERK for its non-magnetic and anti-corrosion properties. The highly original balance wheel was designed for optimal aerodynamics and minimal amplitude loss.
- Power comes from large double mainspring barrels mounted vertically on a single shaft. These provide an 80-hour power reserve, which ensures stable and linear timing performance.
- The timing adjustment screw is accessible on the back of the watch, and enables very fine adjustments to the balance rate regulator by changing the active length of the balance spring.
The electronics monitoring the movement timing consist of:
- An optical sensor on the balance wheel that can capture the precise rate of oscillation of the 4 hertz / 28,800 v/h regulator.
- A 16,000,000-hertz electronic oscillator that provides an extremely precise reference rate.
- An artificial intelligence module capable of calculating the difference between the timing rate of the movement and that of the reference oscillator.
“EMC is revolutionary in the world of watchmaking,” says Felix Baumgartner. “We added an intelligent eye to our balance wheel which will be able to measure how fast or slow it is running and translate that into seconds per day.”
The first chapter in the creation of the EMC begins here. The concept has now been revealed and its implementation is underway. “The challenge is now in the hands of URWERK’s designer, Martin Frei, and our engineers,” says Felix. “It is now a question of miniaturising all these elements to fit the size of a wristwatch. The EMC adventure is up and running – this is just the start of something big.”
EMC Concept box
Some of the wildest projects have emerged from URWERK's U-Research Division – the brand’s ‘experimental laboratory’ – such as the UR-CC1 “King Cobra” with its linear indications, and the millennium-measuring UR- 1001 “Zeit Device”. This innovative, anti-establishment spirit has now been channelled into a watchmaking Holy Grail: the first mechanical timepiece with integrated intelligence.
“The interaction between a mechanical watch and its owner is a theme that has always inspired us,” says Felix Baumgartner, master watchmaker and co-founder of URWERK. “Designing a reliable and precise mechanical timepiece is the foundation of our work. We wanted to extend our ambition by creating a precision timepiece with a system whereby the owner can accurately calculate the timing rate of the movement so that it can be finely adjusted to the owner’s lifestyle and habits. That's the idea of EMC, which we are currently perfecting in our atelier.”
EMC has been conceived, designed, developed and manufactured by URWERK – giving rise to a timepiece never before seen in haute horlogerie. The challenge here is to provide watch connoisseurs not only a precision timepiece, but also the tools to assess and maintain precision. “Our goal with EMC is to give the owner of the timepiece information that, until now, has been decipherable only by a watchmaker equipped with complex apparatus,” says Felix Baumgartner. “To achieve this, we thought long and hard, and then created an easily useable and readable mechanism from scratch.”
From this premise, the EMC was developed. The manufacture movement features:
- A balance wheel made of ARCAP, an alloy long admired by URWERK for its non-magnetic and anti-corrosion properties. The highly original balance wheel was designed for optimal aerodynamics and minimal amplitude loss.
- Power comes from large double mainspring barrels mounted vertically on a single shaft. These provide an 80-hour power reserve, which ensures stable and linear timing performance.
- The timing adjustment screw is accessible on the back of the watch, and enables very fine adjustments to the balance rate regulator by changing the active length of the balance spring.
The electronics monitoring the movement timing consist of:
- An optical sensor on the balance wheel that can capture the precise rate of oscillation of the 4 hertz / 28,800 v/h regulator.
- A 16,000,000-hertz electronic oscillator that provides an extremely precise reference rate.
- An artificial intelligence module capable of calculating the difference between the timing rate of the movement and that of the reference oscillator.
“EMC is revolutionary in the world of watchmaking,” says Felix Baumgartner. “We added an intelligent eye to our balance wheel which will be able to measure how fast or slow it is running and translate that into seconds per day.”
The first chapter in the creation of the EMC begins here. The concept has now been revealed and its implementation is underway. “The challenge is now in the hands of URWERK’s designer, Martin Frei, and our engineers,” says Felix. “It is now a question of miniaturising all these elements to fit the size of a wristwatch. The EMC adventure is up and running – this is just the start of something big.”
EMC Concept box
Press Release
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Presenting the very first mechanical ‘smart’ watch movement … by URWERK
Geneva, May 29th, 2013 : Since its inception in 1997, URWERK have made their mark in the world of haute horlogerie with innovative displays and indications, in particular their signature satellite complications. In parallel with this, the watchmaking team...
very interesting news. I am curious about the details. you...
Would have to actively power the rate detector versus have it get it's power in a similar fashion as the SEIKO spring drive?
Hand generator
Hello I do not know much about the Seiko Spring Drive but for EMC, power for the mechanical movment comes from the double barrel. The monitoring of the balance wheel is powered by a hand-cranked generator (you can see it on diagram "concept box"). We are ...
The Sringdrive is hybrid, the Urwerk isn't as far as I can see?
The Seiko Springdrive is similar to the Urwerk in only one aspect: the monitoring of the speed against a baseline frequency. However, it does not use a classical balance wheel, and the adjustments are made simultaneously and automatically by 4 magnets tha...
my idea is to use the SD concept of taking some of the..
Energy and using a generator to convert it to electrical in order to power the sensor.
Indeed, the best way, however
Of course Ronald, you are right. However, there are again other issues: 1. The Springdrive has - in total - a very low power consumption, and only needs a few nano volts to start up - basically only a single swing of the rotor. 2. There are already hundre...
Oscillator
Hi Ronald, The baseline oscillator and sensor needs be online continuously in order to give readings on call.....The checking will take more 'juice' each time. A battery does not need to supply so much, and can be small, but you will need some electrical ...
I might add to this idea
of an almost insanely accurate internal reference provided by an oscillator-calculator is that, if the dream is ever to come true, the watch would still have to be set to a satellite standard or what we prefer to call "atomic" time - by hand - because the...
sure it would be nice to have a continuous access to that data. ..
But in a tradeoff between having an external battery versus internally powered, which does a PuristS prefer? I think the electrical components leaves a bad taste in most mechanophile's mouth. No problem for me but I am the exception. I could take this wat...
The Grand Voyageur HTO "railroad watch"
is another concept. Based on the ETA 205.911, also known if somewhat misleadingly as the AutoQuartz, it uses kinetic energy for driving a generator that delivers electricty to a capacitor. Fully changed, it has a power reserve of 100 days - although I exp...
Open letter from Mr Dufour
When launching the EMC, the very first congratulations message received at URWERK came from Mr Dufour himself. We felt honored to aknowledge his kind words. He was, is and remains the godfather of most independent watchmakers. Thank you Mr Dufour for your...
I'd rather not have the electronic part...
I don't care to have the electronic part at all.
This idea feels completely at home to me
I love this idea of monitoring the mechanical escapement. It is a logical extension of the ability to fine tune the watches rate. Instead of waiting for a day to see the effect, you can measure it instantly. It will be interesting to see how Urwerk can pr...