URWERK ventures into the fundamental building blocks of timekeeping with the UR‑300 Time Quantum, reinterpreting its iconic wandering‑hour display through the evocative lens of quantum mechanics.
After nearly thirty years drawing inspiration from the cosmos, URWERK turns its gaze inward to the invisible atomic interactions that govern our universe. Departing from its familiar satellite carousel hours, the UR‑300 features two mirrored, entangled hour units. Instead of a classic retrograde snap, the watch unfolds a sharp forward‑blink hour jump: a single release of stored energy triggers an instantaneous reconfiguration across the entire mechanism.
“As atoms settle into shifting equilibrium, an energy input pushes them into a new state,” explains co‑founder Felix Baumgartner. “This is the transformation I translated mechanically for the UR‑300. Beneath sapphire, you witness a mechanical atomic reaction, where components interact and rearrange in real time.”
At its heart sits the distinctive T‑frame, formed by two perpendicular linear hour modules. Each end holds three‑sided hour prisms; together four prisms present all twelve hours. The base prism tracks the current hour, travelling along a 108° graduated minute arc. Upon reaching 60 minutes, three linked movements unfold at once: the T‑frame rotates 72° to bring the next hour into view, the crossbar pivots to become the new stem aligned at zero minutes, and the former stem swings opposite to form the new crossbar. Every prism rotates simultaneously, resetting the system for the next hour.
This dramatic hourly sequence demanded meticulous engineering to balance explosive jump energy and mechanical restraint. URWERK refined tolerances, optimised component layout and integrated protective safety systems to preserve smooth bidirectional time setting.
“Our focus has shifted scale, from the infinitely large to the infinitely small,” shares Martin Frei, co‑founder and creative director. “Orbiting planets and moving particles are both governed by unseen forces. Every hour, this mechanism disassembles and reforms faster than the eye can follow. The wearer does not merely read time — they witness change itself.”
Technical Specifications
Movement
Calibre: UR-30.01V, automatic winding regulated by Dual Flow Turbines
(URWERK patented model)
Jewels: 40
Escapement: Swiss lever escapement
Balance wheel: Monometallic
Frequency: 4Hz
Balance spring: Flat
Power source: Double mainspring barrel
Power reserve: 44 hours
Materials: Hour modules in Beryllium copper, brass, anodized aluminium, ARCAP AP1D, titane; LIGA-processed nickel
Finishing: Circular and straight graining, sanding, côtes de Genève, chamfered and polished screw heads
Display: Modular complication with planetary reconfiguration (patent pending). Revolving modules in T configuration with prograde wandering hours indicator; minutes; three hands showing 3x20seconds across 120°.
Case
Materials: Titanium Grade 5 for Titan model (25 timepieces); Titanium Grade 5 with PE-CVD treatment for AlTiN model (25 timepieces)
Dimensions: 45.2mm x 58.8mm x 18.25mm
Crystal: Sapphire crystals with anti-reflective coating
Water resistance: Tested at 3 ATM
Strap
Nato strap
Limited edition of 25 pieces in titanium and 25 pieces in titanium with AlTiN treatment