Luxury Swiss watchmaker Urwerk has revealed the UR-1001 Amadeus, an extraordinary timepiece that’s built for the brand’s prestigious “Special Projects” collection. Conceived as a grand mechanical “Zeit Device,” this pocket watch does not merely keep time, according to the watchmaker—it loftily maps human existence from the immediate tick of a second all the way to a full millennium.
The ambitious pocket watch project traces its origins back to a design challenge encountered by Urwerk co-founder Martin Frei while attempting to display satellite hours, minutes, and an annual calendar simultaneously. Running out of real estate on a standard wrist-borne case, the team pivoted to a grand pocket watch format measuring 106 mm by 62 mm by 23 mm.
Driven by the 51-jewel automatic Calibre UR-10.01 operating at 28,800 vph (4 Hz), the front dial showcases signature Urwerk architecture. It features a flying satellite hours display with a gravity-defying retrograde minute system, an orbital satellite annual calendar automatically adjusting for 28-, 30-, and 31-day months, a hand-painted Super-LumiNova day/night indicator, and a 39-hour power reserve indicator.
Flipping the water-resistant (3ATM) case over reveals a caseback housing an “Oil Change” service indicator recommending maintenance every five years, a mechanical odometer tracking up to 100 years, and a linear time indicator spanning a mind-bending 1,000 years.
Complementing this customized mechanical marvel is an outer shell executed by master engraver Florian Güllert. Working with pneumatic chisels on a laser-cut titanium chassis, Güllert devoted nearly three months—roughly 500 hours—to carving baroque-inspired arabesques directly into the metal.
The intense relief work transforms the titanium from a rigid industrial alloy into a sculpted metal canvas. Urwerk co-founder Felix Baumgartner notes that the watch earned its “Amadeus” moniker from its sheer artistic lavishness, paying homage to the avant-garde spirit of Mozart.
As a piece unique within the “Special Projects” collection, the Urwerk UR-1001 Amadeus is a non-commercial horological artwork produced as a single piece, with pricing available strictly upon request through Urwerk.