Introducing Urwerk Celebrates 10 Years of EMC Technology with a New Watch

To celebrate a decade of one of its finest creations, URWERK has reinvented the EMC – Electronic Mechanical Control – by cladding it in the fuselage of the legendary SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft. The watch swept the awards at the 2014 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, winning in both the 'Mechanical Exception' and 'Innovation' categories. Praised by the press and watch enthusiasts, its design remains iconic in horological minds ten years after its creation.

The EMC is a mechanical watch whose concept and movement were envisioned, developed, and created by URWERK in 2014. It combines traditional mechanical functions – hours, minutes, seconds, and power reserve – with a patented innovation, the δ performance indicator. This novel feature allows wearers to assess the movement’s chronometric precision at the touch of a button, making the EMC the first watch to measure its own performance in real time. With this information, the wearer can adjust the watch’s settings for optimal timekeeping.

In December 2020, two enthusiasts, Jason Sarkoyan, an experienced watch collector, and Dr. Roman Sperl, an aeronautical engineer specializing in the SR-71 Blackbird, visited URWERK’s HQ in Geneva. Sharing a passion for mechanics and creativity, they formed Dreamland, a company that supplies aerospace parts. and proposed a bold idea to celebrate the EMC's 10th anniversary. Their concept merged elements of the SR-71 Blackbird with URWERK’s horological expertise, using pieces of the aircraft's titanium fuselage. After three years of collaboration, the EMC SR-71 was unveiled.

This EMC SR-71 is now available as a limited edition of ten pieces in celebration of the 10th anniversary. It features titanium from the SR-71, which has been melted down and used as the charging crank for the EMC's dynamo. The case, made of titanium and steel, measures 47.55mm in width, 49.57mm in length, and 17.58mm in thickness.

The layout of the dials evokes the instruments of the SR-71 cockpit, offering more than just the time. The EMC's dial is an instrument panel with four displays, including a seconds indicator at 2 o'clock, which resembles a stealth aircraft. At 10 o'clock, the EMC's performance is displayed in seconds per day, with the power reserve at 7 o'clock and the hours and minutes at 5 o'clock.

The back of the EMC showcases its in-house movement beneath a sapphire crystal. Designed, developed, and crafted in URWERK's workshops, the movement is tested in four positions over 30 days to meet the highest precision standards. It beats at 28,800 vph (4 Hz), with a balance made from ARCAP, an alloy favored by URWERK for its non-magnetic and anti-corrosive properties. 

The EMC’s power is provided by a double barrel, vertically mounted on a single shaft, offering an 80-hour power reserve. A timing adjustment screw on the outside of the watch allows for fine adjustments via the balance rate index regulator.

Olivier Evalet, a software developer, contributed to the EMC’s electronic monitoring system, which uses precision optics to measure the movement’s performance, referencing a 16,000,000 Hz mega-quartz for accuracy within ten microseconds.

The EMC system includes:

An optical sensor measuring the balance wheel’s oscillations (28,800 vph) over three seconds.

A 16,000,000 Hz electronic oscillator for precise time comparison.

An integrated circuit calculating timing deviations, accurate to one second per day.

A manual-winding generator by Maxon, renowned for creating the motors used in NASA’s Mars rovers, powers the unit.

The watch comes with a green NATO strap and is limited to just 10 pieces, priced at CHF 150,000, equivalent to 644,500 AED.

For more inforrmation, please visit the official Urwerk website.