Interview « Being a watchmaker Today» by
Félix Baumgartner

Pour horlogerie-suisse.com

Felix Baumgartner is with Martin Frei the co-founder of Urwerk. Urwerk produces stunning watches with original displays and complex mechanisms..

When you were a child, what did you want to do?
I saw myself as a captain, a kind of captain Nemo, leading a fantastic vessel. A little retired from the world, a little mysterious. Ready to conquer any storm.

How do one get into horology?
For me, the question did not arise in those terms. I am the son and grand-son of watchmakers. A great and incredible clock sttod in my bedroom, regulating my life since my first living hours. My mother still tells me that as soon as I could hold a pencil I was decorating my bed's headboard with watch dials. It goes to show I was "infected" at an early age…

Are the learning years difficult? Did you have doubts at any time? Did you think about quitting? Why did you carry on?
I started learning with my father. He was passionate about it, I took that from him. When I was still very young, he would teach me the basics of the watchmaker’s work by making me clean the springs of his clocks in restoration. I was sitting next to him at his workbench and we were sharing a moment that belonged only to us.

With hindsight, what tips would you give to today’s young apprentices?
Picture the profession with realism and honesty. It is a job that is mastered by everyday practice, hands deep in the springs and wheels…

What are the exiting and routine parts of the job?
I know of nothing that is more engrossing and yet more frustrating that trying to adjust a piece that resists you. I will admit that I often lose track of the time, bent over my workbench, trying to figure out the why and the how. Not willing to admit defeat and then suddenly the solution appears. I will confess that is a moment of pure pleasure.

All the young watchmakers dream of working on “complications”. Is it sensible to jump into the deep end as quickly as possible, or should they hone their skills on base calibers first?
You should learn to walk before you can run. It is the same in all professions. Start with the foundations in order to build upon solid ground.

With the production of millions of mechanical watches a year, the Swiss watch industry would need around 500 new watchmakers a year. But only 50 or 60 come out of the schools! Why and how should the industry promote more people to become students?
500 new watchmakers a year seems utopian tome. It is impossible to train properly such a great number of watchmakers, or with the means that are far from what we have nowadays. Furthermore, it is a job that should be seen as a calling. We are doing a creative job, not building washing machines…

Watchassembler and watchmaker, how do you go from one to the next?
I am a self-taught and a pragmatic. I try, I touch, I evaluate, I take apart and rebuild 20 times, 30 times my mechanism before finding the right solution. I am still continuously learning…

To be a watchmaker and president of a company at the same time, is it do-able? What are the biggest hurdles?
I have to do several jobs. I could be working at my workbench, the phone rings, I have to answer the phone and put on my salesman’s hat. A co-worker would call on me and I would have to change hats again. Be it regarding communication, invoices, project planning, you must be attentive to everything. This usually means longer work hours…

What made you decide to create your own brand?
My Nemo-side, the lonesome captain.
I confess to always have had difficulties obeying authority. I have always worked as an independent. And I also need to explore different routes, to contribute in my own way to the perpetuity of high horology by bringing to fruition my projects.

Tell us about of your best watchmaking monent of the year?
To see the latest complication work out, the satellite complication. It is always a wonderful moment when you see what you really wanted, having been designed and drawn on paper, becoming a reality and working reliably.

4 years ago, when you unveiled the UR103, nobody noticed and very few understood. Today, that creation and the ones that came after are reference points in the world of alternative high-end horology. Why do you think this change of attitude came about and how did you live it?
Like me, watch connoisseurs know the history of horology, they lived on tourbillons, perpetual calendars. Nowadays they have a thirst for the unusual and new sensations. Something that would strike a cord in their horological fibres, which would show them that the history of watchmaking continues to be written and that the future is bright…

The magnificent UR201 “hammerhead” has just been unveiled. A few words on this watch, and on your future projects?
URWERK sees itself as a testing ground of new ideas. We do not set any limits. Even ideas that appear at first impossible do not scare us. We are always on the lookout for new boundaries to breach.

How do you see today’s watchmaking industry?
I see a watchmaking industry in full transformation, from traditional to visionary. A kind of “new wave” is sweeping away the trade. Contemporary art was born in the 50s, blowing away modern art; I see the same kind of wind blowing through the watchmaking industry.

There is a growing interest in independent watchmakers and more and more watchmakers are launching their own brands. How do you see this evolving in the future?
If those who start are honest about it, then I can only see a positive side to this new wave. Horology is a profession for people, not machines. We create things and their lies our strength. On the other end, to get into the business from a purely financial side is just not worth it. The kind of efforts required to make your brand established are simply too much.

Questions from the forum:

Seeing all the new innovations coming out, do you think it will be harder and harder to stand out? And isn’t there a risk to re-work what has been created by someone else?
No I don’t think so. On the contrary. Innovative imitations will be born of the new trends. It is already the case in what I would call the traditional side of high horology. You can find different re-interpretations of a perpetual calendar or a tourbillon, each with their own specificities and their own aesthetics. And it is the public, which is more and more knowledgeable, which will serve as judge.

Are you planning on creating innovative displays to what is usually referred to as “complications” in horology?
Our great strength in URWERK is that we do not have to answer to any bottom line. No marketing department telling us how the case should be or what color the dial should be. We create our own models with my partner Marting Frei and we do not set ourselves any boundaries.
Nevertheless, we are not considering doing a tourbillon at this time, but why not a chronograph linked to a satellite complication? You should not believe that we reject tradition because we create non-conforming products. Our roots, our culture, issue from there, but we strive above all to represent and give life to an horology as we have dreamt it.

Where did the inspiration for the display of the OPUS V come from?
One day, we brought together all the pieces we had created for a photo shoot. We had the 101, the 103, the 103.07, the opus V, and finally the 201. The evolution could be clearly seen there. All these creations are beyond doubt part of the same family, which bore witness to the evolution of URWERK. The OPUS V was developed from 2003. It was our biggest challenge at the time. We brought together the influence of Harry Winston, a retrograde display, and our own ideals, the satellite hour and the larger-than-life, munificence of our models.


I thank Felix Baumgartner for his time and kindness.
EC.

 

 

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