When we slap a watch on our wrist, we hardly ever give a thought to the accuracy of tell-keeping. While some watches like the Casio G-Shock has atomic clock synchronization for accurate time-keeping, URWERK AMC Clock and Watch System takes precision time-keeping to a whole new level.
Introduced earlier this year and recently awarded the prestigious Prix de l’Audace (a new award of Geneva’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie), one of the three URWERK AMC systems is now available for sale in New York for a cool $2.9 million.
Hefty price, no doubt, but the price isn’t just for a timepiece. It is for a system comprising of a master slave clock and wrist watch system, in which an atomic clock, through a complex mechanical linkage, would wind, set and regular an URWERK watch that rests in the a cradle in the 35 kilograms (77 lbs) solid aluminum case – the atomic clock itself.
URWERK AMC Clock and Watch System drew its inspiration from horological legend, Breguet’s sympathique clock systems which pioneered the concept of a fixed-position master clock that sets and regulates a portable satellite watch all without intervention by a watchmaker.
You can learn more about the URWERK AMC Clock and Watch System on its product page, or keep going for a breakdown of the specifications.
THE WATCH “AMC”/Mobile Unit
Movement
Calibre : AMC calibre designed and manufactured by URWERK
Escapement : Swiss lever
Balance wheel: ARCAP P40; linear balance wheel
Frequency 28’000v/h (4Hz)
Balance spring: flat
Energy source: stacked double mainspring barrels coupled in series
Power reserve: 80 hours
Winding: manually wound; automatically wound by master clock when in its cradle
Finish: Openworked baseplate, Geneva stripes; snailing; sandblasting; chamfered screw heads
Functions: Seconds; minutes; hours; years
Balance rate adjustment
Synchronization of minutes and seconds
THE ATOMIC MASTER CLOCK (“Monolith”)/Base Unit
Movement: Rubidium atomic clock developed in partnership with SpectraTime
Maximum variation : 1 second/317 years
Aluminum case, with cradle for watch
Indication: Thousandth seconds; seconds; minutes; hours; day; month; year
Functions: Manual winding of the AMC wristwatch
Setting time zones
Setting leap second (+/-one-second adjustment)
GPS synchronization
Reset
As to where drop your $2.9 million in exchange for this time science masterpiece, you will have to touch base with URWERK rep in New York.
All images courtesy of URWERK.
