Urwerk and Chronopassion are now inseparably associated. Laurent Picciotto, owner of the Paris-based watch specialist, retraces the origins of this exceptional adventure.
Everything is about limits. Knowing where they are is a sure sign of true professionals, those we call ‘experts’. Limits are what divide the wildest, most offbeat, yet technically and economically viable watch industry projects from those that are mere whims or pipedreams. They also separate future watch icons from attempts that will stay just that.
Alloys and satellites
When Laurent Picciotto first welcomed Felix Baumgartner’s brother Thomas into his office for the very first time in 2001, discerning where the limits lay proved a particularly hard call.
The man who came through the door of Chronopassion made no mention of tourbillons, cases or hands, instead speaking of satellites, alloys and carousels. “It took a good deal of imagination to try and conceive what the first Urwerk watches would actually look like”, remembers Laurent Picciotto. “You could however sense authentic horological mastery, a fact that reassured me regarding the feasibility of the concept. The idea was to get them started via a subscription system and I did that, but it was a bold wager that might have been a complete flop”. The founder of Chronopassion, who so loves being involved in the beginnings of a brand he believes in, actually went beyond that stage in this particular instance, since he was there before the brand was even born!
Today, everyone is acquainted with Urwerk and its third-millennium horological spaceships. The brand is at once one of the most identifiable and yet one of the most secretive. Enlightened connoisseurs immediately recognise a model by the brand, but nobody really knows what the next creation will be. “Secrecy is definitely an integral part of Urwerk”, says Laurent Picciotto. “The brand is offbeat in every possible way; it renounces traditional means of communications and fully lives up to its independent nature”.
The discretion of a true watchmaker
Felix Baumgartner, its watchmaking soul, is definitely not one for the media limelight. He is the kind of watchmaker who prefers to let his creations do the talking. According to Laurent Picciotto, “that means you have to provide a bit of information and education before slipping an Urwerk on a customer’s wrist: it’s a kind of initiation.”
Urwerk is indeed a brand that does not reveal itself at first glance. It requires a more lingering gaze. Those who make the effort may sense they are on the verge of attaining the watchmaking Holy Grail. “I have never seen a customer put down an Urwerk once he had understood and fully grasped it”, notes Laurent Picciotto. “What is also very surprising with this brand is that it is capable of appealing to iconoclasts accustomed to crazy horological toys, as well as to purists with a taste for institutionalised brands. The latter simply wish to treat themselves to an unconventional watch”.
Urwerk’s future is not as full of question marks as it was ten years ago. The Manufacture has firmly established itself and is confidently forging its own path – albeit known only to itself. And this great unknown no longer scares those who have been following it since its inception, a circle that includes Laurent Picciotto. In return, Urwerk cultivates an exclusive trust-based relationship: Chronopassion has always been the brand’s exclusive retailer in France, and this union even gave rise in 2010 to an extremely limited series in 2010: the UR-202 “White Shark”.
Alloys and satellites
When Laurent Picciotto first welcomed Felix Baumgartner’s brother Thomas into his office for the very first time in 2001, discerning where the limits lay proved a particularly hard call.
The man who came through the door of Chronopassion made no mention of tourbillons, cases or hands, instead speaking of satellites, alloys and carousels. “It took a good deal of imagination to try and conceive what the first Urwerk watches would actually look like”, remembers Laurent Picciotto. “You could however sense authentic horological mastery, a fact that reassured me regarding the feasibility of the concept. The idea was to get them started via a subscription system and I did that, but it was a bold wager that might have been a complete flop”. The founder of Chronopassion, who so loves being involved in the beginnings of a brand he believes in, actually went beyond that stage in this particular instance, since he was there before the brand was even born!
Une marque prévisible mais secrète
The discretion of a true watchmaker
Felix Baumgartner, its watchmaking soul, is definitely not one for the media limelight. He is the kind of watchmaker who prefers to let his creations do the talking. According to Laurent Picciotto, “that means you have to provide a bit of information and education before slipping an Urwerk on a customer’s wrist: it’s a kind of initiation.”
Urwerk is indeed a brand that does not reveal itself at first glance. It requires a more lingering gaze. Those who make the effort may sense they are on the verge of attaining the watchmaking Holy Grail. “I have never seen a customer put down an Urwerk once he had understood and fully grasped it”, notes Laurent Picciotto. “What is also very surprising with this brand is that it is capable of appealing to iconoclasts accustomed to crazy horological toys, as well as to purists with a taste for institutionalised brands. The latter simply wish to treat themselves to an unconventional watch”.
Urwerk’s future is not as full of question marks as it was ten years ago. The Manufacture has firmly established itself and is confidently forging its own path – albeit known only to itself. And this great unknown no longer scares those who have been following it since its inception, a circle that includes Laurent Picciotto. In return, Urwerk cultivates an exclusive trust-based relationship: Chronopassion has always been the brand’s exclusive retailer in France, and this union even gave rise in 2010 to an extremely limited series in 2010: the UR-202 “White Shark”.
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