"One of Urwerk’s Special Projects' creations. The 111C TT (Two-Tone) represents a departure from Urwerk’s signature theme of wandering-hour indications and is one of the most conceptually adventurous watches on the market today. No less than seventeen dedicated team members worked on the UR-111C, which proved a fiendishly difficult puzzle to solve.

Ultramodern and industrial, with subtle nods to Streamline Moderne, the UR-111C is a direct descendant of the Urwerk UR-CC1 “King Cobra”, which in turn takes inspiration from a highly unusual Patek Philippe from 1958.

The watch by Patek Philippe was a prototype piece named Cobra, designed by Louis Cottier to be the first ever wristwatch with a linear time display. The Patek Philippe Cobra never went into production, however, it did inspire Urwerk to take up the challenge of making a watch with such a display, half a century later. The ‘CC’ in ‘Urwerk UR-CC1’ name stands for Cottier Cobra, a fitting homage to the ambition of the original designer.

Reading from left to right, the UR-111C TT features a cone-shaped display for jumping hours, a central barrel that rotates to show linear minutes, and a right-hand cone display for digital minutes. There is also a designated aperture displaying the running seconds and an innovative cylindrical roller, that both winds and sets the watch.

Despite an aesthetic that takes inspiration from the past, the UR-111C TT has its feet firmly planted in the future, with brightly contrasting numerals, case finishing and a utilitarian strap that communicates a very Blade Runner-esque aesthetic.

In the URWERK tradition, none of the indications of this UR-111C watch are conventional: The minutes are shown in two different ways - linearly for eyes pleasure and digitally for precision. Never has a roller built into the case performed the functions of the crown, nor have the running seconds meandered across a cluster of optical fibers.

Instead of the conventional crown at the end of the stem, a roller integrated into the top of the case above and parallel to the winding stem. Rolling the long fluted cylinder with your thumb to wind the watch is indeed a new sensation, but making it possible requires miniature gearing, complex articulations and intermediate wheels to connect the controls to the winding stem. The same applies to the original way of setting the time. Instead of pulling out a crown you swing out a lever from the side of the case and turn the roller in either direction.

The hours and two versions of the minutes are displayed within glass sapphire covers along the side of the case so that you can see them at a glance without turning your wrist or letting go of the steering wheel. Again, converting the horizontal movement to a vertical time display required precisely angled transmission with miniature bevel gears. The jumping digital hours and progressive minutes are displayed on rotating truncated cones left and right of the retrograde linear indication of the minutes.

The UR-111C’s digital seconds are mounted alternately on two tiny wheels. Each openwork seconds wheel weighs 0.018 grams (0.025g with numerals) — miniature lacework in metal thanks to the LIGA process. The second's numerals look strangely close as they pass across a circular window in sinuous progression. They appear alternately, transported into visual range by a dense cluster of precisely aligned optical fibres, known as an image conduit, positioned a tenth of a millimetre above the numerals. This is a world Première in the watchmaking area!"

Too much for my simple mind

In excellent condition and offered as a complete set of original boxes, booklets, and warranty certificate.
Seeking $100k