To watch collectors and aficionados, mechanical movements are particularly desirable since they best represent the fine craftsmanship and precise engineering that has gone into watch and clock making for centuries. But ironically, even with today’s technology, mechanical movements don’t keep perfect time. They gain and lose seconds as they lose power, so Urwerk has created a watch that’s smart enough to know when it’s not accurate, letting you make adjustments as needed.
The titanium and steel EMC is a sight to behold, but as usual it’s what’s inside that will appeal to most collectors. Watchmakers use a tool known as a Witschi that listens to a mechanical watch’s internal movements and calculates how much time it gains or loses in 24 hours. And the EMC — or Electro Mechanical Control — has a Witschi built in so at any point the wearer can determine how accurate the piece keeps time.
What’s unique about the design is that the EMC’s Witschi runs on power that’s produced by a tiny hand-cranked generator that folds out from the side of the watch. A few slow cranks generates enough juice for a three-second reading of how the watch’s internals are performing, and the results are displayed by a series of gauges on the EMC’s face.
If the timing is found to be off, there’s a tiny screw on the back of the watch that can be used to adjust its rate so the EMC stays as accurate as possible. At this point Urwerk hasn’t disclosed pricing or availability, but the watch is expected to eventually makes its way into the hands of lucky — and presumably very wealthy — collectors in the coming months. [Urwerk via Hodinkee]
