• WATCHES
    • A. LANGE & SÖHNE
    • AUDEMARS PIGUET
    • BVLGARI
    • CARTIER
    • F.P. JOURNE
    • GIRARD-PERREGAUX
    • JAEGER-LECOULTRE
    • LAURENT FERRIER
    • OMEGA
    • PANERAI
    • PATEK PHILIPPE
    • ROLEX
    • TUDOR
    • VACHERON CONSTANTIN
    • MORE BRANDS
  • FEATURES
    • AUCTIONS
    • BASELWORLD NOVELTIES
    • BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
    • BEXSONN EVENTS
    • IN-DEPTH
    • IT’S COMPLICATED
    • PHOTO ESSAYS
    • NOVELTIES
    • TASTING SESSIONS
    • WATCH SHOPPING
  • VINTAGE
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT US
    • TEAM
  • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • 2020

    February 2023
    S M T W T F S
     1234
    567891011
    12131415161718
    19202122232425
    262728  
    « Jan    
  • WATCHES
    • A. LANGE & SÖHNE
    • AUDEMARS PIGUET
    • BVLGARI
    • CARTIER
    • F.P. JOURNE
    • GIRARD-PERREGAUX
    • JAEGER-LECOULTRE
    • LAURENT FERRIER
    • OMEGA
    • PANERAI
    • PATEK PHILIPPE
    • ROLEX
    • TUDOR
    • VACHERON CONSTANTIN
    • MORE BRANDS
  • FEATURES
    • AUCTIONS
    • BASELWORLD NOVELTIES
    • BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
    • BEXSONN EVENTS
    • IN-DEPTH
    • IT’S COMPLICATED
    • PHOTO ESSAYS
    • NOVELTIES
    • TASTING SESSIONS
    • WATCH SHOPPING
  • VINTAGE
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT US
    • TEAM
  • CONTACT
  • SHOP

The Urwerk EMC – The First Mechanical Watch With Artificial Intelligence

September 11, 2013

_EMC_01If you didn’t already know we have a bit of a thing for Urwerk’s and their haute horlogerie, coupled with their innovative mechanical movements and never-ending pursuit to produce some of the most interesting designs available today. This is the Urwerk EMC (Electro Mechanical Control). A few weeks ago we tweeted about this innovative movement but now here it is in its entirety and it is a head turner. The EMC is the first precision mechanical watch that enables timing to be both easily monitored and adjusted by its owner.

You may ask what this means? All watchmakers have on their bench something they call a Witschi – it’s an instrument to test the precision of mechanical movements. This impartial and uncompromising judge ‘listens’ to the rhythm of the balance and makes a verdict on the performance of the movement by measuring the timing rate, the number of seconds the movement gains or loses in 24 hours. The Urwerk EMC incorporates a Witschi-like measuring instrument in a mechanical allow the wearer to fine-tune there timepiece at the touch of a button.

_EMC_02

EMC features a deconstructed dial with four separate indications: A clockwise tour of the displays, from top left, presents the: on demand, precision indicator (instantaneous rate delta δ) ranging from -20 to + 20 seconds per day; seconds dial with counter-balanced seconds hand; hours and minutes; and 80-hour power reserve indicator. Turning EMC over reveals the fully in-house movement with the integrated circuit board – the EMC ‘brain’ –, the top of one of the two mainspring barrels near the crown and the top of the balance wheel and optical sensor on the winding handle side.

On the balance wheel there is n optical sensor capturing the precise rate of oscillation of the 4 hertz / 28,800 vph regulator, over a period of 3 seconds. This sensor consists of a transmitter and a receiver positioned either side of the balance, and is triggered manually by pressing a button on the left side of the case. Also incorporated is a 16,000,000-hertz electronic oscillator that provides EMC’s baseline timing rate that the movement is measured against. Lastly, there is a computer that determines the difference between the timing rate of the movement and that of the reference oscillator – which expresses the difference in gain or loss of seconds per day. Urwerk EMC’s monitoring unit (the optical sensor and the computer) is powered by a micro-generator made by the Swiss company Maxon, which is well-known for developing motors for NASA’s Mars rovers.

See the pictures below; which I believe will help you understand how it all works…

_EMC_08

In my mind this watch is a fantastic piece of horological art taking mechanical watches to a new era in timekeeping. In recent designs Urwerk have tended to show larger open dials of the movements workings. However, this time around they’ve focused on innovation. The only criticism I have of this new piece is the small dial, lets not forget this is the main reason we buy timepieces. But when you consider all this in-house movement technology is encased in 43mm brushed titanium – it does make it rather easily wearable.

When released the EMC will retail at $120,000. It will be interesting to see if the layout of the dial translates better when we get a chance to get our hands on one? For more information on the EMC visit the official Urwerk website.




artificial intelligenceemchaute horlogeriehorologyurwerkwatchwatches
Share

URWERK  / WATCHES

Christopher Beccan

You might also like

The Zenith Defy Revival A3690
February 2, 2023
Is There Value in a Story…?
January 25, 2023
The Zenith Defy Revival A3691
January 18, 2023
  • Follow Us

  • Search Bexsonn

  • Recent Posts

    • The Zenith Defy Revival A3690
    • Is There Value in a Story…?
    • The Zenith Defy Revival A3691
    • The Tag Heuer Carrera 60th Anniversary Limited Edition
    • The Audemars Piguet Extra-Thin ‘Jumbo’ Royal Oak 16202OR



Copyright © 2022 BEXSONN, All Rights Reserved.