The URWERK EMC has truly made its mark in the world of Haute Horlogerie. This remarkable timepiece swept the boards at the 2014 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, securing prestigious awards in both the “Mechanical Exception” and “Innovation” categories. It also claimed the title of “Watch of the Year” from Revolution Asia and earned the “Best of the Best” honor from Robb Report USA. Endorsed by horological maestro Philippe Dufour, the EMC SR-71 remains a prominent icon in the watchmaking community a decade after its introduction.
To commemorate its 10th anniversary, URWERK has reimagined the EMC, using the fuselage of the legendary SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft. This fusion of watchmaking excellence and aeronautical engineering results in a watch that is as innovative as it is striking.
URWERK introduced the EMC in 2014, a groundbreaking mechanical watch with traditional features such as hours, minutes, seconds, and power reserve. However, what truly set it apart was the patented δ performance indicator. With the press of a button, the wearer can assess the watch’s chronometric precision in real-time—a world-first innovation in watchmaking. This Electro-Mechanical Control (EMC) mechanism allowed users to fine-tune their watch for timekeeping accuracy that had never been seen before.
Fast forward to December 2020, when two passionate individuals, Jason Sarkoyan, an experienced watch collector, and Dr. Roman Sperl, an aeronautical engineer, arrived at URWERK’s headquarters in Geneva. Their mission was to celebrate the EMC’s 10th anniversary with a model that united the best of strategic reconnaissance aviation—the SR-71 Blackbird—with the cutting-edge concepts of URWERK’s EMC. They came bearing an extraordinary gift: pieces of the SR-71’s titanium fuselage. Over three years, this collaboration led to the EMC SR-71, a watch that marries watchmaking with the spirit of aviation.
The EMC SR-71 is a limited edition of just ten pieces, each with elements of the iconic aircraft’s fuselage. This refined titanium has been repurposed to form the charging crank for the EMC’s dynamo. The design of the dial is reminiscent of the SR-71’s cockpit instruments. As Martin Frei, URWERK’s artistic director and co-founder, explains, the watch face serves as a personal cockpit, offering not only the exact time but also insights into the watch’s performance and workings. His fascination with science fiction, space travel, and aviation fueled his enthusiasm for this unique project.
The EMC SR-71 is designed with an instrument panel-like appearance, featuring four separate dials, two of which include screw-down bezels. The seconds indicator is at 2 o’clock with a tip shaped like a stealth aircraft. At 10 o’clock, the watch’s performance in seconds per day is displayed, with the power reserve indicator at 7 o’clock. The traditional hours and minutes are shown at 5 o’clock. The watch’s in-house movement is visible on the back through the sapphire crystal. The in-house movement of the EMC SR-71 is tested in four positions over a 30-day cycle, meeting the highest standards of precision.
The EMC SR-71 is a true legend reborn. Felix Baumgartner, URWERK’s master watchmaker and co-founder, emphasizes the connection between the SR-71 aircraft and the EMC watch—both are high-performance machines requiring skilled handling to achieve their best.
Price & Availability
The Urwerk EMC SR-71 is a very limited edition of only ten pieces. The price is set at CHF 150,000 (Swiss francs / exclusive of tax). Find out more on www.urwerk.com.
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