Cool Hunting

The past few years have been an interesting time in watchmaking (granted only on the haute end of the stick), but nevertheless, innovators like Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner of Urwerk are breathing inspired fire with their 103 series and the Opus 5. The platinum 103.05 (pictured), an edition limited to 50, has orbiting satellites that align with the bottom arc of minutes to tell the time. Details like the acid yellow numbers (which glow blue in the dark) and the deco styling of the case are the hallmarks of these younger independent visionaries creating remarkable timepieces that both draw on the past and push forward into the future—a long overdue relief for the aesthetic stagnation witnessed in modern watches since the eighties.