This Insane Watch Was Made Using the Secret Alloy From an Iconic U.S. Spy Plane

The SR-71 Blackbird lent pieces of its fuselage to this wild watch.

Published August 21, 2024

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A decade ago, avant-garde Swiss luxury brand Urwerk debuted one of the most impressive and unique mechanical watches in recent memory.

The Urwerk EMC — which stands for Electronic Mechanical Control — was a fully mechanical watch fitted with a unique electrical system that allowed the wearer to calculate the watch’s accuracy in real time.

The titular EMC mechanism consists of an integrated electrical circuit powered by a micro generator activated by a hand crank on the side of the case. The circuit interprets data from an optical sensor attached to the balance wheel and compares it to an electronic oscillator beating at 16,000,000 Hz to calculate the movement’s chronometric precision.

urwerk mechanical watch movement seen through a display caseback — The EMC’s movement is entirely mechanical, but it features an electric circuit and oscillator powered by a hand-crank generator to provide readings on the watch’s accuracy.

At the press of a button, the precision is displayed on a gauge on the dial showing how many seconds per day slow or fast the watch is running. The movement can then be regulated by the wearer simply by turning a screw on the watch’s caseback, with no need to directly access the movement.

The EMC was an awards darling when it debuted in 2014, and its movement is just as revolutionary today. Now, in honor of the watch’s tenth anniversary, Urwerk has brought the EMC back, but with a stealthy makeover courtesy of the most iconic spy plane of all time.

Urwerk EMC SR-71

$176,000 at Urwerk

The Stealthiest Watch Ever

Typically, when a brand wants to make a watch “stealthy,” it will just throw on a black PVD coating and call it a day. But Urwerk is far from your average watch brand.

The new EMC SR-71 came about when Urwerk was approached by a pair of brand enthusiasts — designer Jason Sarkoyan and aeronautical engineer Dr Roman Sperl — who together founded the aerospace-themed luxury lifestyle brand Dreamland.

The pair had in their possession a piece of fuselage from the legendary Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The Mach 3-capable Blackbird was in service for the United States Air Force from the 1960s through the ’90s and remains the fastest manned jet of all time. It also holds the record for the most time spent in hostile territory for a spy plane, and no Blackbird was ever lost to enemy activity.

The fuselage was part of what made the Blackbird so special, as it was made of a blend of titanium and a “secret alloy,” the composition of which has never been publicly disclosed, though it is known to include aluminum, vanadium, silicon, iron and molybdenum.

the hand crank of an urwerk watch — The EMC’s signature hand crank was forged from the secret fuselage of the Blackbird spy jet.

Urwerk melted down the fuselage and used the aeronautical material to craft the bezel and hand crank for the EMC SR-71, while the dial’s four gauges — which display seconds, hours and minutes, power reserve and precision — coincidentally resemble the cockpit’s dash on the Blackbird. Finally, the watch’s case was given a shot-blasted, matte-black finish, again recalling the sleek, matte-black look of the iconic reconnaissance jet.

Powering the watch is Urwerk’s in-house manual-winding UR-EMC caliber with dual mainspring barrels, 80 hours of power reserve and, of course, the EMC system for on-demand electrical chronometric readings.

urwerk watch on a mans wrist — The EMC’s cockpit-like dial made it a natural partner for the SR-71’s fuselage.

Pricing and Availability

Given the extremely limited availability of the materials used — it’s not like you can pick up a piece of Blackbird fuselage at Walmart — the Urwerk EMC SR-71 is an exceptionally rare watch.

Only ten examples are being made, with each one priced at CHF 150,000 (~$176,000). This obviously is a watch that most of us will only be able to appreciate from afar, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t one of the absolute coolest watches ever made.