1959 “Future Trends” trade exhibition, Patek Philippe has a special exhibit called “Cobra” concept watch. However, Patek Philippe was never contemplated in this watch include production plan. Now, only the prototype was only watches quietly lying on the Patek Philippe Museum. Interval of half a century, URWERK a combination of the two days will be Louis Cottier tabulation horn re-interpreting, and writing it across the half-century-old, “the story of Cobra.”
In 1958, Louis Cottier and Gilbert Albert the two co-create a straight line with a revolutionary display watch. The two men watch the avant-garde design ideas and complete follow-up summit to watch the mainstream at the time the design aesthetic point of view. Linear time display appears to be simple, but the complexity of the internal mechanical structure is unprecedented. Louis Cottier and Gilbert Albert, however, two smug, overcome numerous difficulties and, ultimately, Patek Philippe watches produced a prototype, named “Cobra.” In 1959, Louis Cottier this technology applied for a patent. Unfortunately, however, that this plan has no more is heard from. The prototype is now lying quietly watch Patek Philippe Museum (collection No. P-110), so that people who are attracted to visit the exhibition brought back bursts of reveries.
In 1998, URWERK co-founder Martin Frei picked up a pen and paper and sketched out the eyes of those linear display watches sketches, time-division consists of two parallel straight lines shown. However, this watch’s design is only stay in the draft stage, because he was a partner, watch a genius Felix Baumgartner is focused on research and development of satellite-hour watches, and for the first time at the Basel Fair on the watch, straight-line display watch program will once again be shelved.
In 2006, URWERK the first satellite hours and minutes display watches (UR202) has been reputed the Quartet, but Felix Baumgartner is still thinking about another R & D time for a new display mode. Later, he watched the film director Alfred Hitchcock (Alfred Hitchcock) of the classic movie “The Birds”, the film in a scene with only a few seconds a great inspiration to him. In the movie, actress hid in the old Dodge car to avoid Qunniao attacks, including a close-up shots just the alignment of the linear speed of the dashboard meter … … Felix Emmanuel flash, that is, think of linear time display ideas. To achieve this idea, Felix and Martin Frei and sleepless nights, in the course of the study also draws on Louis Cottier and Gilbert Albert then revolutionary design, and use it as a source of inspiration for their own design.