Felix Baumgartner co-founder of Urwerk and master watchmaker. URWERK was founded in 1997 and presented their first timepiece with the AHCI at Baselworld that same year.

1. What did your father do? What did your mother do?  Describe briefly your childhood.

My father was a watchmaker as my grandfather. We do not call it a tradition but well it looks like one. My mother was taking care of the house and after she looked after my father antique store.

I spend my childhood in a home fillfed with old pendulums, antiques that my father was restoring. Quite young he invited me to join him at the bench. I earned there my first coin of CHF 5 by cleaning old wheels with alcohol.

2. As a child did you have any driving ambition? What did you want to be?

When I was young I wanted to be fireman, like many children. To get me on the “right track” my father had the idea to give me a gigantic clock that he placed on my bed headboard. Not sure that it had an influence but at the end of the day I am a watchmaker as him.

3. What is your first significant memory as a child?

I had my very first hangover when I got locked up in my father atelier by accident. The bottle of acetone was not tightly closed and I got to breathe the vapors of it. My mother saved me from there but I was completely dizzy, could not walk straight for a moment and ended up with a massive headache.

4. Have you ever had another profession? What did you do?

I was a DJ back in those days. I lived in an arty squat and we used to organized parties that would last all night long.

5. What made you choose to become a watchmaker?  Who have you worked for in the past?  What made you decide to go in the direction you have chosen.

After graduatingfrom the Solothurn watchmaking school, I saw an ad for working in Geneva as an independent watchmaker. I did not want to join my father and work with antique. I wanted something fresh and new. So I took the chance and migrate from Schaffhausen to Geneva with no hesitation.  It gave me the opportunity to join Sven Anderson’s crew. We were all independent but working in his atelier. My first job there was to work on his automaton watches, erotic ones.

7. What’s been the hardest moment in your life so far, and how did you over-come it?

In 2006, I had a dinner out with a friend and we were on our way home driving a scooter. We misjudged an obstacle on the road and had an accident. I ended up in the coma. When I finally woke up I had lost a part of my memories. I had to start from scratch, learn again how to eat, how to drink … All of a sudden I was not autonomous anymore and had to rely on family and friend. I had to let go I was no more in control. So I had to learn the real meaning of trusting someone.

8. Who has had the strongest influence on you? What are your greatest inspirations?

It may be my mother. She is a rebel, she hates established order. She is a rocker. She made me listen to Rolling Stones and taught me to walk on the wild side.

9. What are you most proud of?

My girls.

10. What advice would you give to a 20 something someone thinking of taking a similar path as you?

To dare. Make his own mistakes, learn from them. To be bold.

11. Name three things on your bucket list.  

• To cross the sea on a sailboat.

• To live in New York.

• Explore the Amazon forest.

12.Where do you think the industry is going to be in 10 years’ time.

Do not have the faintest idea.

You can learn more about Urwerk at www.urwerk.com