C3 H5 N3 O9 – Nitroglycerine C3 H5 N3 O9 – Nitroglycerine

The Project

About

C3H5N3O9 is both the molecular formula for nitroglycerine and a horological experiment.

Many of the most reactive (and most exciting) chemical reactions derive from combining seemingly innocuous ingredients. When Felix Baumgartner and Maximilian Büsser shared a pleasant lunch on a Geneva terrace in the summer of 2008, it started a horological chain reaction that four years later manifested as C3H5N3O9.

URWERK founders, Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei had a concept featuring Wankel engine inspired indications that they had not yet developed, and they suggested that their constructor Cyrano Devanthey could develop and produce a movement based on that.

MB&F partners Maximilian Büsser and Serge Kriknoff teamed up with independent watch designer Eric Giroud to design and produce the case.

Experiment ZR012 was born!

C3H5N3O9 is an experimental platform, not a luxury brand.