Urwerk presents the smooth UR-100V Full Titanium Jacket

URWERK’S watches fly within the face of most ideas of typical watchmaking. Listed below are watches that appear to have been cast in a galaxy far, far-off, providing earthlings a novel strategy to view and expertise time. From the smooth, futuristic instances to the dynamic movement of wandering hours or satellite tv for pc time shows, designer Martin Frei and grasp watchmaker Felix Baumgartner had been satisfied there needed to be one other means of presenting time and, since 1997, launched into their 21^st-century watchmaking odyssey. The most recent chapter within the UR-100V saga with distinctive astronomical indications is written right now as Urwerk unveils its Full Titanium Jacket version of the UR-100 throughout Dubai Watch Week. Launched simply two years in the past, the most recent UR-100V is sheathed in refined shades of matte gray and is fitted with a brand new, custom-made titanium bracelet.

Time and Area

Initially often known as the UR-100 Spacetime, the watch depends on the model’s signature satellite tv for pc show – with a twist. Frei and Baumgartner needed to show one thing extra than simply the hours and minutes and determined to point out the rotation of the Earth and the revolution of the Earth across the Solar in a 20-minute time-frame.

A mixture of rotating satellites shows the hours and minutes and jumps again to zero in a pointy retrograde means – the satellite tv for pc carries the present hour on a 120-degree arched observe, graduated from 0 to 60, to point the minutes till the next hour happens and the minute module jumps again to zero to be caught by the hour satellite tv for pc. Up to now, so good. Nonetheless, along with the hours and minutes, the UR-100V additionally shows two astronomical indications: distance travelled on Earth (at 10 o’clock), and distance travelled by Earth (at 2 o’clock). The symptoms corresponding to those distances are situated on a raised gray flange on the highest half of the dial. On the left, you’ll be able to see white inscriptions with 555.55 km and the phrase ROTAT. (rotation), on the precise, additionally in white, is 32,745 km and the phrase REVOL. (revolutions).

Principally, it makes use of the pace of Earth on the equator and the Earth’s orbital pace across the Solar to show the gap travelled from these completely different views in about 20 minutes. As an example, on the equator, the circumference of the Earth is 40,070 kilometres, and for the reason that day is 24-hours lengthy, the pace is 1,670 km/hour. That offers you the 555.55 km travelled in about 20 minutes proven on the indicator at 10 o’clock. Equally, the indicator at 2 o’clock exhibits the gap Earth has travelled across the Solar, a journey spanning some 35,742 km each 20 minutes. Not a lifesaving piece of data, quite an Urwerkian philosophical musing about time and its relationship to astronomy.

Full titanium jacket

Having appeared in titanium and metal instances, adopted by gunmetal, gold, iron and a wild model in textured bronze to copy the scales of T-Rex, the UR-100V returns in a titanium case with a brand new articulated bracelet. The refined shades of gray distinction to the clear white inscriptions animated by a contact of purple on the arrow-shaped minutes hand and the 60-minute marker on the retrograde minutes observe.

In accordance with Martin Frei, each time he sketches a watch, he at all times envisions his creations on a steel bracelet, which in his eyes is “an extension of the watch across the wrist…and enhances the design completely”. The bracelet is exceptionally mild and, as Frei factors out, it “makes a particular sound once you play with its hyperlinks”. The fantastically articulated bracelet, which tapers elegantly from the lugs to the folding clasp, consists of 32 sandblasted titanium hyperlinks to match the feel and color of the case. As soon as once more, tactility is a vital a part of the expertise. Titanium “is sort of chilly once you put it in your wrist”, provides Frei, however “it warms up slowly on contact, acclimatising to you and gently embracing your pores and skin”. The case nonetheless has the identical specs – 41mm width x 49.7mm size and 14mm peak – however the discreet matte gray surfaces take up the sunshine and diminish the feeling of quantity.

Though the feel and appear of the watch is avant-garde, the finishings are extremely detailed.  The carousel and the construction on high of the hours are cast from anodised aluminium then sanded and shot-blasted, whereas the satellite tv for pc screws are round sanded and the screw heads chamfered. At nighttime, the UR-100V lights up with blue Tremendous-LumiNova glowing hours and minutes and white glowing astronomical indicators.

Calibre 12.02

The again of the watch reveals the brand new calibre 12.02.  Redesigning the carrousel to deliver the hours nearer to the minutes as they journey alongside the 60-minute scale was one of many upgrades made to the unique calibre 12.01, making it simpler and extra intuitive to learn the time. The total rotor you’ll be able to see on the reverse aspect is drilled and ruled by a profiled airscrew often known as the Windfänger, a tool used to minimise shocks and scale back put on and tear. The carrousel and triple baseplates are elaborated in ARCAP, an alloy that doesn’t comprise iron and isn’t magnetic. The automated motion has a frequency of 28,800vph and an influence reserve of 48 hours.

Availability and Value

The UR-100V Full Titanium Jacket is restricted to 25 items and retails for CHF 55,000 (excl. tax).

Extra info at Urwerk.com.