The Urwerk UR-100V Blue Planet

Launched two years ago, the UR-100 has new become Urwerk’s core collection, a sort of back-to-basics concept for the brand, with more restrained proportions, slightly simplified and a more accessible price (relatively speaking, of course). Since the inaugural editions, the brand has enlarged its collection with the Gunmetal, the Gold, the Iron or the mean-looking bronze T-Rex. Now, it is time for a new version to land on Earth, with the Urwerk UR-100V Blue Planet… A very blue watch indeed.

The Urwerk UR-100V is a watch whose design is not only inspired by space… it also measures time thanks to unique astronomical functions. And don’t expect a traditional moon phase display, or a starry sky planetarium. It’s something very different indeed. For this watch’s latest iteration, the brand is now offering a tone-on-tone, monochromatic version with a colour that couldn’t be more associated with space and astronomy: deep blue!

What is the Urwerk UR-100V concept? Basically, a watch that goes back to the brand’s roots, with a return of the classic, let’s even say emblematic time display with orbital hour satellites, in their purest form. And that makes the UR-100V the direct descendant of the inaugural UR101/102 series, displaying time on an arc – before the brand moved to far more complex displays with cams, transporters, rotating cubes, telescopic hands and retrograde indications. The UR-100V is focused, pure, all about this distinctive and oh-so Urwerk satellite complication… At least, at first sight, as there’s more to this watch.

The hours are indicated by the orbital hour satellites, travelling on a 60-minute arc that displays the minutes. When it reaches the 60-minute mark, the tip of the hand performs a retrograde motion and in the meantime grabs the next hour satellite. But it doesn’t really disappear, as it comes back on the two sides of the watch to display original astronomical indications: distance travelled on Earth (at 10 o’clock) and distance travelled by Earth (at 2 o’clock).

Basically, it uses the speed of Earth at the equator or the Earth’s orbital speed around the Sun to display the distance travelled from these different perspectives in about 20 minutes. For instance, at the equator, the circumference of the Earth is 40,070 kilometres, and the day is 24-hours long so the speed is 1,670 kilometres/hour. That gives you the 555.55km travelled in about 20 minutes by the indicator at 10 o’clock. In a similar fashion, the indicator at 2 o’clock shows the distance Earth has travelled around the Sun, a journey spanning some 35,742 km every 20 minutes. And although these indications are not useful on a daily basis, they’re simply cool and fit perfectly with the overall concept of space-age design.

Under the exhibition caseback, there’s the automatic calibre 12.01 – once again, a movement that has nothing traditional. The drilled full rotor is regulated by a planetary flat “Windfänger” turbine to minimise shocks to the rotor bearing and to reduce wear and tear. A traditional feature for the brand, the baseplates are made from ARCAP, an alloy that does not contain iron and is not magnetic. The calibre 12.01 ticks at 28,800 vibrations per hour and its power reserve is 48 hours.

The novelty this year with this Urwerk UR-100V Blue Planet is the colour. In fact, almost everything in this model has been coloured in deep blue, a colour that recalls our planet and space. The case, measuring 41mm width x 49.7mm length x 14mm height, is made of sandblasted stainless steel and coated with blue PVD, like the crown. Same goes for the titanium caseback. It is topped by a bubble-like sapphire crystal that is also an ode to the brand’s early models. The textile strap also matches the blue case.

That’s not all, as all the elements of the movement and the display are also coated in blue PVD, from the carousel to the hour satellites, the time module, but also the movement’s plates and bridges, the turbine… Only the numerals and the tracks are printed in white, while time is indicated by a yellow and green pointer.

Availability & Price

The Urwerk UR-100V Blue Planet will be a limited edition of 25 pieces. It will be available soon from retailers and priced at CHF 48,000 (before taxes).

More details at www.urwerk.com.