URWERK co-founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei have turned a wandering hour satellite into a marker that follows sunlight from the Sun to the planets.
URWERK today introduces the UR-100V LS Ceramic, or ‘LightSpeed’, in a limited edition with a white ceramic composite case developed for the brand.
Alongside satellite hours and minutes, a three-dimensional display shows the eight planets. Each sits at the time sunlight needs to reach it: Earth at 8.3 minutes, Neptune at 4.1 hours. The white case frames a black dial that stands for deep space.
Traditional ceramics can shatter under violent impacts, so URWERK developed its own material. “Thanks to the glass and carbon fibres it contains, our all-new ceramic composite does not break,” says Felix Baumgartner, URWERK’s master watchmaker.
Inside is the automatic calibre UR 12.02, driven by a Windfänger air turbine, with 48 hours of power reserve. It is a quiet engine for a dial built to read like an observatory.
The Basics
Brand: URWERK
Model: UR-100V LS Ceramic (“LightSpeed”)
Dimensions: 43mm wide × 51.73mm long
Thickness: 14.55mm
Case material: White ceramic composite developed for URWERK, with silver fibreglass fabric and carbon inserts; titanium inner case; DLC-treated Grade 5 titanium caseback
Dial: Black; satellite hours and minutes track; three-dimensional planetary display; hands and hours painted in Super-LumiNova®
Water resistance: 5 ATM (50m)
Strap: Two textured rubber straps (black or white); deployant buckle
Limited edition: Limited edition (piece count not given)
The Movement
Calibre: UR 12.02
Functions: Satellite hours; minutes; time for sunlight to reach eight planets
Winding: Self-winding, governed by a Windfänger airscrew; twin barrels
Power reserve: 48 hours
Frequency: 28,800 vph (4Hz)
Jewels: 40
Images courtesy of URWERK.