Quirky watch design house Urwerk has gone back 26 years and revisited one of the classics presented at Baselworld 1997 with a new ‘reloaded’ version of the space age themed UR-102 wristwatch. .
Urwerk has built a reputation for creating a line of watches that push the boundaries of watch aesthetics and how hours, minutes and seconds are displayed. Many of these are breathtakingly complex, but Urwerk also comes up with some very elegant timepieces.
In 1997 Urwerk introduced the UR-102 watch. It had a clean, streamlined design inspired by the first Sputnik satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. We tweaked the function, replaced the original ceramized aluminum case with titanium, and moved the crown to blend in at 4 o’clock to smooth out the design.
clockwork
The UR-102’s party piece, however, is a display based on a clock design dating back to 1656, and has been rarely seen since. increase. The dial consists of semi-circular arches marked to indicate the minutes. Above this we move the band containing the window displaying the current time. As the band moves, the time window is positioned above the current minute and reaches the end. After that it disappears and is replaced by another window showing the next hour.
The new placement remains the same, the font is improved for readability, and trivia about the UR-102 is engraved on the anodized aluminum band to reflect the original color scheme.
The UR-102 “Reloaded” is larger than its predecessor, changing the case size from 38 mm to 41 mm. The case comes in two variants, satin-finished titanium and black, both of which are included in the box set. Inside is a self-winding Caliber 2.02 movement with 25 jewels, vibrating at 28,800 vph and boasting a power reserve of 48 hours. The display is protected by a custom sapphire crystal and the watch is water resistant to 30 meters (100 feet, 3 atm). A rubber strap with a textured Baltimore quilt pattern and a microblasted titanium buckle complete the look.
The UR-102 “reloaded” will be a twin set edition limited to 25 units and priced at CHF 56,000 (USD 60,000).
sauce: clockwork
