Indie Swiss watchmaker Urwerk has introduced its path-breaking UR-111C model from 2018 in a two-tone model. Part of the brand’s Special Projects line, the new UR-111C, is now presented in black PVD and brushed steel.
Urwerk is best known for its satellite hours display and futuristic cases. The UR-111C is distinguished by a retrograde linear minute display that is presented in a driver’s watch style. Here the numerals are set in a 30° diagonal slant for a better readability. The rotating cylinder onto which the minute indicator is painted rotates 300 degrees about its axis coiling a spring in the process which jumps the marker back to starting position at the 60th minute. Retrograde, baby.
The jumping hours are displayed via a cone to the left of the linear display while a cone on the right displays minutes again. The jumping seconds display on the top of the case is another example of innovation. Openwork Arabic numerals are set onto two wheels, each graduated in ten second increments. Instead of a cyclops lens, an optical fibers magnifies that numbers indicated in the window.
The watch doesn’t have a conventional winding mechanism. Instead you get a grooved roller system, positioned right across the middle of the case top. Roll this cylinder to wind the watch’s self-winding movement. When a small lever tucked in to the right side of the case is released, the same roller can be used to set the time, with stop-seconds functionality. The automatic movement has a 48 hour power reserve and a 4 Hz (28,800 vph) frequency.
The watch looks more like something that Tony Stark would wear on his wrist. The futuristic case is 42 mm wide, 46 mm long and 15 mm. The case has the same Art-Deco Streamliner design of the original watch, but the presence of black PVD and brushed steel surfaces give the new UR-111C a little more character. Just 125 pieces of the two tone model will made and each will be priced at CHF130,000.
