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Results for Urwerk

325 articles · 22 videos found · page 2 of 12

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Hands On: Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion SJX Watches
Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion As Urwerk Dec 18, 2024

Hands On: Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion

As Urwerk has matured as a brand, its products have evolved to become more wearable. The recently launched UR-150 Scorpion embodies this evolution. The UR-150 incorporates the familiar Urwerk time display – but with a retrograde twist – but in a sleeker, curved case that hugs the wrist. Initial thoughts The UR-150 continues the emphasis on wearability established by the compact UR-100. The UR-150 is bigger and bolder, but despite its size, the curved case profile allows it to sit well on the wrist. This contrasts with many of Urwerk’s past models, which tended to have wide, flat case backs that were less ergonomic. The curved case also looks good, especially since it continues the line of the domed sapphire crystal. This design moderates the hyper-mechanical aesthetic of many Urwerk models, leaving the UR-150 a little more elegant, albeit in a war machine-like way. In some ways, the UR-150 seems descended from the UR-100. It has a similar tonneau shape, but more streamlined. And it has the signature satellite disc wandering hours, but enhanced with a retrograde minute hand (that’s no doubt borrowed from the UR-210/220/230). The combination of the retrograde minutes with the satellite disc display is notable for Urwerk as the brand historically kept this time display on its simpler watches, while the top-of-the-line satellite cube display was accompanied by the retrograde indicator. This leaves the UR-150 as something of a bridge between two distinct lines of the br...

Introducing A Tougher Shade Of White: The Urwerk UR-230 Ceramique Fratello
Urwerk UR-230 Ceramique If you Dec 11, 2024

Introducing A Tougher Shade Of White: The Urwerk UR-230 Ceramique

If you compare horology and science, Urwerk must be fundamental science. The house does not ask what people need. Instead, it asks what is possible on the fringes. The Urwerk UR-230 is a prime example. Its dual-turbine system allows the user to regulate the watch’s winding. Does anyone need that? No. But who cares? It […] Visit Introducing A Tougher Shade Of White: The Urwerk UR-230 Ceramique to read the full article.

Introducing – The New Urwerk UR-230 Polaris in White Ceramic Monochrome
Urwerk UR-230 Polaris Dec 11, 2024

Introducing – The New Urwerk UR-230 Polaris in White Ceramic

Typically, Urwerk leans heavily on darker tones for its case designs, with few exceptions, such as the EMC Time Hunter in its Stormtrooper-like white ceramic. However, the new Urwerk UR-230 Polaris marks another bold and refreshing departure. With a case crafted from a ceramic-based white composite, this release feels surprising and perfectly natural, expanding the […]

The Urwerk UR-230 Arrives in White Ceramic Composite SJX Watches
Urwerk UR-230 Arrives Dec 11, 2024

The Urwerk UR-230 Arrives in White Ceramic Composite

Urwerk is best known for its all-black, sci-fi watches, so the UR-230 Polaris departs from the norm. Cased in white ceramic composite, the UR-230 Polaris incorporates several advancement in terms of materials: the white case is milled from a proprietary fibreglass-reinforced ceramic that is more resistant to impact than conventional ceramic. Notably, the material was developed in-house according to Urwerk. Initial thoughts Although Urwerk has introduced many iterations of the UR-210/220/230, the Polaris is arguably the most interesting to date because of the material. It retains the familiar design of the series, but represents an achievement for Urwerk with the proprietary ceramic-fibreglass composite. The fact that Urwerk is going beyond complications and case design is laudable. The composite addresses one of the weakness of pure ceramic, which is vaunted for its durability and immunity to scratches – that very hardness makes it fragile. Dropped onto a hard surface, for instance, ceramic may crack or break. Moreover, such damage is impossible to repair, making case replacement necessary (and inevitably expensive). The UR-230 Polaris is more expensive than the other models in the series that sport conventions case materials. The higher price is arguably justified considering the new material, although if this new material makes its way into more affordable Urwerk models, then the material would lose some of its novelty. Satellite complication Fibreglass-reinforced cera...

Stung By The New Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion! Fratello
Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion! We’ve kept Oct 17, 2024

Stung By The New Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion!

We’ve kept our collective lips zipped about the new Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion after seeing it during Geneva Watch Days 2024. Now it’s ready to debut in a choice of two case finishes. The UR-150 Scorpion hosts a new movement and an enhanced complication. As always with Urwerk, it’s a feast for the eyes! During our […] Visit Stung By The New Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion! to read the full article.

Introducing – The New Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion, Anything but Ordinary and Reasonable Monochrome
Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion Anything but Oct 17, 2024

Introducing – The New Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion, Anything but Ordinary and Reasonable

While the wandering satellite-hour complication remains a hallmark of Urwerk, featured in one form or another across most of the independent brand’s creations, the evolution of its designs, the inventive interpretations, and the mechanical ingenuity behind each new model is undeniably inspiring. This month, the fascinating and creative brand, led by founders Felix Baumgartner and […]

Sunday Morning Showdown: Urwerk EMC SR-71 Vs. MB&F; HM8 Mark 2 Fratello
Urwerk EMC SR-71 Vs MB&F; Sep 1, 2024

Sunday Morning Showdown: Urwerk EMC SR-71 Vs. MB&F; HM8 Mark 2

Our Sunday Morning Showdowns are usually quite sensible. Okay…relatively sensible. We often pit two attainable everyday watches against each other to see which wins the popular vote. Well, today is a bit different. Today, we have a brawl between two Nouvelle Horlogerie watches that, unless you are reading this from the sundeck of your 200-foot […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Urwerk EMC SR-71 Vs. MB&F; HM8 Mark 2 to read the full article.

Introducing: The Urwerk EMC SR-71 - A 10th-Anniversary Edition Of The Innovative EMC Fratello
Urwerk EMC SR-71 - Aug 23, 2024

Introducing: The Urwerk EMC SR-71 - A 10th-Anniversary Edition Of The Innovative EMC

Let me take you back to 2014. This is the year that “Gangnam Style” reaches two billion views on YouTube and Luis Suarez bites an opponent at the World Cup. Did I refresh your memory? You would be forgiven if the 2014 GPHG award winners occupied a less prominent place in your mind. Let me […] Visit Introducing: The Urwerk EMC SR-71 - A 10th-Anniversary Edition Of The Innovative EMC to read the full article.

Urwerk’s Legendary EMC is Back in a Limited Edition Inspired by the SR-71 Blackbird Worn & Wound
Urwerk s Legendary EMC Aug 21, 2024

Urwerk’s Legendary EMC is Back in a Limited Edition Inspired by the SR-71 Blackbird

Ahead of Geneva Watch Days next week, Urwerk has unveiled what will surely be in the running for “Watch of the Year” talk when 2024 comes to a close. The EMC SR-71 is a new variation of one of the independent brand’s most discussed and honored timepieces. The original EMC, introduced ten years ago, is a former winner of the GPHG prizes in both the “Mechanical Exception” and “Innovation” categories. Even within the strange world of Urwerk, the EMC is an oddity, so it’s always exciting to see them return to this platform with a new variant.  EMC stands for Electronic Mechanical Control, a term that seems to contradict itself but actually does a fantastic job of describing exactly what this watch does. What you need to know about how this watch operates is that the traditional time telling functions (hours, minutes, seconds, and power reserve) all operate mechanically. But integrated into the movement is an optical sensor linked to the balance that, on demand, can record the rate at which it is oscillating. Using light and an integrated circuit, the movement will tell you the delta between the timing rate of the mechanical movement and a reference oscillator (a 16,000,000 Hz mega-quartz oscillator in this case). Pressing a button on the side of the case activates a meter at roughly 10:00, telling you how fast or slow your watch is running. What’s more, the watch is equipped with a timing adjustment screw on the caseback that can be accessed by the owner wit...

Urwerk Marks 10 Years of the EMC with the SR-71 SJX Watches
Urwerk Marks 10 Years Aug 21, 2024

Urwerk Marks 10 Years of the EMC with the SR-71

Urwerk’s highly technical and unique approach to watchmaking is captured in the EMC SR-71, a limited edition of 10 pieces to mark the 10th anniversary of a model that has a built-in user-regulation device. This edition boasts a special and tangible link to military aviation with a crank handle from alloy retrieved from the fuselage of an SR-71 “Blackbird”, the famous Cold War-era, supersonic spy plane. Initial thoughts Although sci-fi and even extravagant in terms of mechanics, materials, and shapes, Urwerk timepiece have a certain hyper-functional, instrument-like quality to them. Trademark features like the “oil change” indicator make its watches feel like actual pieces of machinery. The original EMC was launched in 2014 as an endeavour in blending traditional watchmaking with contemporary electronics and micro computing technology. Though advanced, the EMC complication is esoteric and never really gained traction. However, for a specific niche of watch geeks and nerds, the EMC is an intriguing and original idea. The bit of an SR-71 “Blackbird” in the watch adds to the geeky appeal without being too gimmicky. The EMC is not the only watch with a piece of the SR-71 in it – in fact other such watches are mostly far less expensive – but it is certainly the most advanced and innovative. The Blackbird connection Fundamentally identical in terms of function and mechanics, the EMC SR-71 is special because it features components made from an alloy recast from t...

Introducing – The Complex Urwerk EMC Gets A Stealthy SR-71 ‘Blackbird’ Makeover Monochrome
Urwerk EMC Gets Aug 21, 2024

Introducing – The Complex Urwerk EMC Gets A Stealthy SR-71 ‘Blackbird’ Makeover

Flying higher, longer and faster than any aircraft that came before it, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a legendary marvel of engineering. So much so, that it still inspires people to this day. People like Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner, the gifted duo behind the hyper-technical independent watchmaker Urwerk. Their latest is the EMC SR-71, […]

Urwerk’s Spacetime Blade Concept Gets a Limited Release Worn & Wound
Urwerk s Spacetime Blade Concept Apr 4, 2024

Urwerk’s Spacetime Blade Concept Gets a Limited Release

Few brands have the ability to surprise quite like Urwerk, but it makes sense that such an unconventional watch brand would be the one most likely to leave us all scratching our heads in wonder and confusion (in the best way possible, of course). Their latest creation, the Spacetime Blade, is based on a design that made its debut last year ahead of the scuttled Only Watch auction. The clock, outfitted with a series light bulbs lit by Nixie tubes, provides pretty much all the timing information you could want, and plenty you didn’t know you needed, all in a very Urwerk way.  What we have here is a glass blade that stands 1.7 meters tall and weighs 20 kilograms. It’s an imposing, large object, made up of a total of 1,446 components. It stands on a large bronze crown that’s been polished and buffed to Urwerk’s preferred level of patina, and provides a base to a large glass dome that protects a series of vertically aligned Nixie bulbs, eight in total.  Each bulb contains a total of ten steel cathodes that allow it to illuminate any digit, 0 through 9. The glass is blown by hand and the electrical elements are meticulously assembled by hand as well, using tweezers, in each of the bulbs. According to Urwerk, each bulb consists of 88 parts.  Once the blade is assembled and the whole thing is turned on, it’s capable of displaying a variety of information via the Nixie bulbs. The Spacetime Blade has several different modes, and can read the time in hours, minutes, and ...

Introducing – Urwerk’s Extraordinary SpaceTime Blade Reenters Earth’s Atmosphere Monochrome
Urwerk s Extraordinary SpaceTime Blade Apr 4, 2024

Introducing – Urwerk’s Extraordinary SpaceTime Blade Reenters Earth’s Atmosphere

A lightsaber, wielded by Force-sensitive characters in Star Wars, is a luminescent laser sword powered by a kyber crystal. Shaped like a lightsaber, Urwerk’s SpaceTime Blade cuts through all timekeeping mechanisms with its unique display and countless timings related to our planet delivered via glowing orange Nixie bulbs. Marking its reentry into our atmosphere, Urwerk’s […]