The UR-100V Iron is the latest model to join Urwerk’s UR-100 collection. Introduced in 2019, the UR-100 takes the brand’s signature ‘wandering hours’ satellite display and expands it with a couple of simple but thought-provoking astronomical indicators. Each of the three satellites has a red-tipped arrow which simultaneously sweep through different functions. The first is the minutes indicator track across the bottom of the dial. To the left, is a 20-minute scale of 555 kilometres, the distance one will travel in that time if standing on the equator due to the planet’s rotation. To the right is another 20-minute scale which tracks up to 35,740 km – the distance travelled through space as the Earth orbits the Sun. The concept was inspired by a grandfather clock from 1893 given to Felix Baumgartner, the co-founder and watchmaker of Urwerk, by his father – who was himself a restorer of antique clocks.
The UR-100V Iron (SFr48,000 and limited to 25 pieces) comes cased in stainless steel and titanium, 41mm wide and 49.7mm long. It is finished in a variety of polished and matte surfaces, which makes it at once enigmatic as well as the more unassuming presentation compared to previous gold and gunmetal executions.
