Urwerk is turning to the small screen yet again for inspiration. A few months after launching a timepiece that featured nods to Miami Vice, the brand’s latest release celebrates an even more beloved television series: Star Trek. The new UR-120 pays tribute to Spock and his trademark Vulcan salute.
Like so many of Urwerk’s other models, the latest entry in the UR-Satellite series looks like something one of the USS Enterprise‘s crewmembers would wear. That’s not what earned it its “Spock” nickname, though. The playful moniker instead comes from its unique way of displaying the time. Its curved sapphire-topped case houses a central carousel with three planetary gears, each of with has its own satellite made of two cubes. As they rotate, the left-most satellite splits, just like your fingers do when you make the V-shaped hand gesture towards your fellow Trekkies.
“In truth, when we realised we were going to have to open the satellite, I was over the moon,” Urwerk co-founder and master watchmaker Felix Baumgartner said in a statement. “Our biggest challenge has always been to manage forces. At the exact moment of the salute, a lyre-shaped spring opens and then closes the satellite. Managing energy then and there is complex and very subtle.”
There’s more to the UR-120 than this feature, though. The watch has a case made of sand-blasted titanium and steel that measures 44 mm by 47 mm and is constructed from an interlocking upper and lower component. Its carousel is powered by the in-house UR-20.01 movement, which has a 48-hour power reserve. Completing the package is a calf leather strap embossed with a ballistic-type pattern that allows you to wear the watch every day.
While the Spock is sure to appeal to Trekkies, it will only be available to a select few. The company hasn’t announced how large the production run will be, but odds are it will be small. Still, we imagine there are some out there who won’t mind spending CHF 100,000 (about RM 467,000) on such an intergalactic timepiece.
Previously published on Robb Report.
