Travelling at the Speed of Light, Urwerk Releases the UR-100V LightSpeed Ceramic

Urwerk’s mechanical ingenuity and sci-fi vessels have propelled the brand into the realm of cosmic watchmaking. Renowned for their wandering hour and satellite indications, founders Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner captured the three dimensions of time, rotation and orbit with the UR-100 SpaceTime of 2019. An evolution of the UR-100, the UR-100V returns to Earth today in a white ceramic composite case and captures the cosmic speed limit with graphic clarity, representing the time it takes a beam of sunlight to reach the eight planets of our solar system.

Behind Frei and Baumgartner’s philosophy is the question: Why stick to the mundane display of hours and minutes when you can produce an interface between man and the cosmic order? A tall order, no doubt, their astronomical approach to timekeeping resurfaced on board the first UR-100V LS of 2024, capable of measuring the speed at which light is propagated through space.

To represent the fastest speed anything in the universe can go, or massless particles of electromagnetic energy (photons) as they travel at a constant speed of around 300,000 km/s through empty space, Urwerk represents the eight planets and the exact time required for light to travel from the Sun to that planet (for example, sunlight reaches Mercury in 3.2 minutes, Earth in 8.3 minutes, and at the end of the scale, Neptune in 4.1 hours) on the domed, openworked black structure hovering over the wandering hours mechanism. More than a static representation, the small blue and green hand that appears in the openworked areas indicates the planets and is attached to one of the three carousel arms to complete a full turn around the dial in three hours. Once it has reached Saturn at 3 o’clock, it dips under the minutes track and resurfaces at 9 o’clock.

A novelty of this edition is the proprietary white ceramic case. Measuring 43mm across, 51.73mm long and 14.55mm thick, the case is made from a special composite ceramic material. Unlike traditional ceramics that can shatter with violent impact, Urwerk’s ceramic composite is unbreakable thanks to the glass and carbon fibres added to the polymer. The choice of a white case is deliberate. As Frei points out, “…white is not a single colour, but an optical effect. It occurs when all visible wavelengths of light are present in balance”. The white ceramic reveals flecks of silver tones produced by the glass fibres and a stratified structure.

True to the displays found on other Urwerk models, the hours are indicated by three revolving satellites, with a red arrow-tipped minutes hand that travels along a 120-degree arched track graduated from 0 to 60. For enhanced legibility, the hours and minutes are painted with Super-LumiNova.

On the reverse, the black DLC-treated titanium caseback reveals the full aluminium rotor decorated with rays and circles to evoke the Sun powering the UR 12.02 calibre. The automatic movement has a frequency of 28,800vph and a power reserve of 48 hours. The UR-100V LightSpeed Ceramic is presented with two rubber straps (black and white) and a deployant buckle. The price is CHF 67,000 (excl. tax).

More information at Urwerk.com.