URWERK Launch the UR-100V “Lightspeed”
URWERK’s UR-100 Franchise Player Gets a New Calculation and Look
URWERK have a new edition of their venerable UR-100 series, building on an incredibly popular URWERK model that has not only been a commercial success for URWERK, but has allowed them to lower their price point to offer a more affordable version of their incredible watches and satellite time-telling complication. The UR-100 series has become a canvas for their love with all things sci-fi, space travel, and outer space. The UR-100V “Lightspeed” is no exception, and it brings to life the nerdiness and deep philosophical thinking of the brand in one watch. Oh yeah, and it’s in carbon.
The speed of light is a constant in our universe and in the world of physics: 299,792,458 m/s. As a constant, it’s denoted by the letter c in scientific notation. The speed, according to URWERK, recalls the scientific properties, like Einstein’s theory of relativity, and distant galaxies like those explored in Star Wars and Star Trek. It’s a number that makes us think of exploring distant galaxies, and URWERK wanted to bring this feeling onto the wrist.
URWERK’s artistic director and co-founder Martin Frei says: “Wearing this creation is like having a piece of the universe on your wrist, a vision of the cosmos in miniature, on a human scale.”
Within our space-time system, the Sun’s light reaches Mercury in 3.2 minutes, Venus in 6 minutes, Earth in 8.3 minutes, Mars in 12.6 minutes, Jupiter in 43.2 minutes, Saturn in 79.3 minutes, Uranus in 159.6 minutes and Neptune in 4.1 hours. The UR-100V “Lightspeed” shows the time light reaches each planet in the satellites from the 8 o’clock position to the 4 o’clock position on the watch, essentially where current time-telling isn’t on the watch. This is a great use of the complication and the UR-100’s design.
The light motif (pun intended) carries on to the rotor on the watch with reference to the sun and the rays of light emitted from it. I like that it is a bit more abstract look at the sun and not an artistic interpretation of the sun; this feels much more on brand for URWERK. Of the features I love on this watch, the screw down crown takes the watch to a whole new level of wearability. Lending the watch a 50 meter water resistance, the “Lightspeed” has a little more vacation vibe to it. Looking at the rubber strap they spec with the watch, which looks to me like it has new evacuations on the back to help prevent you from sweating to death inside a rubber strap in a warmer climate.
The 54 thinPly carbon case is pretty neat and something URWERK has been working on for some time. Paired with the black PVD titanium caseback the watch is quite light on the wrist, and the UR-100V is actually much thinner than you would imagine at 14.55mm thick, but for me it still easily slides under a shirt cuff.
Frei also noted “Light serves as our connection to the Universe, representing the smallest unit of energy capable of being transmitted. Its electromagnetic radiations are precisely in the range that our eyes are attuned to detect. This ability to visualize and interpret this information reconstructs our perception of the world. Whether gazing at distant stars or peering through a microscope, light conveys essential details shaping our understanding of reality, continually expanding our knowledge and comprehension of the vast and intricate universe around us.”
Priced at CHF 65,000 and offered in a limited edition, this is still in the entry level territory for URWERK, but I think it pairs the right URWERK DNA, design language, satellite time telling, and deep philosophical thinking rooted in a night clock from the 17th century to be all the URWERK you could want in a watch. The carbon case doesn’t hurt, either.
I say bravo to URWERK for continuing to bring their vision to life, to tell time in a new and interesting way, and to help us explore the universe around us.
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