In 1996, Gérard Baumgartner found a clock that measures the Earth’s travel rather than time, and later gave it to his son Felix, master watchmaker and co-founder of URWERK.
URWERK today introduces the UR-10 SpaceMeter, limited to 25 pieces in titanium and 25 in black. It has a round dial and central hands, and belongs to the brand’s Special Projects family.
The hands tell the time, and three sub-dials measure distance. EARTH counts every ten kilometres of the planet’s daily rotation, SUN registers every 1,000 kilometres of its solar orbit, and ORBIT combines both. URWERK calls it a world first. The case is 7.13mm thick, one of the thinnest URWERK has made, with two parts and no caseband.
The self-winding calibre UR-10.01 pairs a base movement developed with Vaucher Manufacture with URWERK’s own module. “This gift became a true bridge between two worlds: my father’s devotion to classical horology, and URWERK’s quest for disruption,” says Felix Baumgartner.
Turn the watch over, and the same idea continues: a 24-hour scale reads Rotation clockwise and Revolution anticlockwise, so the story runs in both directions at once.
The Basics
Brand: URWERK
Model: UR-10 SpaceMeter
Dimensions: 45.40mm wide × 44mm long
Thickness: 7.13mm (excluding crystals)
Case material: Sandblasted titanium upper case; sandblasted steel caseback; sapphire crystals, anti-reflective coating
Dial: Black or grey PVD, curved, circular graining; syringe-shaped time hands filled with SuperLumiNova; Breguet-shaped distance hands
Water resistance: 30m (3 ATM)
Bracelet: Sandblasted titanium, single link; titanium deployant clasp
Limited edition: 25 pieces in titanium; 25 in black
The Movement
Calibre: UR-10.01, self-winding, double barrel
Functions: Hours and minutes (centre); Earth rotation and solar orbit distance; 24-hour Rotation/Revolution scale on the caseback
Winding: Self-winding; patented Dual Flow Turbines
Power reserve: 43 hours
Frequency: 4Hz (28,800 a./h)
Jewels: 44 (rubies)
Images courtesy of URWERK.