URWERK built the UR-100V LightSpeed around one number, the speed of light at 299,792,458 km/s, and shows how long sunlight takes to reach eight planets.
URWERK today introduces the UR-100V “LightSpeed” in a black carbon case. It has no hands. A satellite carries the hour along an arc of a graduated circle. The next one appears when the last has covered its 60 minutes, a principle extrapolated from a 17th-century clock.
A three-dimensional planetarium adds eight planets, each set at the time a sunbeam needs to reach it, from 3.2 minutes for Mercury to 4.1 hours for Neptune. Earth sits at 8.3 minutes. The Sun inspires the rotor on the back.
Martin Frei, URWERK’s artistic director and co-founder, 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.”
Inside is the self-winding Calibre UR 12.02, governed by a Windfänger airscrew, with 48 hours of power reserve. The carbon case is 43mm wide and 51.73mm long.
Co-founder Felix Baumgartner adds that by the time a star’s light reaches us, the star has probably long since ceased to shine.
The Basics
Brand: URWERK
Model: UR-100V “LightSpeed”
Dimensions: 43mm wide × 51.73mm long
Thickness: 14.55mm
Case material: Black carbon (54-layer ThinPly); sapphire crystal; DLC-treated Grade 5 titanium caseback
Dial: Satellite hours and minutes; three-dimensional display of eight planets; painted in Super-LumiNova®
Water resistance: 5ATM (50m)
Strap: Textured rubber; folding clasp
The Movement
Calibre: UR 12.02
Functions: Satellite hours; minutes; time for a sunbeam to reach eight planets
Winding: Self-winding, governed by a Windfänger airscrew; black PVD-treated aluminium rotor
Power reserve: 48 hours
Frequency: 28,800 v/h (4Hz)
Jewels: 40
Images courtesy of URWERK.