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watchilove · 4 years

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“Look ma’, no hands…” – There are only a few brands that disrupt the classic horological canons of displaying the time. Urwerk is one of them. No wonder that the brand’s pieces get to be featured as wrist companion for Marvel heroes – URWERK with the Avengers in the end game. Their pieces are out of this world. With an imagination well grown in the Sci-Fi domain, Urwerk amazes us with original and unusual pieces. One of them, the Urwerk UR-111C. This is a presentation of the three pieces collection, as seen at SIHH 2019 and Baselworld 2019. There are variations of the collection, like the Urwerk UR-111C “Pistol”, but are not featured or reminded in the article. Large gallery.

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UR-111C Iron

UR-111C Gunmetal

UR-111C Black

Urwerk UR-111C hands-on

The Urwerk UR-111C was launched in September 2018. The independent brand takes another approach from its well-known wandering-hour indication. The pieces can be seen as an evolution of the linear time display of 2009 launched UR-CC1 “King Cobra”. The Urwerk UR-111C Iron and UR-111C Gunmetal were seen and photographed during SIHH2019. The UR-111C Black was seen during Baselworld 2019. I considered a good idea to have all the pieces in one article for a more complete impression and better comparison.

Wristroll with Urwerk UR-111C

Urwerk UR-111C Iron manufactured in 316SL stainless steel:

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Urwerk UR-111C Gunmetal is cased in grade 5 titanium:

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Urwerk UR-111C Black received a black PVD coating:

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Ghost in a shell

Urwerk UR-111C comes in a very interesting case. It can be considered a three parts construction. But not in the sandwich typical construction of a classic timepiece: a complexed machined case is closed on the sides with two covers.

UR-111C case construction

To ensure the water resistance, the brand uses a specially shaped gasket held in a machined channel. Such a complex shape requires experienced engineers and special tooling. The case is held together by several screws. Some are visible on the front and back, the rest are hidden.

The complex case of the UR-111C. Note the rubber gasket – it looks like a Formula 1 race track

The closed, finalised case of the Urwerk UR-111C is rather spectacular. The complex-shaped components end up in a slightly curved design that follows the wrist lines. Have a look at the wrist rolls above for a better understanding.

Urwerk UR-111C Gunmetal

The case finishes are slightly different from one model to another. The Iron version presents a case body with satin and polished surfaces and covers with a fine vertical brush. The Gunmetal and Black versions have a predominant satin finish.

Urwerk UR-111C Black

The case is very dynamic. Every surface is complexly machined adding not only robustness to the design but also a daring, astounding appearance.

Urwerk UR-111C Gunmetal

To note the design of the original and complex lugs. These add wrist comfort for the 46 mm long case.

The back of the Urwerk UR-111C Iron

A better understanding of the lugs can be obtained looking at the back of the case. Note the screwed plate bearing the watch number from the limited series of 25.

The setting lever

Another originality of the Urwerk UR-111C is the setting and winding method. A top-placed roller is used for winding. Swinging out the side lever will put the movement in the set mode. The roller can be turned in both directions for the time set.

The winding/setting roller and the view to the running seconds

The Time Machine

And I am not referring to the 1960 Sci-Fi cinema masterpiece. The Urwerk UR-111C has the brand’s authentic way of displaying the passage of time. The watch indicates hours with a jumping system, dual minutes in a linear retrograde and digital manner and “small seconds” by an original digital display.

Digital small seconds indication on Urwerk UR-111C Iron

The digital seconds are displayed using two discs of only 0.025 grams each. The Arabic numbers are split between the disks as follows: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 on one wheel, and 5, 15, 25, 35, 45 and 55 on the other.

The end of a minute on the Urwerk UR-111C Gunmetal

The small seconds “sub-dial” is placed on the top of the case. An aperture with a complex shape crystal is fixed with four screws. The excellent legibility is assured by a special lens. A dense cluster of precisely aligned optical fibres serves a light guide and magnifier for the digital seconds.

The fibre optic lens as seen on the Urwerk UR-111C Black

Urwerk UR-111c uses two different approaches for the minutes’ display. The watch displays central retrograde linear minutes and a second, digital display on the right side.

The linear view on the Iron version

The complex mechanism is a beautiful implementation of two interesting complications. It also is a technical achievement to have two different, non-classical indications.

The digital minutes as seen on the Black UR-111C

The jumping hours is placed on the left side, symmetrical to the digital minutes.

The Iron displays 5:40

The Edge of Tomorrow

Urwerk UR-111C is a piece with roots more likely in the future. Powered by a self-winding movement, the watch is an exercise of mechanical creativity. Starting from a classic round base movement, the calibre evolves on display part, exploding in shape complexity.

The exploded view of the Urwerk UR-111C

On top of the complexity comes the exceptional finishes. The movement is hidden from the viewer but still presents circular graining, sanding, côtes de Genève, polished screw heads.

On the technical side, the UR-111C has a 48 hours of power reserve depleted by a Swiss lever system with 4Hz balance spring. The movement is so complex it needs 37 jewels (instead of a classic with only 17 jewels).

On the wrist with UR-111C Iron

Back into the future

Urwerk UR-111C could be used in a dictionary as visual display of the word “original”. Nothing is traditional on this piece’s time display. Only the finishes are respecting the rigours of the haute horlogerie.

In the wrist with UR-111C Gunmetal

A lever is used to change between setting and winding, a roller is used for the actual set and winding – so no crown involved. The minutes are displayed two times in two different way. The jumping hours’ display is intuitive and original implemented. The small seconds’ indication is unusual: in position but also in implementation.

Urwerk UR-111C Black

As a fan of the brand, I enjoy their pieces. I find the UR-111C not only original but also beautiful. From the aesthetics point of view, some of the Urwerk timepieces are strictly technical, industrial looking. But the UR-111C is cute, lovable. It is more than gears and numbers in a visible show of.

This is not a piece for someone who just has 130k laying arround. This watch needs to be understood. One needs to love mechanical art and to have an understanding of what it represents – a step further into the future.

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Urwerk UR-111C Technical Specifications

UR-111C Iron, Gunmetal, Black – limited production of 25 watches each version

Retail price: CHF 130’000.00 (excl. tax)

MOVEMENT

Calibre: Selfwinding calibre with stop seconds

Jewels: 37

Escapement: Swiss lever

Frequency: 4 Hz

Power reserve: 48 hours

Materials: Anodized aluminium cylinder; LIGA-processed seconds wheels.

Surface finishes Circular graining, sanding, côtes de Genève, polished screw heads.

INDICATIONS

Jumping hours

Retrograde linear minutes

Digital minutes

Digital seconds relayed by optical fibres

CASE

Materials: 316SL steel and grade 5 titanium, PVD coated in black

Dimensions: Width 42mm x length 46mm x thickness 15mm

Glass: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating

Water resistance: Pressure tested to 3ATM / 100’ / 30m

Surface finishes: Sanding; satin finish

Urwerk UR-111C Gallery

The back of the Urwerk UR-111C Iron

UR-111C Iron

UR-111C Gunmetal

UR-111C Black

On the wrist with UR-111C Iron

UR-111C Black

In the wrist with UR-111C Gunmetal

UR-111C Gunmetal

The setting lever

UR-111C Black

UR-111C Gunmetal

The linear view on the Iron version

The digital minutes as seen on the Black UR-111C

The Iron displays 5:40

The winding/setting roller and the view to the running seconds

Digital small seconds indication on Urwerk UR-111C Iron

The end of a minute on the Urwerk UR-111C Gunmetal

The fibre optic lens as seen on the Urwerk UR-111C Black

Review in pictures: Urwerk UR-111C – Iron, Gunmetal, Black "Look ma', no hands..." - There are only a few brands that disrupt the classic horological canons of displaying the time.

#hands-on #Review #Urwerk UR-111C #Urwerk UR-111C black #Urwerk UR-111C gunmetal #Urwerk UR-111C Iron

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watchilove · 5 years

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Iron Man Tony Stark is certainly the most charismatic Superhero of the moment. The fictional inventor with his own high-tech laboratory is a genius. He is clever, handsome and rich in short, the ultimate glamour Nerd.

So, when he has to save half humanity in Avengers: Endgame, the instruments on his wrist have to be URWERK’s awesomely sophisticated UR-105 CT Iron and the futuristic UR-111C Black Cobra.

Since its launch, last April 26, Avengers: Endgame has set records as the fastest grossing movie and the biggest hit both in China and the USA. URWERK is thus immensely proud to be part of the action, having cultivated friendly relations with Robert Downey, who plays Tony Stark. The actor invited URWERK to join the superheroes at the shooting of Spiderman: Homecoming in 2017, and that led to URWERK featuring in the final Avengers series.

Robert Downey proudly displayed the UR-111C Black Cobra on his wrist at the movie’s Premiere last April 22 in Los Angeles. This mechanical timepiece, which URWERK unveiled at Baselworld 2019, is made in a limited edition of 25. It is part of the Special Projects collection of watches that depart from the brand’s signature series of wandering-hour complications. The UR-111C is unashamedly futuristic, displaying the minutes both digitally and on a linear track, as well as jumping digital hours and optically transmitted skeletonized seconds. In keeping with this model’s radical departure from convention, URWERK has reinvented the winding crown. “Science fiction has always been a source of inspiration for me,” declares URWERK’s chief designer and co-founder, Martin Frei, “and you can see its influence in every model we create. This time we’ve gone through the looking glass. Fiction has overtaken us and absorbed us into its world. It’s magical!”

Urwerk Avengers

The UR-105 CT Iron also enters the fictional domain on the wrist of Iron Man Tony Stark. Showing a picture of the watch in action here would be a spoiler, but this selfwinding watch is fundamentally distinctive among so many original timepieces.

You have to slide the catch on the top of the case to reveal the mechanism of your UR-105 CT Iron. It’s a wandering hour indication based on an openwork carousel, which carries the four satellites, each bearing three numerals for the hours. The hours successively sweep past the minutes scale for an analogue and digital display of the time. A power-reserve indicator and digital seconds make up the rest of the information displayed on the dial. The digital seconds are remarkable in that the mechanism was made using a photolithographic process, with each 10-second marker openworked to make it as light as possible. It thus weighs less than a tenth of a gram.

Two pneumatic turbines on the back govern the selfwinding rate, which can be set with a lever. In the FULL position, the slightest movement of the wrist is harnessed to rewind the barrel springs. Turn the lever to STOP to disengage the selfwinding system and wind up the UR-105 CT Iron using the crown. If you are particularly active, select the intermediate position, RED (for reduced). This engages the turbines to dampen the winding rotor and avoid overstressing the mainspring.

It’s now up to you to discover the fate of the Tony Stark’s watch and of the planet on the big screen.

Urwerk Avengers

URWERK.

Founded by Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei, URWERK is the result of a strongly held belief that the history of Fine Watchmaking is a constantly changing art : “We don’t try to bring out new versions of existing complicated mechanisms,” explains watchmaker Felix Baumgartner, “Our watches are unique because they are all designed as original works, which makes them rare and priceless. Our main aim is to go beyond the traditional horizons of watchmaking.” The original styling of each URWERK model is signed by chief designer Martin Frei. “I come from a background where creativeness has no limits. I am in no way prisoner of the traditional constraints of watchmaking, and I can therefore be freely inspired by my cultural heritage.”

Although URWERK is a young company established in 1997, it is recognised as one of the forerunners of the new wave known as nouvelle horlogerie. Producing just 150 watches a year, the company sees itself as a craftsman’s studio where traditional expertise coexists with avant-garde styling. The company manufactures modern and complex watches that are unprecedented and in keeping with the most demanding criteria of fine watchmaking: independent design and research, advanced materials and handcrafted finishes.

The name URWERK comes from the ancient city of Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia, founded nearly 6,000 years ago where the Sumerian inhabitants first established units of time based on the shadows cast by its monuments. Ur in the German language also means primeval or original and Werk means an achievement or a mechanism. Thus URWERK can be translated as an original movement — a tribute to generations of watchmakers whose work has resulted in what we know today as haute horlogerie, or superlative watchmaking.

URWERK with the Avengers in the end game. Iron Man Tony Stark is certainly the most charismatic Superhero of the moment. The fictional inventor with his own high-tech laboratory is a genius.

#Avengers #end game #lifestyle #news #urwerk #Urwerk cobra

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