ReviewThe Purple Revolution: Urwerk’s UR-100V Ultraviolet

Introduced by these pioneers in independent watchmaking, Urwerk’s UR-100 series is an overhaul from the late 1990s that goes beyond traditional watchmaking horizons. With new compilations in the same series over the years, Urwerk’s founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei unveiled the UR-100 Ultraviolet, decked in a purple hue, in 2022, displaying cutting-edge mechanics within handcrafted cases that take inspiration from both science and fiction.

Time To Tell Distance Travelled, In Ultraviolet

The UR-100 Ultraviolet is a step ahead of its larger-than-life predecessors. It has been redesigned with a forged aluminium central carousel with rotating hour markers positioned closer to the minute scale for better legibility. The time is told through three wandering numerical hour marker ‘satellites’ passing over the minute scale on the lower part of the dial. As the arrowhead pointer reaches the 60th minute, it disappears between subsidiary dials, and reappears as an odometer illustrating the 555 kilometres travelled every 20 minutes by each inhabitant of the planet (rotational distance). Across from the rotational distance counter, between one and three o’clock is the revolution tracker, indicating the distance travelled by the Earth around the sun (orbital distance), displaying 35,740 kilometres travelled every 20 minutes.

The Urwerk UR-100V Ultraviolet houses the brand's trademark satellite display, showcasing its mechanical and material innovation in all its cosmic splendour

The Urwerk UR-100V Ultraviolet is a limited edition with its case 49.7mm long, 41mm wide and 14mm thick, secured with a contrasting white rubber strap

Exploring the limits of time and distance, the minute hand vanishes every 60 minutes to reappear as a kilometre counter, even as the time is displayed with a new hand starting at the zero-minute mark to indicate the beginning of a new hour, making this creation astronomically compelling. Beneath it all is Urwerk’s calibre 12.02, displaying three satellite times.

Somewhere Under The Ultraviolet Rainbow

This wrist spacecraft is a complete makeover of the UR-100V case style, characterised by the purple model’s aesthetic which highlights the roughness of the titanium and steel with a violet-coloured DLC coating. Completing its makeover is the domed sapphire crystal glass, beneath which is the satellite disc, with the text and numbers painted in white, while the the minute pointer, and hour markers are in neon yellow. At night, it lights up in incandescent blue for the hours and vivid green for the kilometres. The case is 49.7mm long, 41mm wide and 14mm thick, secured with a textured white rubber strap in contrast with this timepiece’s design, with a guaranteed water resistance up to 30m.

This redesign of the UR-100V case is distinguished by the purple model's aesthetic, featuring a violet-coloured DLC coating. These hues are seen in the movement as well, Urwerk’s calibre 12.02, visible through the caseback

A magnificent piece through and through, the Ultraviolet breathes new life into the brand’s signature UR-100 satellite display, and presents their innovation in mechanics as well as materials in all its astronomical glory.