After studying the intense black of carbon and the hidden shades of grey in raw titanium, Urwerk is continuing to look at so-called ‘cold’ tones that reveal hidden depths when exposed to light.
Instead of focusing solely on colour, the new UR-100V Magic T is a study in nuance, reflection, and chromatic subtleties, its titanium case and bracelet featuring an anthracite finish.
According to Martin Frei, co-founder and artistic director of Urwerk, this 100-piece limited-edition watch is, “a versatile timepiece that changes mood and appearance over time. And even though I am one of its creators, I perpetually discover and rediscover it in its different variations, always with the same impatience and the same pleasure.”
His co-founder in Urwerk, watchmaker Felix Baumgartner agrees, continuing: “This UR-100V Magic T fully deserves its nickname evoking the magic of titanium. All the beauty of the metal is there. We also worked on the legibility, adding complexity to the dial that is now broken down into several elements to give it more structure.”
The collection was designed with simplicity and minimalism in mind – Frei playing with shape and form and Baumgartner conceiving innovative ways to bring Urwerk’s wandering hours display to life.
The hands-free hours and minutes indications are based on satellites travelling around a graduated arc. The crescent scale shows the minutes, while the satellites present the hours. As one hour completes its journey around the minute arc, another bearing the next hour begins at ‘0’.
Originally used in a 17th century clock, Urwerk’s ability to constantly reinvent this way of telling time is a major part of the brand’s fascination for collectors, as well as its longevity. And while the UR-100V Magic T is clearly linked to its predecessors, its play on colour sets it apart from its stablemates in the UR-100 collection.
Space-age in aesthetic, thanks to its resemblance to a textbook image of a UFO, the interstellar properties of the UR-100Z Magic T do not stop there. The satellite carrier has two long recesses on the sides. The first is a kilometre counter referencing the 555 kilometres that the earth travels along its axis in 20 minutes. The other, also a kilometre counter, represents the 35,740 kilometres that the earth moves around the sun in that time.
The shot- and sand-blasted titanium case measures 41.0 by 49.7mm and its bracelet, consisting of 32 separate links, is finished in the same way. The watch is priced at CHF 58,000 (plus taxes).
