The Urwerk UR-100 was inspired by a 19th century pendulum clock —a present to Felix Baumgartner from his father Geri, a now-retired renowned clock restorer— made by Gustave Sandoz for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. The regulator-style dial does not show time. Instead it shows the distance of the Earth’s rotation at the equator. The extra-long pendulum beats every 2.16 seconds, making every oscillation one kilometer. The main dial has a scale of 10,000 kilometers, shown in units of 100 kilometers, so that each tick —half oscillation— indicates 500 meters traveled on the Earth’s surface—at the equator. The top subdial —10 km— is divided into 10 units, while the lower subdial showing a total of 40,000 km —approximately the equatorial circumference of the Earth— is divided into increments of 1,000 km.
The UR-100 Space Time takes us on a journey through both time and space, two concepts at the very core of Urwerk. Using its orbiting satellite hours and minute hands, the UR-100 displays both time —hours and minutes— and space —distance travelled—, merging these two concepts in the creation of the all-new UR-100 SpaceTime.
The UR-100 SpaceTime features Urwerk’s iconic orbital hour satellites, differing however in one significant way. Rather than the red-arrow-tipped minute pointers on the hour satellites disappearing after 60 minutes when replaced by the next, the UR-100 Space Time minute arrow passes beneath and between subsidiary dials, reappearing to display intriguing new astronomical indications: distance traveled on Earth and distance traveled by Earth.
The first indicator at 10 o’clock evaluates the distance in kilometers that we have traveled on the Earth without even leaving our desks! It is based on the average speed of the rotation of the Earth on its axis at the equator, covering a distance of 555 km every 20 minutes. Directly opposite at 2 o’clock, the same hand —well it looks like the same hand, but is actually one of three— continues its journey to another celestial indication featuring the distance the Earth has traveled in its orbit around the sun —a journey spanning some 35,740 km every 20 minutes. The UR-100 simultaneously presents three different space-time realities, providing a thought-provoking reminder of our voyage through time and space. The new Urwerk UR-100 Space Time is available in two 25-piece limited editions, one referred to as UR-100 Iron in titanium and steel, and the second one UR-100 Black in black PVD-coated titanium and black PVD-coated steel. The case measures 41.0 mm x 49.7 mm and the
Powering the UR-100 SpaceTime is the automatic Caliber 12.01, with baseplates in ARCAP and a power reserve of 48 hours. The automatic winding rotor is regulated by a flat turbine, the Windfäng —Swiss German for “air trap”— that minimizes shocks to the rotor bearing and reduces over-winding and wear and tear. The rotor, which is partially supported on its periphery by the flat turbine, also has a larger diameter, resulting in a lower mass and therefore less wear. This 39-jewel automatic movement provides a power reserve of 48 hours when fully wound. The movement features orbital satellite hours turning on Geneva crosses in beryllium bronze; open-worked aluminum carousel and triple baseplates in ARCAP.
Sticker Price CHF48,000 Swiss Francs —approximately $48,000 USD. For more info on Urwerk click here.
