Released in a limited edition of 12 pieces, the Urwerk UR-105 TTH ‘Tantalum Hull’ marks the final edition of the UR-105 model. Cased in the UR-105 CT ‘soap bar’ —due to its shape reminiscent of a soap bar— the case is made of titanium and tantalum. Measuring 39.5 mm wide by 53 mm long, the new Urwerk UR-105 TTH 'Tantalum Hull' is sporting one of our favorite metals. Tantalum is twice as dense as stainless steel and almost as dense —16.4 grams/cubic centimeter— as gold —19.3 grams/cubic centimeter. It is a metal that is very hard to machine and has a very unique blue grayish luster.
“At Urwerk, we took radical decisions very early on: deciding to remain independent at all costs and limiting our growth despite all the advice to the contrary were among the most important. To continue staying true to ourselves, to remain Urwerk, we make less than 150 pieces per year. This means that we reluctantly have to ‘kill’ a collection to bring a new creation to life. And time for the UR-105 CT is now running out,” explains Urwerk co-founder Felix Baumgartner.
“Tantalum is a very special metal. Its name comes from Tantalus, one of Greek mythology’s bad boys. Tantalum is precious, rare, and extremely painful to machine and finish. We made a UR-110 out of tantalum a few years ago —a first that almost was the last. The team made me promise never to use it again because tantalum ‘eats’ our CNC machines’ bits. It destroys them, reducing their life by a factor of three. But I love its blue-gray luster. Pure magic!” adds co-founder Martin Frei.
Machining tantalum is a living nightmare but its luster makes up for the difficulty of machining it. Almost anthracite-colored, it matches Urwerk’s aesthetic signature. The UR-105 TTH ‘Tantalum Hull’ is a beautiful object, substantial and pleasing to hold. Its distinctive octagonal form features deep streaks along its entire length. It is angular, geometric, and symmetrical with strong influence from the Art Deco style. A combination of modernity and classic watch design to a certain extent. The protective cover of the case is a perfect protective shield against corrosion.
Activating the sliding ‘tongue’ of the UR-105 TTH opens the hull to reveal its mechanics, featuring a satellite time indication built on a new skeleton carousel. The latter supports four-hour satellites, each displaying three-hour numerals that rotate in turn along the minute track, providing both analog and digital time displays. This time, Urwerk has added a cadet blue accent to the minute track and the running seconds.
A power reserve indication and digital seconds complete the information on the dial. The digital seconds displaying the seconds in ten-second increments is particularly remarkable. To make it as light and as ephemeral as possible, the seconds’ disk was made using the LIGA photolithography process and the marker is open-worked. The total weight of the display is less than 0.10 grams.
On the back, two turbines regulate the movement’s automatic winding system, which can be easily adjusted using a small lever according to how active the wearer is. In the "FULL" position, the slightest movement of the wrist is enough to wind the mainspring. In “STOP” mode, the automatic winding system is deactivated and the UR-105 is manually wound. A third intermediate position, “RED” —for REDUCED—, moderates winding to minimize excessive tension and wear. This automatic movement provides a power reserve of 48 hours when fully wound.
The Urwerk UR-105 TTH 'Tantalum Hull' is delivered on a Vulcarbon rubber reference “Kiska” with a black DLC buckle. The watch is available in a very exclusive edition of only 12 pieces.
Sticker Price CHF 77,000 Swiss Francs —approximately $85,800 USD. For more info on Urwerk click here.
