The URWERK UR-105- A retrospective

From top to bottom the UR 105 Iron Knight, 105 CT Streamliner, 105 Maverick Bronze, and 105 TTH Tantalum Hull

We take a look at how Urwerk chases themes through their watches

Over the last 6 months, we’ve had the pleasure of handling more than a few Urwerk UR-105 timepieces. From the Iron Knight to Tantalum Hull, these are masterpieces by the creators of Urwerk, Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner. Across all 9 models of the UR-105, the designer x watchmaker duo has experimented with different materials, designs, and color palettes since the timepiece’s launch in 2014. And now, the series has come to a close with the latest UR-105 TTH release in May of last year. Martin and Felix are moving forward with new ideas and designs – exciting things are on the horizon for Urwerk and its fans. 

105 TTH Tantalum Hull

We recently spoke with Martin about the significance of the timepiece in the evolution of Urwerk. It seems like every time we speak with the co-founders of the avant garde indie brand we get the opportunity to dive well beneath the surface of their ideas, designs, and pursuits with Urwerk. And here, no less. 

On evolution and themes in Urwerk

“Whenever an Urwerk timepiece is retired, there’s nothing left to do with it,” says Martin. In this situation, the duo has fully exhausted what they think is worthy of their design and watchmaking attention. They are simply ready to move onto new ideas and inspirations. What became immediately clear in conversation though: it’s impossible to talk about the retirement of any Urwerk timepiece (in this case the UR-105) without discussing evolution and the brand’s core themes. 

As Martin put it, 

“Every previous model is in the next model. Sometimes, it’s a smaller step. Sometimes, it’s a bigger step. But every Urwerk timepiece is related to one another, or in a lineage.” 

Collectors and enthusiasts of the brand will see immediate truth in these words. You don’t need to think too hard about whether a timepiece is or is not an Urwerk watch – it simply carries such a distinct “vibe.” That “vibe” is the byproduct of Martin and Felix’s pursuit of certain themes –it is grounded in their watchmaking pursuits. Some of these motifs are extremely concrete – the satellite wandering time indicator being one. Others are much more subtle.

One of those major, yet subtle ones, as Martin pointed out, came in the UR-105: interactivity. 

UR 105 Maverick wandering hours satellite movement

Interactivity 

“We want to create timepieces that make you want to touch them. And we want to create timepieces that surprise you when you do.” 

It’s not immediately obvious to the casual bystander, but Martin and Felix have constantly tried redefining how people interface with timepieces. On one level, that has to do with the visual representation of time. The wandering satellite hour indicator is intuitive, making time appear to be linear in the same way our minds conceptualize time. On another level, the interface is also tactile. The brand’s often massive crowns emphasize this.

In watchmaking, the crown tends to be an after-thought. Something that is either unimportant or a distraction from other important things on the watch. In the case of Urwerk, the prominence of the crown at 12 o’clock on many of its timepieces as well as its generally large size is a re-centering of the importance of the crown. Afterall, it is the crown that gives the watch life when it is dead in the case of manual wind watches. But interactivity doesn’t end there.

From the service indicator to the ability to turn the automatic rotors on and off, Martin and Felix want you to do things with watches that stray far away from simply setting the date and time. 

The automatic turbine caliber of the UR-105 with lever rotor control

“Armor,” or how watches are protected 

Another major theme that exists in the DNA of Urwerk is the founders’ pursuit of novel means of better protecting their timepieces from the conditions of everyday wear-and-tear. The case, or the “armor” of Urwerk’s timepieces has constantly evolved. There’s no better example of this than the UR-105 T-Rex and the UR-105 CT. 

First, the T-Rex. In a catalog full of amazing, futuristic aesthetics, the Urwerk’s T-Rex models stand out. And the first ever iteration of the T-Rex came with the UR-105. Though the T-Rex aesthetic is extremely modern, we were fascinated to hear that its inspiration comes from one of the most traditional forms of craftsmanship in watchmaking: guillochage. Guilloché on a macro level, the T-Rex “armor” exists to provide more robust protection against hard impacts and scraping. Here, you can see Martin and Felix bending history in new ways while pursuing novel forms of protecting watches better. This theme, as is the case with the T-Rex, doesn’t exclude the brand’s interest in interactivity either. If Martin and Felix want to play with your tactile expectations and surprise you when you touch the watch, the softness of the sand-blasted T-Rex case creates the duo’s desired cognitive dissonance. The look of the timepiece and its feeling simply do not match up – it appears ferocious and sharp, not soft and lovely to the touch. 

Between the pursuit of better “armor” and surprising interactivity, the UR-105 CT is another shining example of Urwerk’s thematic pursuits. With CT models in the series, the duo introduced the “shield” – the adjustable cover that can be either closed or opened on the dial of the watch. Where such a shield is reminiscent of pocket watches and acts as a wonderful interactive experience, there is a much larger synthesis of the brand’s historical designs at play here. With all models leading up to the UR-105 CT, collectors were forced into either an open dial with the inner workings of the satellite hour exposed, as is the case in the UR-202,, or a closed dial with the classic miniature Han Solo spaceship aesthetic, found in the UR-101. The open/close shield on the UR-105 CT was a very intentional breaking of that open-closed binary.  

The UR 105 Maverick bronze hunter style shield with the click to open feature

As Martin mentioned, the shield on the UR-105 CT is an evolution that started with the UR-103 Targa. If you look side by side, the same inlet on the surface of the dial on the UR-103 Targa has been converted to the mechanism for opening and closing the shield on the UR-105 CT. How can we give better protection to the watch, while also giving the pleasure of seeing the inner workings? With the UR-105 CT, you have the best of both worlds. 

The Urwerk UR-103.3 Targa in white gold

These syntheses in design are the most minute details to the untrained eye, and often overlooked. Yet, it’s precisely where you find this idea of the distinct Urwerk “vibe” coming to life. Martin and Felix are re-interpreting existing designs and forms, and intentionally creating that “lineage” mentioned in Martin’s quote above. 

Moving forward

“You know, Hitchcock fundamentally pursued how to represent relationships between people. He made many movies, and they are all after the same things. In the same way, we’re always pursuing the same themes in our projects.” - Martin Frei

When an Urwerk series is retired, Martin and Felix are ready to explore their favorite themes of novel interactivity and protection for timepieces on a new canvas. One that fits within the evolution of their historical work, their historical pursuit of the same themes. In the case of the UR-105 Series, the duo broke the binary of open-closed dials with the CT, launched an usual icon in the brand’s design language, the T-Rex, and dug even deeper into new materials for the first time with bronze. Compared to other series so far, there are none with as many models. Meaning, the designer and watchmaker had a lot to explore and experiment with throughout the 7 year lifecycle of the UR-105. 

It’s difficult to imagine exactly what’s coming next – Martin and Felix are good at surprising us in the best ways. One thing is certain though, they will dive even deeper into their areas of interest, the Urwerk themes.