Baselworld 2012: Urwerk, famous their avant garde designs, which I greatly admire, are introducing the UR-110 TTH and UR-110 ST.
The UR-110 TTH
The UR-110 derives its strength from its bezel crafted in tantalum, a particularly hard and dense metal, well known for resistance to corrosion and for its bio-inertness. Indeed, the TTH stands for “Tantalum Hull”.
“Tantalum is a rare metal of which the name comes from Tantalus, a Greek mythological figure synonymous with temptation,” explains URWERK co-founder and chief watchmaker Felix Baumgartner. “We therefore naturally succumbed to its charms! Its colour is such that we decided to use it in its natural state while satin-finishing and sand-blasting helped to enhance the natural beauty of this intriguing material.”
The UR-110 ST
Its dial marries perfect smoothness of the sapphire crystal with grooves in the AlTiN bezel. The change of surfaces sounds seamless.
“A watch worn on a daily basis should be a source of pleasure – the primal pleasure of possession, naturally, but also the pleasure of the experience of it on the wrist,” says URWERK co-founder and artist-designer Martin Frei . “There is a quote I like from French poet and diplomat Paul Claudel: ‘Sculpture is the need to touch.’ I very much hope the UR-110 ST creates this need.”
In the UR-110 TTH and the UR-110 ST, the time is always shown on the right side of the watch. Three hour satellites follow a vertically arced line, graded from 0 to 60 minutes, in a downward motion. Planetary gearing keeps the satellites and their arrow-shaped “torpedoes” in parallel formation as they take turns to indicate the time as they pass the 60-minute track.
