URWERK UR-210 Black Platinum

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At SIHH 2018, URWERK presented a black platinum edition of its UR-210, a contemporary mechanical watch that boasts a spectacular combination of the revolving satellite complication and retrograde minutes. The prominent three-dimensional minutes hand acts as a high-tech cowling that encloses the hours and carries them in turn smoothly across the scale of minutes.

The lightning speed of the flyback— less than a tenth of a second — depends on three key factors:
– The central hub ensures that the mechanism remains stable. Turning on ruby bearings, it constitutes the rock on which the entire complication rests. A cylindrical spring of the type used in marine chronometers along the shaft accumulates the power for the retrograde action.

– The unusual minutes hand that acts as a cowling to transport the hours has equally uncommon dimensions, machined to the hundredth of a millimetre. The 22.29mm long metal structure, with a width of 8.03mm and a height of 7.3mm, weighs only 0.302 grams. Machined in aluminium, it is perfectly balanced by a brass counterweight.

– A double coaxial cam in the shape of a star governs the retrograde action. Its gearing and then its rotation determine the trajectory of the minutes hand.

The dial of the UR-210 also features a conventional power-reserve indicator at 1 o’clock. Opposite, at 11 o’clock, what appears to be a similar indication is in fact very different because it shows the winding efficiency during the last two hours.

This device — a world first — calculates the energy flow, or the ratio between the energy generated and the energy consumed. Contrary to a torque indicator, it doesn’t depend on the tension of the barrel spring and this device reminds the wearer about the necessity of being active. The winding efficiency indicating hand drags to red sector when the wearer is not active.

Knowing the winding efficiency of your watch enables you to adjust the winding rate. If your UR-210 shows that not enough energy is being generated, you can turn the winding rate adjuster on the back of the watch to FULL. The winding rotor then becomes sensitive to the slightest motion, converting it into pure energy. The rotor is connected to a turbine that ensures an optimum winding rate while dampening shocks.

If your activity creates too much energy, turning the adjusting wheel to REDUCED absorbs some of that energy to prevent unnecessary stress on the mechanism. A turbine mounted on ruby bearings starts to spin, acting as an air compressor and creating a resistance that slows down the winding rotor. In the STOP position, the self-winding system is disengaged and the UR-210 becomes a manually wound watch.

Technical details
Model: UR-210 Black Platinum
Limited edition of 25 watches

Case
Platinum and titanium with black DLC coating
Length: 53.6mm; width: 43.8mm; height: 17.8mm
Glass: Sapphire crystal
Water resistance: Pressure tested to 3ATM/30m

Movement
Calibre UR-7.10
Jewels: 51
Escapement: Swiss lever
Balance wheel: Monometallic
Frequency: 28,800v/h, 4Hz
Balance spring: Flat
Power source: Single barrel
Power reserve: 39 hours
Winding: Automatic winding dampened by turbines
Materials: Baseplate in ARCAP P40; three-dimensional minutes hand in aluminium with brass counterweight; central cylindrical spring in steel; hours satellites in aluminium; central carrousel and screws in grade 5 titanium.
Finishes: Sanded and circular-grained baseplate; satin finished and diamond-polished satellites; chamfered and polished screw heads.

Indications
Patented satellite complication showing wandering hours; three-dimensional minutes hand; power-reserve indicator; patented winding efficiency indicator
Hours, minutes and markers painted in Super-LumiNova®

Controls
Two-position winding and setting crown
Winding regulator on the back

Price
CHF 155’00.00 (Swiss francs / no tax added)