URWERK has announced the UR-100V C52, a lightweight watch, limited to 25 pieces, that is designed for ergonomic comfort, style, and form. The watch features 52 layers of precision-cut thin carbon on a rubber strap with a buckle. The watch’s curves and angles evoke the striations carved into ancient Greek columns. Intended to control the flow of rainwater. URWERK co-founder and master watchmaker Felix Baumgartner drew his inspiration from a gift he received from his father, Geri, a noted clock restorer. The clock, made by Gustave Sandoz for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition, was unique in that it shows the distance traveled at the Equator rather than time.
Carbon is timeless and the URWERK UR-100V C52 uses it to protect, define, and frame the watch and its mechanisms. The watch case uses highly resistant CTP carbon, compressed in an epoxy polymer resin, allowing for its lightweight 11 grams, including the titanium baseplate. The case measures 41mm by 49.7mm by 14mm and includes a sapphire crystal. The URWERK watch mechanism includes 40 jewels and hour and minute hands (there are three of the latter) synchronized to orbital satellites. The watch also tracks indications of the distance traveled every 20 minutes on the Earth’s equator (555 kilometers) and the distance the Earth travels around the sun in 20 minutes (35,740 kilometers).
The hands are Geneva crosses in beryllium bronze and an open-worked aluminum carousel, illuminated in Super-LumiNova for easy reading. The automatic winding system is designed to minimize wear and the watch comes with a 48-hour power reserve. The finish uses circular graining, sanding, brushing, and chamfered screw heads. The watch is water-resistant to 100 feet.
In other horological news, Laurent Ferrier is releasing its 2022 Sport Auto timepiece.
