URWERK’s latest, the UR-150 Scorpion, is a rounded timepiece that packs a powerful sting, with its retrograde minutes hand poised to strike each passing hour.
Inspired by the fearsome arachnid, URWERK once again turns to the animal kingdom for inspiration. As co-founder Felix Baumgartner explains, “We inhabit an extreme world, anything but ordinary.” The scorpion’s tail evokes the watch’s 240-degree minutes sector, ready to swiftly attack the hour. Yet beneath this aggressive symbolism lies an elegant and calm exterior, a juxtaposition emblematic of the URWERK style.
To animate its complex satellite complication, URWERK has devised an intricate new mechanism. A flying carousel bearing the three hour satellites follows a meticulous 60-minute route dictated by a cam. At the fateful stroke of the hour, a specially machined spring triggers a burst of motion: the minutes hand vaults 240 degrees as the hour satellites spin in unison. It’s a horological lightning strike, a “perfect storm” as Baumgartner describes it.
The ambitious 240-degree minutes arc demanded utmost precision; URWERK harnessed unprecedented energy through its largest-ever retrograde weights. This dynamic feat is controlled by a regulator, smoothing the hand’s return journey. The self-winding system also impresses with its twin turbines, delivering robust winding through the solid rotor.
Aesthetically, the UR-150 debuts a softer sculptural form. The spherical case and crystal curve ergonomically along the wrist, the sloping satellites echoing this organic shape. As co-founder Martin Frei explains, the Scorpion nickname evokes the watch’s inner force. The tension between the graceful case and dynamic mechanism imbues the UR-150 with vitality.
When the hour transitions, time itself seems to vibrate and turn back upon itself. For Frei, this fleeting moment encapsulates URWERK’s fascination with time. The instantaneous retrograde jump seems to transcend the steady minutes progression, a dual temporal nature.
The Urwerk UR-150 Scorpion is available in Titan and Dark versions, with production limited to 50 examples of each.
