Dramatic Back to the Future with the UR-102 "Reloaded"

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Dramatic Back to the Future with the UR-102 "Reloaded" - Urwerk
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The UR-102 is back on the Urwerk watchmaking benches in the form of the UR-102 "reloaded"

In over two decades, this watch has grown in strength and size. It is now a respectable 41mm in diameter compared to the 38 mm of its original version.

Its size may have changed, but it remains as visually pleasing as ever. Its crown now merges into the case, having made a strategic move to 4 o'clock. Its lugs are larger, recalling the attachments on the Sputnik space satellite: solid, angular and designed to ideally position the "machine" on the wrist.

The font of the hours and minutes markers has been redesigned, with new information appearing on the dial. UR-102 "reloaded" thus embodies a smoothly nuanced revolution.

Dramatic Back to the Future with the UR-102

"For this UR-102, our concept featured a time indicator that looked like a celestial body. It picked up the vibe of Sputnik, the first man-made artificial satellite. The satellite trajectory of our hours pointer followed a semi-circle from minute 0 (ascension) to minute 30 (the firmament) and disappeared at minute 60 (descent). Like Sputnik, the 'body' of our UR-102 was made of a shiny metal offering a mirror-like reflection of any bodies that might cross its path" says Martin Frei, artistic director and co-founder of Urwerk.

The UR-102 “reloaded” has retained this reflective power and the key characteristics of the UR-102. Felix Baumgartner says: "The blue of the original UR-102 is a distinctive feature we wanted to keep. At the time we wanted our design to be colourful and were thinking of a flame-blued shade for our case. So we used a lovely bright, intense, anodised aluminium. If you observe our UR-102 "reloaded" in its titanium version, you will notice that the minutes track is the same blue. It is these scattered clues that make the pedigree of the UR-102 "reloaded" patently clear. The same goes for the crown of the UR-102 "reloaded". 

Dramatic Back to the Future with the UR-102

"We redesigned and shifted the crown slightly. The migration of the crown led to a change in the opening for reading the time. No longer a perfect semi-circle, this ‘window’ is wider with sloping edges, giving it a fresher, more dynamic look", adds Martin Frei.

The UR-102 was born 26 years ago, the time it took for URWERK to travel 23,500,000,000 km around the sun. The journey continues! 

The UR-102 "reloaded" is presented in a boxed set issued as a 25-piece limited edition and comprising the "Titanium" and "Black" versions.

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