After ten years, Urwerk is retiring its flagship UR-110 watch collection with a one-off model featuring a titanium case with a Bakelite bezel. The UR-110 Bakelite will be auctioned in Geneva to benefit the Swiss Red Cross.
When the UR-110 line was introduced in 2011, it not only made the fledgling Urwerk company stand out, it also set a new trend in luxury watches with its high-tech design and counterintuitive analog display. As the line evolved, it drew so much attention that it was even graced the wrist of fictional billionaire Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Now the UR-110 is being put out to pasture, and Urwerk has decided to end the range with a flourish by giving it a Bakelite bezel to go with its titanium case. This not only provides a strong visual counterpoint, it also acts as a nod to Bakelite itself, which was the world's first synthetic plastic. Invented by Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland in Yonkers, New York, in 1907, the moldable, heat-resistant plastic went on from being used in electrical insulators to revolutionize the everyday consumer market.
Inside the Grade 5 titanium with its two-position crown with integrated protection and 3 ATM (30 m, 100 ft) water resistance is a UR 9.01 mechanical, automatic winding movement. This 46-jewel caliber is monometallic and beats at 28,800v/h (4Hz) thanks to its flat balance spring powered by a single-barrel mainspring boasting a 39-hour power reserve.
The winding system is by a unidirectional rotor regulated by double turbines and the movement has a matte finish with circular graining and diamond-cuts. Meanwhile, the watch's display uses a satellite complication with the rotating hour and minute modules mounted on planetary gears. In addition, there is a Day/Night indicator and an "Oil Change" alert indicator to warn when the watch should be serviced.
"While we are not the nostalgic kind here at Urwerk, we are proud to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of our 110 collection," said co-founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei in a statement. "This is a creation that won the Best Design prize in the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève; that faced evil on the wrist of Iron Man, the most badass superhero of them all; and that made the cover of major watchmaking magazines at the time of its launch in 2011. It needed to complete one last mission before it slipped away, so we are going to issue a final UR-110 in bakelite. A one-of-a-kind model that will be auctioned off on our dedicated website, with most of the proceeds going to the Swiss Red Cross."
The UR-110 Bakelite auction will start at 10 am on October 15 on the Urwerk website and run for two days.