URWERK’s UR‑210
[dropcap size=small]W[/dropcap]atch fans can now buy a timepiece that gives them feedback on the state of their relationship. The latest edition of the Geneva-based super luxury watch URWERK’s UR‑210 has an indicator which shows its owner when his or her current state of motion is giving the timepiece more or less energy.
When the owner is comfortably nestled in an armchair, the indicator will be tend toward a red zone that indicates the UR-210 is not being wound enough by its motion-activated rotor and is running on stored energy. But if the watch-lover is moving energetically, the indicator will point toward the green zone, a sign that the timepiece is being replenished with new energy.
“This quasi-biologic machine could reveal more about you than any other object in your possession. It is not really a watch but rather a living mechanism attached onto your wrist,” explains Martin Frei, one of the founders of the brand and designer of the UR-210.
Owners of the watch can also adjust the energy storing process to suit their degree of energy or sloth. When the UR-210 indicates an insufficient supply of energy, owners can position the winding efficiency selector at the back of the watch to “Full”. The rotor will then convert the slightest movement into stored energy. Even raising a glass of champagne will be enough to give the watch extra juice. But a more active horologic aficionado active can position the selector to “Reduced” to engage the rotor damping system. An air turbine compressor mounted on ruby bearings spins and creates internal resistance to slow down the automatic winding rotor. In the “Stop” mode, the automatic winding system is disabled completely and the UR-210 runs off reserve power.
“In terms of the degree of evolution of the satellite carousel, I feel with the UR-210 that we have reached the pinnacle of what we can do with this complication,” says Felix Baumgartner, who founded URWERK with Frei. “It envelops the hour satellites and demands machining to extremely fine tolerances.”
