Yep, you read that right. URWERK’s new UR-T8 is the Zurich-based watchmaker’s version of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso. URWERK’s designer and co-founder Martin Frei, says, “Our UR-T8, of course, recalls the Reverso watches, we have deconstructed the concept to create a genuine URWERK model. The UR-T8 features all the characteristics that we have made our own: the huge crown, the organically shaped sapphire-crystal glass, the textured case that invites your touch, a strong personality and a recognizable visual signature.”
“I’m a big fan of the Transformers,” Frei continued. “Actually, I’m a big fan of robots in general.” Not surprising, considering the brand’s predilection for the mechanical avant-garde. “I had once a toy, a Japanese toy actually, that you can transform…destroy, in a way, and put it back together.” And so, in celebration of the watchmaker’s l20th anniversary, the new UR-T8 can be “transformed” in the same way that Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Art Deco masterpiece can transform.
Like a cautious animal, the Reverso initially introduces itself by showing its back, also known as a cradle. In many ways it is a mystery object on the wrist before revealing itself in all its Art Deco glory. For all intents and purposes, the UR-T8 also starts off as a mystery object on the wrist. But this being an URWERK, the UR-T8 doesn’t just show any mere “caseback” but instead flashes a titanium shield armed to the hilt with highly textured armor, which in this case looks similar to the reptilian-like scales of URWERK’s own UR-105 T-Rex…except more geometric and less organic.
Typical of the German watchmaker, the UR-T8 is rather large and measures 60.23 x 48.35 x 20.02 mm…which only bolsters the mystery. Indeed, no clue of its true nature is given away by the UR-T8’s blunt shape or highly textured shield. In fact, one wouldn’t even think it a watch at all. That is until the two buttons on the side of the case are squeezed, and the entire body of the UR-T8 is released, lifted vertically, rotated 180° about its axis, and clicked back into its cradle to show its true face.
With the Reverso, it is a fluid, well-mannered maneuver orchestrated by a master watchmaker. For the URWERK, it is more a series of grandiose mechanical actions from the wheelhouse of Michael Bay. This is when the latest version of URWERK’s now-familiar wandering-hour indication is finally revealed, and it’s the biggest and most elaborate carousel configuration by the German watchmaker yet.
The self-winding UR 8.01 caliber features a single barrel providing 39-hours of power reserve as well as pneumatic control for the self-winding system that connects a unidirectional turbine to the winding rotor, thereby absorbing sudden and violent movements without compromising efficiency.
Our UR-T8 is a milestone in the story of URWERK. Our first 20 years were dominated by the wandering hour; the rest of the story has yet to be written for there are so many areas we have still to explore. It’s now the time to turn a page and we want to do it with style.
But the real star of caliber UR 8.01 has to be its new carousel system. In this latest version, the twelve hours are grouped into three groups of four. Each group is then placed on a three-armed carousel with each arm, in turn, supporting its own satellite carousel bearing the four hour numerals. So that’s three smaller carousels on the main carousel. These arms then sweep across the scale of 60 minutes to show the time both digitally and analogically courtesy of a complex planetary gearing system that transforms the tangle of wheels, screws and jewel bearings into a meticulously orchestrated mechanical ballet.
According to the company’s chief watchmaker, Felix Baumgartner, URWERK has turned a corner with the UR-T8 signifying a time of change. “Our UR-T8 is a milestone in the story of URWERK. Our first 20 years were dominated by the wandering hour; the rest of the story has yet to be written for there are so many areas we have still to explore. It’s now the time to turn a page and we want to do it with style.”
Unfortunately, because of the nature of their creations, URWERK produces only around one hundred and fifty watches annually. And that’s the company’s entire annual production, not just one model. So even if the UR-T8 is not a limited edition, URWERK plans an initial production run of only 60 limited pieces…with the operative being “initial.”
