Urwerk UR-150 Golden Scorpion
URWERK unveils a new interpretation of the UR-150. And in this edition, yellow gold has taken control! The UR-150 Golden Scorpion does not seek to soften URWERK’s mechanics. It illuminates their lines and volumes with an intensity never seen before.
Since 1997, URWERK has been exploring new ways of reading and experiencing time. Not through the circular language inherited from classical watchmaking, but through an orbital, mobile and intuitive progression. With the UR-150, this vision achieves a new degree of kinetic maturity. Three-hour satellites rotate on a central flying carousel, while a retrograde hand tracks the minutes across a 240-degree arc before snapping back to its starting point in one hundredth of a second.
Yellow gold, reimagined.
In its Golden Scorpion outfit, this movement acquires an entirely different character. Yellow gold introduces a particular tension into the architecture. The most traditional of precious metals is set against a radical construction: taut, ergonomic and shaped by sweeping curves interrupted by sharply defined breaks.
The case retains the unmistakable presence of the UR-150, yet light transforms the way it is perceived. Its surfaces capture, absorb and intensify the radiance of the gold, revealing both the density of the case and the fluidity of its lines.
Within the traditional vocabulary of watchmaking, yellow gold often speaks of heritage, transmission and permanence. On the UR-150, it assumes a different role. Rather than anchoring the watch in the past, it amplifies its contemporary character.
“I never design a watch as a static object,” explains Martin Frei, Chief Designer and co-founder of URWERK. “I seek to create a form that changes with the angle, the light and the movement of the wrist. With the Golden Scorpion, yellow gold behaves almost like an optical material. It reveals certain lines, makes others disappear and constantly renews the perception of the watch. Depending on how it is viewed, it can appear compact, fluid or almost organic. That visual instability is what interests me: the object remains the same, yet it never presents itself in quite the same way.”
“What interests me in a watch is not only what it indicates, but what it provokes,” says Felix Baumgartner, master watchmaker and co-founder of URWERK. “A true creation must have presence, energy and almost a character of its own. That is exactly what the Golden Scorpion possesses. Its name alone suggests a strong, almost aggressive personality. That force is reflected in the kinetics we have created, in the constant tension between the trajectory of the satellites and the lightning return of the retrograde hand. The UR-150 always appears poised and alert, ready to strike.”
Technical Specifications
Movement
Calibre: UR-50.01 self-winding calibre, regulated by a double turbine system
Jewels: 38
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 43 hours
Materials: Aluminium satellite hours. Brass flying carousel, finely sandblasted and microbead-blasted, with 3N gold PVD coating. Aluminium retrograde hand, finely sandblasted and satin-finished. Wheels manufactured using LIGA technology. Brass rotor, sandblasted and circular-grained, with 3N gold PVD coating.
Finishing: Grade 5 titanium screw heads, flat-polished. Hour and minute markers, flying carousel and counterweight hand-painted with Super-LumiNova.
Display: Satellite hours. Retrograde minutes indication over a 240° arc
Case
Materials: 2N yellow gold case middle, sandblasted, microbead-blasted and satin-finished across the upper surface and flanks. Grade 5 titanium caseback, black PVD, sandblasted. 2N yellow gold massive crown, sandblasted, satin-finished.
Dimensions: 42.50 mm wide × 51.00 mm long × 14.80 mm thick
Crystal: Domed sapphire crystal
Water resistance: Pressure-tested to 5 ATM, with screw-down crown
Strap
Adjustable high-performance hybrid rubber strap with folding clasp
Price
CHF 105,000 excluding taxes
Limited edition of 25 pieces