Taking a Giant Leap with the UR-10 Spacemeter: Urwerk's Fusion of Tradition and Innovation

It’s fair to say that ‘conventional’ is not a word typically associated with any watch from Urwerk - until now. The creative minds of Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner, Urwerk’s founders, have long been challenging the norms of horology with innovative time-telling systems and bold case designs. However, in an unexpected twist, they introduced the UR-10 Spacemeter featuring… regular hands. This might have suggested that Urwerk was succumbing to conventional wisdom, but they haven’t abandoned their innovative ideals.

In many ways, the UR-10 Spacemeter is just as unusual as any Urwerk product, despite its conventional-looking dial. This watch is part of the ‘UR-Special Projects’ collection - which tells you right away that it’s not your typical timepiece. Underneath its seemingly normal façade lies unique astronomical capabilities: measuring the Earth’s daily rotation and yearly orbit around the sun, all presented within three distinct subdials.

The Earth subdial, stationed at 2 o’clock, marks every ten kilometers of our planet’s daily journey, while the Sun subdial at 4 o’clock presents the Earth’s once-in-a-day voyage around the sun for each full rotation. The Orbit subdial at 9 o’clock juxtaposes the two measures. The outer ring mirrors the sun orbit measures, with the inner blue ring reflecting the Earth’s rotation.

The Spacemeter nestles within a thin yet wide case, sculpted from sandblasted titanium with a steel caseback. The barrel-shaped structure, reminiscent of the UR-100 series, measures an impressive 7.13mm in thickness, excluding the sloping sapphire crystal, despite its width of 45.4mm and height of 44mm. With a water resistance of 30 meters, this complex timepiece proves to be practical for everyday wear. The design is polished off with a fully sandblasted titanium bracelet accommodating the oversized crown at 12 o’clock.

In essence, the UR-10 Spacemeter is classic Urwerk - persistently pushing the boundaries of horology. It’s undoubtedly for those who don’t mind wearing their love for the unconventional on their sleeve. Or rather, on their wrist.