Urwerk UR-111C Two-Tone

Independent Swiss watchmaker URWERK has always championed innovation. And its latest model, the UR-111C – now in a striking Two-Tone (TT) black PVD and brushed steel, teardrop profile case – is no exception. Certainly, as part of the “Special Projects” line – a deviation from the wandering hour indications for which URWERK has become well-known – it’s one of the most conceptually adventurous watches on the market.

The UR-111C TT comes with three key advances for watchmaking. The first is a retrograde linear minute display in an end-mounted driver’s watch style. This is a spinoff of the mechanism invented for the UR-CC1. With a twist. Here the numerals are set in a 30° diagonal slant for a better readability. This means that the rotating cylinder onto which the minute indicator is painted must rotate 300 degrees about its axis, during which a coiled spring is wound. At the 60th minute, the spring is released, making the indicator jump a further 60 degrees and back to the start position. But it also makes the hour indicator to its left jump too. The result is a pleasing optical illusion of the cylinder rotating endlessly and seamlessly.