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DonCorson
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Living with an URWERK UR-105TA watch

Living with an URWERK UR-105TA watch

The Urwerk brand is known for its modernistic, very polarizing style, but at the same time a high level of watchmaking competence.  This is a logical consequence of the constellation of the company with its two founders and owners being Felix Baumgartner, a watchmaker, and Martin Frei, a designer.  I was happily given the opportunity to wear an Urwerk UR-105TA for a month and, of course, I couldn't say no.

The UR-105TA, one of the newest Urwerk models, contains the entire Urwerk design vocabulary. These include the shield-like top surface, the huge crown at 12 o'clock, the time indication with a carousel and the regulation of the automatic winding with air turbines.



The Dial
The dial dominates the watch completely, both through its size and its color. The large sapphire crystal over the dial forms a part of the “shield” atop the watch, there being no break in the curve forming the bezel and the crystal.

The time display is with a carousel, an old time-honored display variant also seen in some very old clocks, pocket watches and the well-known star-wheel watches.  The carousel turns once every 4 hours and carries 4 satellites, each of which carries the indications for 3 hours.  The minutes are indicated on a sector of 90° at the lower edge of the dial.  With every full revolution of the carousel the satellites are turned 120° showing the next hour indication.  Although reading the time may initially seem a little daunting, with a little practice it is quite easy.  Even for those with weak eyes and/or missing their glasses, the minutes can be read with adequate accuracy just by noting the position of the satellites.

The carousel is engraved with a guilloché pattern. The planets are engraved with many small plateaus adding life to the supporting structure of the carousel.  The dial is available in orange, yellow and black.  While the orange may well be the most conspicuous and popular color, I found it to be very difficult to match clothing to.  I guess you can wear anything with blue jeans, but my wife found much more in her wardrobe that went well with the orange color than I did.




The Case
The case is in two obvious parts: the bezel in black-coated steel; the lower part in non-coated dark gray titanium.  The coating is very hard - easily resisting any scratches.  Its hard matt surface is in some ways like a chalk board.  Walking close to a wall it is easy to pick up marks, but they are just on the surface and rub off easily.  The bezel "shield" is positioned with oblong pins that protrude almost through the lower part of the case.  The tops of these pins are highly polished giving a nice contrast to the rest of the matt surfaces.

The lower part of the case is decorated with ribs on the side and back giving it a very robust look. The well-known Urwerk winding turbines are seen through two windows on the back.  These turbines can be used to brake the automatic winding of the watch when exercising or making many arm movements for other reasons (cutting firewood?).  The amount of braking done is regulated by a lever on the back of the watch, from no braking to stopping automatic winding.

The black dial version of the UR-105TA is also available with a red gold bezel which gives a completely different look to the watch.



The Crown and Lugs
The crown is one of the defining features of an Urwerk watch.  Massive, oversize, at the top of the watch when worn, it is like a jet engine propelling the machine forward.  As the crown is placed between the top lugs it cannot be turned in the normal sense, but because of its large diameter, simply swiping across it turns it easily.  If you turn off the automatic winding, manual winding is a pleasure.

Using the word lug is actually a bit farfetched.  The case of the watch extends over the entire area one would assume for a watch case and lugs.  The watch band is held in the case at the four corners with nicely polished screws.



The Watch Band
This bright orange band is an enigma for me. The material is a hard woven plastic while the inner lining is leather.  When handling the watch the band seems to be hard and awkward.  Strapped on the arm, however, it is one of the most comfortable I have worn.  Even in the very hot weather we have had recently, with sweating under the band, no problems.  Initially there was some fraying at the edges of the relatively hard woven material, but after a couple of days this did not advance any more.



Wearing the UR-105TA
In spite of the generous curvature of the top surface of the watch it appears to be pretty thick and bulky, the surface of the arm covered by the watch is very large.  I must admit I was a bit worried that I would not enjoy wearing this watch for long times.

Boy, was I wrong.  Although the watch weighs more than I would expect for a titanium-cased watch, the weight is simply “just right” on the arm.  No problem to wear it all day and night.  Not a single thought of wearing a bulky can on the arm - the optical impression deceives completely.  The surprising comfort of the band is another positive factor along with the ribbing on the back of the watch.

Winding the watch is a particular pleasure.  After a while I turned off the automatic winding and did all the winding by hand.  Absent-mindedly rubbing a finger across the crown winds the watch gently and quickly.

After wearing the UR-105TA for a month all I can say is, “I don't want to give it back.”

Impressions
Switzerland where I live is pretty watch conscious, but still, I have never been asked about a watch I was wearing as much as this Urwerk.  The watch attracts attention as much by its shape as by its color.  Eye-catching is the word.  The typical Urwerk shape is very different from what one usually sees and even here in Switzerland Urwerk is flying under the radar.

And the watch is polarizing.  No-one doesn't care, they either like it or hate it.

What actually surprised me the most is how great the watch looked on my wife.  I had no thoughts of it being a ladies watch, but experience showed that it is.  IMHO it looks better on my wife’s wrist than on my own.


Day for Day with an Urwerk UR-105TA

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