his UR-230 “Black Star” is original in more ways than one. First, there is its structure. Calibre UR-7.30 powering this creation is protected by a hermetic titanium container designed as a mechanical safe. Surrounding this highly protected heart, a composite ceramic case and a black DLC titanium back form the UR-230’s shell: “I love the aesthetics of ceramic and its clean, precise look. It’s a material that’s hard, shiny, beautiful... and incredibly fragile. A single impact and it cracks – yet I didn’t want to give up on this option”, explains Felix Baumgartner, master watchmaker and co-founder of Urwerk. “We had to find a solution to fulfil this desire without making any comprises.”

The original, high-performance case of the UR-230 “Black Star” is made from a laminated composite ceramic developed specifically for Urwerk: layers of braided ceramic, fibreglass and carbon fibre have been integrated into a polymer matrix. When machined, this unique ceramic reveals a shiny relief. Its flat, smooth surface is illuminated with sparkling dots, creating a dense, vibrant black-light texture.

“While Polaris evoked the brightness of the North Star, Black Star belongs to the interstellar void”, says Urwerk’s artistic director and co-founder Martin Frei. “This black is not there to conceal. It breathes. It makes light appear in a setting of shadows. In astrophysics, a Black Star refers to the state of a collapsing star. The star then absorbs light like a black hole, but not completely, just at the cosmic boundary between being and disappearing. Urwerk’’s ‘Black Star’ embodies this paradoxical presence: a deep, living black that does not deny light but reveals it by draping it in shadows – a glow born from the very heart of the night.”

The UR-230 “Black Star” embodies Urwerk’s DNA. This new UR-230 features a satellite complication with wandering hours and a retrograde 3D hand; while a central hub connects three cubic hours satellites. These four-sided blocks move across a 120° sector in 60 minutes. The active hour – the one scrolling along this minutes rail – is taken charge of and put into orbit by an openworked retrograde hand that accompanies it throughout its journey from index 0 to 60. At the end of 60 minutes, the hand instantly flies back to zero to take charge of the next satellite.

DUAL TURBINE SYSTEM

The UR-230 is a self-winding watch regulated by an exclusive dual turbine system:
 one absorbs external shocks
 the other regulates the air flow of the automatic winding mechanism, acting as a true aerodynamic brake.

A control on the back allows the rotor load to be adjusted or even completely deactivated to switch to manual-winding mode.

Two symmetrical indicators − at 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock − display these settings.

MOVEMENT

Calibre Calibre UR-7.30 developed by URWERK Winding Modular automatic winding Escapement Swiss lever escapement Frequency 28,800 vph - 4 Hz Balance Variable inertia Jewels 50 Balance-spring Flat Energy Double barrel Power reserve 48 hours Materials Baseplate in ARCAP P40, 3D minutes pointer in aluminium with counterweight; Steel central spring; hours transporter in aluminium; central carrousel and screws in grade 5 titanium Finitions Hour-markers painted with Super-LumiNova®. Structure finely 3D-engraved with a circular satin-brushed pattern. Shotpeened satin-brushed subdial indications. Finely sandblasted carrousel with a shotpeened, circular satin-finished and black rhodium-plated cage. Finely sandblasted satellite cam with DLC coating. Finely sandblasted anodised 3D hand. Components hand-painted with Super-LumiNovaTM: yellow glowing blue for the hour-markers; yellow glowing blue for the automatic indication; red glowing green for the 60-minute marker and the OFF position of the automatic indicator; green for the ON indication. Polished screws

INDICATIONS

Wandering hours on a satellite complication (URWERK patent) 3D retrograde minutes hand Aerodynamic winding regulation indication (Air Brake) Automatic winding status indication (On-Off)

CASE

Materials Material Exclusive ceramic composite, developed with and for URWERK Dimensions Width: 44.81 mm; length: 53.55 mm; thickness: 14.30 mm Glass Transparent sapphire crystal Caseback Black DLC-treated titanium and sapphire crystal glasses Water resistance Pressure-tested to 30 m/3 ATM Strap Vulcanized© rubber, “Kiska” reference. Velcro fastening

PRICE CHF 150,000.- (Swiss francs / excl. tax)