URWERK unveils the UR-100V LightSpeed in white ceramic, a timepiece that transcends conventional watchmaking by merging astrophysical precision with breakthrough materials engineering. This creation embodies the company’s uncompromising philosophy: where light becomes time, and time becomes a journey through our solar system.
Light is composed of photons – fundamental particles of electromagnetic energy with no mass. These photons travel at the speed of 299,792,458 kilometers per second (the universal speed constant “c”), the fastest velocity possible in the universe. Light behaves simultaneously as both a particle and a wave, a duality central to quantum mechanics. The photons originate in the Sun’s core through nuclear fusion, the process that powers our star. Here, hydrogen nuclei collide under extreme pressure and temperature (approximately 15 million degrees Celsius) and fuse into helium, releasing enormous energy in the process. This energy emerges as photons.
These newborn photons then undertake a remarkable journey. They traverse the Sun’s interior through a process called radiative transfer, bouncing between atoms and gradually moving outward until reaching the Sun’s surface. Once released from the photosphere (the Sun’s visible surface), they travel through the vacuum of space unimpeded, reaching Earth in just 8.3 minutes and continuing onward to illuminate the entire solar system. Each photon carries specific energy determined by its frequency; higher-frequency photons (ultraviolet light) carry more energy than lower-frequency ones (infrared light). Together, this spectrum of photons creates the full range of visible light and invisible radiation that sustains life on Earth and illuminates the cosmos. All visible spectrum combined is seen by the human eye as “white light”.
A Journey Written in Light
The UR-100V LightSpeed Ceramic realises a singular vision: bringing Time, Space and Light into harmonious unity on the wrist. The watch houses a three-dimensional planetarium featuring eight celestial bodies from our solar system, each governed by a fundamental principle of physics. Beginning from the Sun, URWERK’s designers calculated and illustrated the precise time required for a ray of light to traverse space and reach each planetary sphere.
“Wearing this creation is like carrying a fragment of the universe on the wrist, a miniature vision of the cosmos scaled to human perception”, explains URWERK’s Artistic Director and co-founder Martin Frei. “By mapping astronomical distances onto the constrained geometry of a wristwatch dial, the transformation of scale reduces the effective velocity of light to a visually quasi-static motion, in which a constant physical speed is perceived as slow due solely to a change of reference and proportion. The sequence unfolds with scientific precision: sunlight reaches Mercury in 3.2 minutes, Venus in 6 minutes, Earth in 8.3 minutes, Mars in 12.6 minutes, Jupiter in 43.2 minutes, Saturn in 79.3 minutes, Uranus in 159.6 minutes and Neptune in 4.1 hours. More than a display of data, this complication offers a tangible sense of cosmic distance, offering an elegant reminder of how vast the universe truly is.”
Felix Baumgartner, master watchmaker and co-founder of URWERK, adds philosophical depth to this astronomical context: “This is the story we were all told as children. It explains our place on Earth, the immensity of the universe, and our paradoxical relationship with the present moment. By the time light from a distant star reaches us, that star has probably long ceased to shine. What we see is no longer there; we perceive only a time, a past that no longer exists.” The UR-100V LightSpeed Ceramic transforms this cosmic truth into mechanical poetry, reminding the wearer of light’s eternal journey through space, the same light that traverses the watch’s dial measures the very scale of our existence.
Ceramic Reimagined
The case of the UR-100V LightSpeed Ceramic represents URWERK‘s most ambitious material exploration in composite engineering. Rather than accepting ceramics’ inherent fragility, the company commissioned the development of an entirely new material: a ceramic-based composite specifically designed for watch-making applications.
This revolutionary material combines aerospace and medical-grade engineering with horological precision. At its core lies a polymer matrix housing finely woven sheets of ceramic interspersed with fiberglass plies. This laminated construction draws inspiration from materials used in the aerospace, medical, and aviation industries – technologies proven across the most demanding environments imaginable.
“The usual ceramics are hard, but it’s also what makes them a liability,” explains Felix Baumgartner. “These materials are heat-sintered, which makes them prone to shattering in case of a strong impact. We had to go past that limitation. So we decided to develop a ceramic, by and for ourselves. Thanks to the glass fibers it contains, it doesn’t break.” The result is a material possessing ceramic’s aesthetic precision and durability while eliminating its catastrophic failure mode. Impact resistance becomes not a compromise but a triumph of engineering.
White and Silver: Aesthetics of the Cosmos
Not content with solving ceramic’s mechanical limitations, URWERK infused the resin matrix with a distinctive white coloration, whilst the fiberglass layers themselves appear as very light silver. The machining process reveals this material’s true character: finely stacked layers emerge with a visual effect entirely unique to composite construction. The surface shifts between full matte and subtle luminescence depending on the viewing angle and the light source. It is an uneven, shimmering quality reminiscent of carbon the fiber’s visual complexity, yet fundamentally different in character.
This specific white is alive, constantly changing, and subtly so. The case exhibits what might be described as controlled randomness: plays of light appear and disappear as the wearer’s wrist rotates, creating an ever-shifting visual dialogue between the watch and its environment.
Martin Frei articulates the deeper aesthetic vision: “The white case exterior paired with the black movement, especially when worn on a white strap, evokes the distinctive aesthetics of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s a throwback to Kubrick’s breathtaking set designs and the iconic Discovery 1 spaceship. This design equally references the Apollo 11 aesthetic as created by NASA, where white served as a heat shield, an absolute requirement for space exploration. This watch is not only elegant; it has NASA cool written all over it.”
The ceramic composite case measures 43 millimetres in width and 51.73 millimetres in length, with a thickness of 14.55 millimetres. The caseback features sand-blasted, shot-blasted DLC-treated Grade 5 titanium, permitting full visibility of the movement’s rotating rotor, an homage to the Sun which powers the mechanism.
The Movement: Engineered Complexity
The UR-100V LightSpeed Ceramic houses URWERK’s Calibre UR 12.02, a selfwinding movement governed by the company’s exclusive Windfänger airscrew: a turbine system that regulates winding intensity through air resistance rather than conventional shock-damping jewels.
The movement operates at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), delivering a 48-hour power reserve through its sophisticated dual-mainspring architecture. Forty jewels support the motion work across triple baseplates constructed from ARCAP alloy, an exceptionally stable copper-aluminium compound. The hour satellites appear in machined aluminium, mounted on beryllium-bronze Geneva crosses, materials chosen for their dimensional stability and aesthetic refinement. The aluminium carousel orchestrates the satellite system’s rotation, whilst the black PVD-treated aluminium rotor completes the mechanical ensemble.
Finishing transcends mere decoration. The movement displays circular graining, sandblasting, shot-blasting, and circular satin finishing applied across its visible surfaces. The crew heads receive chamfered edges, a detail whose practical purpose has long since been superseded by aesthetic tradition. Hours and minutes are painted in Super-LumiNova®, ensuring legibility in darkness whilst maintaining the dial’s clean geometric composition.
The indications present an entirely original complication: satellite hours; minutes; and crucially, the time required for a sunbeam to reach each of the eight planets in the solar system. This final complication transforms the watch into a teaching instrument, a meditation on cosmic scale, and a mechanical marvel in singular unity.
URWERK UR-100V LightSpeed Ceramic Technical Specifications
UR-100V LS Ceramic – CHF 67,000 (Swiss francs, excl. tax)
Indications
- Satellite hours; minutes;
- time required for a sunbeam to reach eight of the planets in the solar system.
Movement
- Calibre: Selfwinding UR 12.02 movement governed by a Windfänger airscrew
- Jewel:s 40
- Frequency: 28 800 v/h – 4 Hz
- Power reserve: 48 hours
- Materials:
- Satellite hours in aluminium set on beryllium-bronze Maltese crosses;
- aluminium carousel;
- triple baseplates in ARCAP alloy, watertight titanium inner container;
- black PVD-treated aluminium rotor.
- Finishing:
- Circular graining, sandblasting, shot-blasting, circular satin finishing
- Chamfered screw heads
- Hours and minutes painted in Super-LumiNova®
Case
- Materials:
- White ceramic developed for URWERK with silver fibreglass fabric and carbon inserts.
- Caseback in sand-blasted, shot-blasted DLC-treated Grade 5 titanium.
- Dimensions:
- Width: 43 mm, length: 51.73 mm, thickness: 14.55 mm
- Glass: Sapphire crystal
- Water resistance: Screw-down crown. Pressure-tested at 5ATM (50m)
Strap
- Textured rubber with folding clasp
