By Evan Ackerman
Whether or not you think it’s ugly, you have to admit that this is one pretty damn cool watch. The UR-202 Hammerhead, designed by Urwerk, brings a bunch of innovative features to an accessory that hasn’t changed that much in about a century. Okay, okay, with a few exceptions. Anyway… The first thing you’ll notice is that the UR-202 communicates the time with three hands that rotate around the center of the watch. The number blocks on the ends of each hand rotate to provide the hour, and the minute is shown by that little metal pointer, which telescopes in and out as the hands rotate, allowing for a smaller overall case since the pointers not in use are able to retract themselves as they circle back around the watch. The two dials alongside the minute bar show the moon phase, and whether it’s day or night.
The watch is powered by kinetic energy; it winds itself as you move your wrist around. Kinetic watches work best (and last longest) when they’re wound with gentle, consistent motion, and heavy wrist activity (ahem) can put a lot of strain on the mechanism. To combat this, the UR-202 contains two little turbines, which are coupled to the winding rotor. The turbines act as shock absorbers, using air pressure to cushion the movements of the rotor. A switch on the back of the watch lets you adjust the air pressure passing through the turbines to compensate for “vigorous” and “extreme” activity. They’re using air inside the watch to do all this, so the whole thing remains waterproof.
No pricing info yet, but this doesn’t look like it would be anywhere near affordable, does it?
CGI promotional video with a techno soundtrack and no additional information, after the jump.
OMG, I want this watch. Very cool, new and innovative concept. But if it breaks or gets damaged… How much will it cost to repair or do you just get a new one? Price of the watch must be in the 5 figures for sure.
Very cool looking watch. From their site – looks like the watch starts at around 93,000 Euros to nearly 130,000 Euros ($150K – $200K+ USD). There is a little “service” indicator on the back of the watch that lets you know when to take it in for service.
200k USD! That is crazy. I guess there is a market for those who want to pay the most for a particular product no matter the price. Why not just get a 20k rolex or 5k omega and have a watch that does not need to be serviced? Crazy!
At first Urwerk’s designs didn’t do much for me, but they’ve really grown on me. I don’t think I would shell out the cash for one, but they’re very, very cool watches if you’re after something that is different from the crowd.
Love this watch so much. Though looks like it's made for guys..
Sophisticated is its name.. Wow. Environment-friendly.
New modern technology's face.
This watch is $300k. Over 80 percent of the work on each one is done by the two people who founded the company.