A step into a whole new world of excitement
As we glide into the new year with a blinding speed, Urwerk gave us a fantastic reason to enjoy the ride with an introduction to a novelty that carries the first for the watch company. Boldly, they unveiled the UR-230 Polaris, a cousin of the UR-200 family first made their debut in 2007, the first UR-230 was the ‘Eagle’ introduced in 2023. An aesthetics that was very much along the DNA of the UR-210, the closest family member, except that the ‘Eagle’ has a clam cover engineered to stay in any position you please. What made the UR-230 special is the latest mechanical innovation, and that is you can select to either wind the watch automatically or set it at manual winding with the aid of a mere switch. Now, isn’t that neat?
That was the UR-230 Eagle, with the new UR-230 Polaris, a name inspired by Stanely Kubrick’s masterpiece 2002: A Space Odyssey. There are a few things that differ from its sibling, first of all, there is no ‘clamshell’ cover, and the second is the most visually stark difference from the other members of the family, moving away from black, grey and patterned, the Polaris, for the first time at Urwerk, it has a white body. To achieve the white, a new material has to be formulated, the base material is ceramic, which is then intertwined with fibreglass piles to strengthen the hard but brittle ceramic, white resin embedded in the fibre sheets gives the colour white. Due to the nature of the composite, it shimmers in the light on its matte surface, almost snow-like effect, as seen on the heat-dissipating tiles on NASA Discovery 1. It was first developed in-house, and now we see it for the first time in a watch on the Urwerk UR-230 Polaris.
The openwork-dial, with its rotating three-arm satellite complication, is blackened in contrast to the whiteness of the casing, giving it a more sophisticated aura. It shares the same calibre as the ‘Eagle’ UR-7.30 with the option of manual or automatic winding. The gentlemen at Urwerk could have just let that be it, and it still will be a beautiful piece, but they didn’t decide to make it even better, they ingeniously added shock absorbers to the movement. This latest feature is designed to protect the calibre, cleverly by using the turbines, the first turbine reduces the impact of any external shock, and the second turbine manages the flow of the air that flows through the winding system, acting like an ‘air brake’ which modulate the winding power of the level of activities the wearer is putting it through. The same selector as the one for manual and automatic winding, they serve the same functions. So, if you are wheezing down the slopes, remember to set it at automatic and let the turbines do their job! Now, if that is not technically brilliant, I don’t know what is, and that is what modern watchmaking is all about.
The UR-230 Polaris comes with a white vulcanised textured rubber strap to complete that outdoor sporty look, which looks great on snow-covered slopes and just as good at home on white sandy beaches. Now, if this is not a groovy watch for all conditions and occasions, then what is?
