Urwerk Gives the UR-110 One Last Mission

“While we are not the nostalgic kind here at Urwerk, we are proud to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of our 110 collection. This is a creation that won the Best Design prize in the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève; that faced evil on the wrist of Iron Man, the most badass superhero of them all; and that made the cover of major watchmaking magazines at the time of its launch in 2011. It needed to complete one last mission before it slipped away, so we are going to issue a final UR-110 in bakelite. A one-of-a-kind model that will be auctioned off on our dedicated website, with most of the proceeds going to the Swiss Red Cross,” the two Urwerk founders, Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei, said in a joint statement.

The UR-110 will therefore be retiring exactly 10 years after its birth – and doing so in style, on behalf of a worthy cause. This one-off UR-110 Bakelite will be unveiled on 10/10 at 10:10 a.m. Geneva time on the Urwerk Website.

The UR-110 Bakelite features a titanium case and an original bezel made of bakelite, a star material from the 1900s. As Felix Baumgartner explains: “Bakelite was one of the first high-tech materials ever developed. Its properties were and remain multiple and revolutionary. Insulating and heat-resistant, it was present in all everyday objects at the time, from eyeglass frames to radios.”

The UR-110 Bakelite auction will start on October 15 and will close on October 17 at 10 a.m. Geneva time.