When Urwerk launched the UR-105 CT in September 2017, the year of the trendsetting brand’s twentieth anniversary, it certainly made waves in the horological press; however, I couldn’t help feel that it was a little underappreciated and perhaps in the shadow of Urwerk’s “Reverso interpretation,” which launched earlier in the year, the widely successful UR-T8 (see If You’ve Ever Wondered What The Lovechild Of A Reverso And A Tyrannosaurus Rex Might Look Like: Presenting The Urwerk UR-T8 ‘Transformer’).

Urwerk UR-105 CT Black with cover open

Back to the future: UR-103 (2003) to UR-105 CT (2017)

For the origins of the Targa-topped UR-105 CT Streamliner, we really do have to go back (to 2003) to what was then considered by many to be the harbinger of the future of contemporary horology, the Urwerk UR-103. Without exaggerating the importance of this model, I feel it’s fairly safe to say that the UR-103 both transformed Urwerk from being a barely-viable niche player in modern watchmaking into one of the most influential and well-respected of independent haute horlogerie brands; it also led to the Opus 5 for Harry Winston (then helmed by later MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser), considered by many to be the best of the seminal Opus collection.

The UR-103 featured Urwerk’s now-iconic revolving conical satellite indications, with the majority of the complication hidden underneath a solid cover – dial side – with only a single satellite visible that displays the time. This watch was a major gamble for Urwerk, and the brand would have likely folded if it hadn’t been successful.

Urwerk UR-103 from 2003

Luckily for both Urwerk and its many fans the UR-103 was a hit, and in 2003 it brought the small brand much-needed recognition and cash flow.

But the UR-103 also provoked a fundamental change in Urwerk’s minimalistic design philosophy that had directed co-founder Martin Frei’s futuristic shapes until then. The UR-101/102 and UR-103 had solid covers, overgrown bezels if you will, hiding everything dial side except what was essential for displaying the time.

That meant that while virtually all of Frei’s exciting design work was open to view, the vast majority of Felix Baumgartner’s revolutionary watchmaking was largely concealed. In 2005, a new version of the UR-103 presented with a sapphire crystal “Targa” top: the UR-103.03, which revealed most of the satellite complication under a beautifully shaped sapphire crystal. It was sex on a strap!

‘Targa’-topped Urwerk UR-103.03 from 2005

The launch of the UR-103.03 coincided with the launch of Harry Winston’s Opus 5 (also, as previously mentioned, by Urwerk), and it enabled the small brand to successfully ride the tsunami of publicity generated by the Opus.

It’s impossible to underplay the importance of the Targa-less UR-103 and Targa-topped 103.03 to Urwerk. Those models not only saved the brand from certain extinction, they also laid a solid base for everything that followed.

Urwerk UR-105 CT: paying homage where homage is due

Thanks to its neatly integrated sliding catch just below the massive crown where 12 o’clock would be on a normal watch, the Urwerk UR-105 CT is able to pay homage to both the UR-103 and UR-103.03.

In normal use, all that can be seen on top is brightly-colored Super-LumiNova highlighting the hour and minutes. No distractions. A gentle push on the catch, though, and the cover pops open to allow maximum appreciation of the complex mechanisms underneath that are responsible for rotating the hour satellites through their high-precision orbits.

Urwerk UR-105 CT Black with cover closed

Impressive crown of the Urwerk UR-105 CT Black

Those distinctive striped lines engraved into the flip-up cover/bezel are a tip of the hat to the ribbed lines on the bezel of the UR-103, which in turn came from an early influential period for Baumgartner and Frei in New York where the ribbed sides of the city’s subway trains and Greyhound buses left a lasting impression.

Urwerk UR-105 CT development sketches

One effect of those ribs, though, is the amount of work involved in polishing the natural steel/titanium version of the UR-105 CT (it is also available in blackened steel/titanium) as the original UR-103 steel was polished. Those ribs have to be carefully masked, and each watch involves many hours of careful preparation and finishing.

One of the (many) characteristics of the Streamliner that stand out for me is the quality of its construction. Opening and closing the cover is like closing the door on a premium German car: smooth and reassuringly strong.

Urwerk UR-105 CT Black with cover open

And if there are any elements in the Streamliner that make you slightly uncomfortable, rest assured that’s deliberate as Baumgartner explains, “An Urwerk watch has to disturb a little bit. That’s a characteristic of Urwerk. We are not aiming at De Bethune-type elegance, and this is something that intrigues us. An Urwerk should disturb.”

Urwerk UR-105 CT in polished steel/titanium

The Urwerk UR-105 CT is a large watch, but you can see that it is quite wearable even on a slim wrist

And the future of the UR-103/UR-105 orbital satellite display?

I’ll leave Felix Baumgartner to tell you Urwerk’s plans for the UR-103/UR-105 orbital satellite display: “For the moment we do not have another [UR-105] model in development, and it is even possible that we will stop producing this CT version. It isn’t 100 percent decided, but we have no plans at present to develop this line in the future.”

Urwerk UR-105 CT Black and polished steel

For more information, please visit https://www.urwerk.com/en/collection-105-collection-c1.

Quick Facts Urwerk UR-105 CT
Case: polished steel bezel/titanium base or blackened steel bezel/titanium base, 53 x 39.5 x 17.3 mm, water resistance 30 meters, flip-up dial cover
Movement: automatic Caliber UR 5.03 with twin turbine regulation, 48-hour power reserve
Indications: wandering hours; minutes, digital seconds; power reserve indicator
Price: 65,000 Swiss francs (tax excluded)

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