Some brands exist outside of the regular realm of haute horlogerie. They are immune to trends but rather follow their own path, even when it seems to come from a universe far, far away. Such a brand is Urwerk, which, ever since its creation, has focused on the continuous development of the wandering hours. 

Wandering through the nights

A ‘complication’ is generally defined as any function on a watch that does more than display the time (hours, minutes, seconds). So, by that definition, wandering hours is not a complication but simply a different way of displaying time. The wandering hours display originates from the time of pocket watches, although it was a rarity even then.

Audemars Piguet’s Starwheel is perhaps the most well-known example of a modern-day wandering hours wristwatch; however, Vacheron Constantin has also made some beautiful watches with this type of time display, such as the Metiers D’Art Tribute to Great Explorers. Wandering hours have even made their way into more affordable watches – the Gorilla Fastback Drift is a prime example.

Urwerk UR-120 Space Black

However, for Urwerk, the wandering hours has become an essential part of their DNA. Unlike any other brand out there, they have explored, lived through, and lost sleep over wandering hours. Over the years, Urwerk has introduced different varieties of this way of displaying time, of which the UR-120 is one of the most spectacular.

The reason for this is the way that the hours are formed. Each hour cube is not a single block that rotates, but the numeral is made up of two parts, each spinning in the opposite direction around their own axis.

Urwerk UR-120 Space Black ‘Vulcan Salute’

They then make a Vulcan salute, in reference to ‘Star Trek,’ in which Vulcans (like Spock) up their hand and split their fingers in a v-shape. The blocks that form the numerals do this before joining together, ready to display the next hour.

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