Few luxury watch brands capture the look and feel of science fiction quite like Urwerk. Even in the rare and fantastic ranks of haute horlogerie, Urwerk has built a line over the past few years that feels more at home on the bridge of the Romulan Warbird than any other from Switzerland. When the brand announced earlier this year that it would be discontinuing its iconic Wanderlust UR-210 series, it left a gap in the lineup that audiophiles were eager to see filled. Now, after months of uncertainty, Urwerk has returned to the roaming time concept with the improved UR-220, internally dubbed “Project Falcon” during development. While outwardly similar to the previous UR-210, nearly every element of the watch has been redesigned, from the slimmer, more ergonomic case to the redesigned movement from the ground up. Thus, the Urwerk UR-220 “Falcon Project” continues one of the brand’s signature looks while redesigning it for the new decade.
The first iteration of the Urwerk UR-220 featured a 43.8mm x 53.6mm lugless oval case made of carbon thin-layer composite. This multi-layered material (the case has a total of 81 layers of ultra-thin carbon material) results in a dark, striped look reminiscent of Damascus steel, with a uniform pattern of circular stripes. While the distinctive polygonal bezel and sapphire crystal and 12 o’clock crown are carried over from the UR-210, judging by the initial images, the UR-220 is much more profiled than its predecessor. While this is still a relatively thick watch at 14.8mm, it’s still a full 3mm thinner than the UR-210. A party piece for the UR-220 is located on the caseback, where a small sapphire display window highlights the “Oil Change” counter. This is a rotating display that tracks the number of months since the last service and reminds you of the recommended 39-month service interval. This is a fun way to remind the owner of the importance of service, and might make for a great talking point. The water resistance of the UR-220 may become a less popular topic, as this complex case is only water resistant to 30 meters.
Like its predecessor, the real heart of the Urwerk UR-220 is the skeletonized dial with the instantly recognizable ‘satellite’ roaming hour display. While the general layout is carried over from the UR-210, initial images show a narrower, more angular and visually cleaner design for the new series, with each rotating hour markers and retrograde minute hand dominated by a new serrated edge. Used for numerals and The font of the dial text has also undergone major changes, and the UR-220 has chosen a militaristic, angular steel stamp appearance. However, in addition to the font change, the retrograde minute scale on the bottom third of the dial also features a ribbed surface detail. While the proportions may appear confusing at first glance, the combination of the large central hands with the current hour markers and the current minute quickly becomes intuitive. The UR-220 also features dual power reserve indicators at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock, the model at 10 o’clock covers the movement’s entire 48-hour reserve capacity, while the indicator at 2 o’clock focuses on Last 24 hours reserved.
Despite more visual resemblance to the UR-210’s movement, the UR-7.20 hand-wound caliber inside the UR-220 has undergone significant changes from its predecessor. In addition to removing the automatic winding system found in the UR-210, the UR-7.20 also increased the power reserve to 48 hours while maintaining a single mainspring barrel. Power reserve has traditionally been Urwerk’s Achilles’ heel, as the sheer mass of the wandering hour and retrograde minute hands requires extra torque to move, and while 48 hours at a beat rate of 28,800 bph isn’t groundbreaking by any means, it’s important one step forward. Discount fake watches
In keeping with the slimmer, more detailed, more aggressive aesthetic of the UR-220 series, Urwerk paired this new model with its first-ever rubber strap. There’s a wealth of visual detail here, from the angle-scaling layers that flow into the integrated case to the woven canvas pattern on the main face. Urwerk claims the strap is Vulcarboné-cured for extra softness, and the strap is secured with Velcro for quick attachment and removal.
With the UR-220 “Falcon Project”, Urwerk brings a series of powerful updates to one of its iconic series without compromising the series’ techno-sci-fi spirit. Popular cheap watch
