Imbuing each of its wild timepieces with meticulous attention to detail and usually a concept that’s never been attempted in horology before, Urwerk has become a poster child for the unconventional watch category. Since 1997, the Swiss brand has come out with some actually insane watches from its flagship “Spock” wandering hours satellite display references from the recent UR-100V which lets you know how long it takes for the Sun’s light to reach each of the planets. Last year, we even covered their one-off Space Time Blade “clock” — a nixon tube-like device that stood over 5ft tall.
But with the brand’s latest UR-230 Polaris, Urwerk performs most of its magic on the case of the watch rather than what’s ticking away inside of it.
Ceramic in Watches
First popping up in the watch world in the ‘60s thanks to Rado, ceramic as a watch case material has only seen an increase in popularity over the years. The recent rise of colored ceramic and even lumed ceramic has proven the material’s case as one of the best canvases for innovation.
Ceramic is also next to perfect as a material. Not only is it exceptionally lightweight but it’s also scratch-resistant — 10x more than 316L stainless steel by comparison. It also has exceptional resistance to oxidation, corrosion, and color-fading, allowing your watches to look great for decades, as long as they don’t chip or crack. You see, ceramic is still ceramic. Meaning, it’s not necessarily the most durable material in the world. But thanks to Urwerk’s latest innovation, it might be…someday at least.
Urwerk UR-230 Polaris Basics
A follow-up to the UR-230 Eagle, the Polaris features the brand’s signature wandering hours complication, with a trio of rotating blocks that displays the current hour as it moves along the 0-to-60 minute track at the bottom of the dial. The Eagle introduced turbines to the in-house Caliber UR-7.30 movement, which features a knob that can disengage the rotor entirely for more extreme situations for better shock resistance. There’s a second knob that lets you control the airflow going inside. These two features compound with a new ceramic material that will make this an excellent sports watch for daily activities.
Making Ceramic the Perfect Case Material
The movement is housed in a 44.8mm x 53.55mm case and is skeletonized through the front dial. Sporting a striking white color, the case swaps the typical carbon TPT case with a new type of ceramic that opts for woven ceramic sheets that have been fortified with fiberglass.
Typical ceramic is made with a powder but the layering method manages to retain the light weight (fiberglass is very light) while enhancing the durability of the material. If anything, this is a superb step in the right direction to making ceramic the most versatile watch material around. With a titanium caseback still intact like previous models, the Polaris is paired with a matching white rubber strap as well.
Spec Sheet
Case Size: 44.8mm x 53.55mm
Case Material: Fiberglass-fortified woven ceramic
Water Resistance: 30m
Movement: In-house Caliber UR-7.30 automatic and manual
Band: White rubber strap
Limited Edition?: Yes, 35
Pricing & Availability
Like all Urwerk watches, the UR-230 Polaris is both expensive and highly limited. With just 35 pieces being made, the watch is priced at CHF 150,000 (~$167,744). Head over to Urwerk’s website to learn more.
Urwerk UR-230 Polaris
Urwerk’s UR-230 Polaris is a classic wandering hours watch from the brand but improves upon the fragility of ceramic cases with fiberglass fortification.
