URWERK UR-10 SpaceMeter Blue Watch Review
Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei are a creative duo who continuously look to space for inspiration and this, once again, is manifest with their latest watch, the URWERK UR-10 SpaceMeter Blue. This model, limited to 25 pieces, doesn’t merely indicate the hours and minutes, it serves as a ‘portable cosmography’. We tasked Meehna Goldsmith to shed some light on this shining example of the brand’s extraordinary inventiveness.
URWERK – relationship between time and the universe
URWERK has long explored alternative ways of displaying time through wandering hours, satellites and unconventional mechanics. Yet beneath the futuristic aesthetics lies something deeper: an ongoing examination of humanity’s relationship with time and the universe it moves through.
That philosophy took a fascinating turn in 2013 with the EMC, developed within URWERK’s U-Research Division, where founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei pursued some of the brand’s most experimental ideas. The Electro Mechanical Control allowed the wearer to monitor and adjust the watch’s timing performance, creating a uniquely interactive relationship between owner and movement. While the EMC’s case was radically unconventional, it also marked the first time URWERK used a traditional hour and minutes display.
URWERK UR-10 SpaceMeter – Black version and Titanium version (2025)
Last year, URWERK introduced the UR-10 SpaceMeter in two dial executions, 25 pieces in black and a further 25 pieces in titanium (grey). Its inspiration came from an enigmatic Gustave Sandoz clock featuring three astronomical dials, passed down to Felix Baumgartner by his father Gérard, a renowned restorer of antique clocks. At first glance, the UR-10 appears surprisingly restrained by URWERK standards. The rounded case, integrated bracelet and syringe hands evoke the language of a sporty luxury watch rather than a futuristic machine.
Image – Gustave Sandos clock
Of course, with URWERK, convention rarely lasts long.
The first clue arrives with the crown positioned at 12 o’clock. Then come the counters, which shift the wearer’s perspective away from the simple measurement of hours and minutes toward Earth’s movement through space itself. The indications track the planet’s daily rotation and its orbit around the Sun, transforming astronomical motion into something tangible on the wrist.
Image – UR-10 SpaceMeter black version
At 2 o’clock, a counter measures the Earth’s rotation at the Equator in 10-kilometre increments. At 4 o’clock, another tracks Earth’s orbit around the Sun in 20-kilometre intervals. Most striking is the double concentric display at 9 o’clock, which synchronises Earth’s rotation and solar revolution onto dual scales. Through the exhibition caseback, these celestial indications continue across a 24-hour display, revealing the watch’s mechanical choreography in motion.
Image – UR-10 SpaceMeter titanium version
URWERK UR-10 SpaceMeter Blue – the end of an era
Although the UR-10 was introduced only last year, URWERK has decided to retire the collection, believing the concept has reached its logical conclusion. To close the chapter, the brand has released the UR-10 SpaceMeter Blue as a final 25-piece limited edition. The new version replaces the previous black and silver dials with a rich deep blue, while leaving the watch’s unusual indications and technical specifications unchanged.
The 45.4 mm case combines titanium on the upper section with stainless steel beneath, creating a balanced bi-level construction. Despite the absence of a quick-change system, the integrated bracelet is exceptionally ergonomic, hugging the wrist comfortably and reinforcing the watch’s fluid profile.
Powering the UR-10 is a high-grade base movement developed in collaboration with Vaucher, united with URWERK’s proprietary astronomical module. Two patented superimposed turbines with counter-rotating propellers regulate the rotor’s speed through an air-cushion system designed to reduce wear on the winding mechanism. Viewed through the caseback, the free-sprung balance oscillates beneath the turbine blades, adding another layer of visual drama. Finishing includes circular graining, straight graining, sandblasting and polished screw heads.
Closing remarks
The UR-10 SpaceMeter Blue ultimately feels less like a conventional watch and more like a portable cosmography. Rather than simply marking the passage of hours, it places the wearer within the larger mechanics of Earth’s movement through space. Reading the time becomes almost secondary. As Martin Frei explains, “Time is not something we observe. It is something we inhabit.” In its final blue edition, the concept feels especially complete – a watch that doesn’t merely indicate the prevailing time, but situates its wearer within the vast motion of the universe itself.
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: URWERK UR-10 SpaceMeter Blue
- Case: sandblasted titanium case middle, sandblasted steel caseback, 45.40 mm (w) x 44 mm (L) x 7.13 mm (H) – excluding the crystal, water resistance 3 ATM (30 metres)
- Functions: analogue central hours and minutes, 2 o’clock counter displaying Earth’s daily rotation measured at the Equator / 10 km, 4 o’clock counter displaying Earth’s daily orbit around the Sun/ 1000 km, 9 o’clock double concentric counter displaying Earth’s rotation and solar revolution, hours on a 24-hour scale, on the back, rotation and revolution on a 24-hour scale, on the back
- Movement: Calibre UR-10.01, automatic movement, frequency 28,800 vph (4 Hz), 44 jewels, power reserve 43 hours
- Bracelet: sandblasted titanium, single link, secured by a titanium folding clasp
- Price: CHF 70,000 excluding taxes (RRP as of 29.5.2026)
- Limited Edition: 25 pieces