Urwerk releases the UR-100V Lightspeed, a watch that visualizes the time it takes for sunlight to reach a planet.

The independent watch brand Urwerk has announced the UR-100V Lightspeed, a new addition to their UR-100V series, which features a unique satellite time display and astronomical displays, and a function that shows the time it takes for sunlight to reach eight planets. This model features a carbon fiber case and is equipped with the automatic movement Cal. UR12.02.

A new model from the UR-100V series that displays Urwerk's unique timekeeping

　The speed of light is said to be 299,792.458 km per second. In an age where reality and science fiction blend together, this number has a universal and timeless quality.

"It's a mystical number that has connections to both classical physics and Asimov's fantasy worlds," Urwerk said in a press release for the UR-100V Lightspeed.

　This number, along with Einstein's theory of relativity, conjures up futuristic images of a galaxy far, far away, where Jedi from Star Wars and invincible captains from Star Trek explore.

　Controlling this speed means surrendering to the warp, defying the laws of physics and traveling through the interstellar dimensions of space—a world of adventure worthy of great explorers, from the Goa'uld tacticians in Stargate to the Space Guild navigators in Dune.

　All of these sci-fi and futuristic references are used to introduce the UR-100V Lightspeed, which is described as "a dream come true: converging time, space, and light in one place."

　"Wearing this creation is like having a part of the universe on your wrist, like seeing a miniature version of the universe on a human scale," says Martin Frei, Urwerk's artistic director and co-founder.

　The UR-100V Lightspeed features a 3D planetarium with eight solar system bodies, or eight reference points. "We calculated and charted the time it takes light from the sun to reach each planet," Fry explains.

"It takes 8.3 minutes for sunlight to reach Earth, but the same light reaches the surface of Jupiter 35 minutes later. This is the most mysterious journey through space and time, carried by light."

　"It's a story we've been told since childhood," adds Felix Baumgartner, Urwerk's master watchmaker and co-founder. "It teaches us about our place on Earth, the vastness of the universe, and our relationship to the present moment. Starlight reaches us, but long before that, the star may have already finished its glow. What we see now reminds us of time that has passed."

　This is true. If we measure the time it takes sunlight to reach each planet in our solar system, the vastness of the universe becomes dizzying. The light we see now is an echo of the past, a moment frozen in cosmic time.

　In our timeline, sunlight takes 3.2 minutes to reach Mercury, 6 minutes to Venus, 8.3 minutes to Earth, 12.6 minutes to Mars, 43.2 minutes to Jupiter, 79.3 minutes to Saturn, 159.6 minutes to Uranus, and 4.1 hours to Neptune. This is the whole idea behind the UR-100V Lightspeed, and the rotor of its automatic movement is inspired by the sun.

"Light is a fundamental bridge connecting us to the universe. It is the smallest unit of transferable energy and our eyes are amazingly well adapted to capture electromagnetic radiation. This ability to visualize and interpret light reshapes our perception of the world," adds Martin Fry.

"Whether we are observing distant stars or examining the tiny world through a microscope, light conveys important information to us and shapes our understanding of reality. Light is constantly expanding our knowledge and understanding of the vast and complex universe."

　The UR-100V Lightspeed not only displays interplanetary distances, but also features a typical Urwerk feature: a hands-free hour and minute display.

　The hours and minutes are displayed using a combination of an hour satellite and a retrograde minute hand. The minute hand ticks along a 120-degree fan-shaped minute scale. As soon as the 59th minute passes, the next hour satellite appears, instantly moving to the zero-minute position on the minute scale.

　This time display was inspired by 17th-century pendulum clocks, which Urwerk has creatively reimagined within the limited space of a wristwatch.