Urwerk Co-Founder Martin Frei has repeatedly named science fiction as one of the sources of inspiration the brand's designers draw to create new models.
They’re reinterpreting the contours of spaceships which appeared futuristic in the late 1970s and shrinking these spacecrafts down into miniature wristwear. The sources of inspiration which fueled the creative imaginations behind the new UR-112 Aggregat Odyssey model were a number of cosmic vessels from cult sci-fi flicks.
The company says it was influenced by the Battlestar Galactica space battleship seen in the TV series with the same name, aired from 1978 to 1979; the J-type 327 Nubian Royal Starship used by Queen Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars; and the Klingon Bird-of-Prey spread-wing craft from the 1984 film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
But clear references to Urwerk's own creations are probably the most recognizable in this watch, which bears a resemblance to the model with hinged protective cover from the UR-105 series and uses a time display comprised of rotating prisms. The Aggregat Odyssey is the second model in the UR-112 Aggregat line which debuted on October 27, 2021.
The watchmakers at Urwerk who created this watch preserved a number of features typical of their other creations, although they departed from their trademark satellite indications and carousels. Nevertheless, it wouldn't be Urwerk without rotation. In Urwerk watches there are two indications displayed at the bottom half of the case: jumping hours are on the left and trailing minutes advancing in five-minute increments are on the right with an additional vertical indicator to pinpoint the exact minute a little further to the right.
The indications are reminiscent of a rotisserie or electric grill, where "skewers" with prisms impaled on them rotate both around the center and on their own axes. What's most interesting is that these indications are positioned away from the watch movement, which is up in the top half of the case. It's linked to the display module by a long rod known as a cardan shaft, several centimeters in length.
The automatic UR-13.01 movement has a 48-hour power reserve. You can keep an eye on it by checking the power reserve indication concealed under a hinged cover beside the digital seconds. A similar approach was taken to craft the power reserve indication for the older UR-112 Aggregat Bicolor, so the new UR-112 Odyssey's main distinguishing feature is still the novelty's finishing.
The top cover is comprised of two steel wings while the case itself is made of titanium with details that have received a number of different treatments. For example, the top surface is mirror-polished with a bead-blasted edge, while the central titanium body is satin-brushed.
Interestingly, the sci-fi fans who created the watch had no qualms about using traditional decorative techniques, such as the surprising perlage around the power reserve, digital seconds indication and on the rotor's insert.
The novelty's case measures 42 × 51 mm in diameter and 16 mm in height. It may not be so small, but the streamlining has been so well thought-out that the watch even sits perfectly on a skinny wrist. Few will get the chance to check out the new Urwerk watches for themselves: the UR-112 Odyssey will be released in a very limited series of roughly five pieces.