Urwerk’s absence at Baselworld this year was felt by many of us who spent far too much time at the independent brands’ “Palace” pavilion outside the show’s main exhibition halls. But at the same time we couldn’t really complain, as a lot of us got to see Urwerk’s latest creation in January during SIHH/Geneva Watch Week (or whatever unofficial name you want to give it). Here it is folks, Urwerk’s all-new UR-105M collection.

At a first glance, it’s hard to mistake the UR-105M for anything other than an Urwerk. The futuristic spaceship cockpit case, the unusual display and the dark, almost industrial tones make for a watch that looks and feels very familiar while still feeling new.

The press release sent out this morning claims the UR-105M is inspired by the Middle Ages and specifically, knights in armor. Given that we’re right in the middle of the fourth season of Game of Thrones, I’ll say I quite like this analogy. While neither the case nor display resemble anything remotely medieval, there is something about the way the top portion of the case, either in circular grained steel or black ALTIN treated steel, is bolted to the black titanium lower part of the case that does resemble an armor plate.

The side of the relatively slender case reveals two additional displays through protruding rounded sapphire crystals, the constant seconds and fuel gauge-style power reserve indication.

And because no Urwerk would be complete without a “Control Board”, the case back boasts an “oil change” indicator to let you know when you should send in your watch for a maintenance service, as well as 42-hour power reserve indicator and fine-tuning screw for adjusting the watch’s rate without having to open the case.

Like the UR-103, The time is indicated by revolving satellites and a minutes track at the 6 o’clock position of the display. The four satellite disks are done in forged-alumunim, black treated and satin-brushed with white luminous Arabic numerals. Like some of the later 103 variants such as the 103T “Tarantula”, the satellites are covered by a hood or canopy made of  “PEEK” (PolyEtherEthercetone), with just the right number of openings to make reading the current hour that much easier.

I found the UR-105M to fit really well on my puny wrist. I’m not sure whether it’s the slimmer case profile or the watch’s actual lug-to-lug dimensions, but I liked the way it sat at just the right height. It’s certainly not one to hide under a shirt cuff, but a watch this original deserves the attention.

Overall I feel like the Urwerk UR-105M is almost like a “best of album” of some of Urwerk’s coolest pieces from over the years, like the UR-103, UR-110 and UR-210, while still coming to the table with something fresh. And while there’s nothing “entry-level” about the UR-105M, it is Urwerk’s most affordable collection at the moment, with a price tag of 57’000 CHF for the steel “Iron Knight” versions and 63’000 CHF for the black ALTIN “Dark Knight” version.

More information on www.urwerk.com