Urwerk UR-230 Black Star
URWERK ends the year in sidereal black. The independent watchmaking house unveils its new UR-230 “Black Star,” a creation that does not seek light but instead absorbs it, engulfs it – the better to restore it on its own terms.
After the raw texture of the Carbon CTP in the “Eagle” and the mineral whiteness of the ceramic “Polaris”, the “Black Star” concludes the 230 collection triptych on a cosmic note. The curtain falls on a note of vibrant black: a gravitational field where light vanishes, only to be reborn in random flashes.
A highly protected mechanism
This UR-230 “Black Star” is original in more ways than one. First, there is its structure. Calibre UR-7.30 powering this creation is protected by a hermetic titanium container designed as a mechanical safe. Surrounding this highly protected heart, a composite ceramic case and a black DLC titanium back form the UR-230’s shell: “I love the aesthetics of ceramic and its clean, precise look. It’s a material that’s hard, shiny, beautiful… and incredibly fragile. A single impact and it cracks – yet I didn’t want to give up on this option”, explains Felix Baumgartner, master watchmaker and co-founder of URWERK. “We had to find a solution to fulfil this desire without making any comprises.”
The original, high-performance case of the UR-230 “Black Star” is made from a laminated composite ceramic developed specifically for URWERK: layers of braided ceramic, fibreglass and carbon fibre have been integrated into a polymer matrix. When machined, this unique ceramic reveals a shiny relief. Its flat, smooth surface is illuminated with sparkling dots, creating a dense, vibrant black-light texture.
Vibrant darkness
“While Polaris evoked the brightness of the North Star, Black Star belongs to the interstellar void”, says URWERK’s artistic director and co-founder Martin Frei. “This black is not there to conceal. It breathes. It makes light appear in a setting of shadows. In astrophysics, a Black Star refers to the state of a collapsing star. The star then absorbs light like a black hole, but not completely, just at the cosmic boundary between being and disappearing. URWERK’s ‘Black Star’ embodies this paradoxical presence: a deep, living black that does not deny light but reveals it by draping it in shadows – a glow born from the very heart of the night.”
Wandering mechanics
The UR-230 “Black Star” embodies URWERK’s DNA. This new UR-230 features a satellite complication with wandering hours and a retrograde 3D hand; while a central hub connects three cubic hours satellites. These four-sided blocks move across a 120° sector in 60 minutes. The active hour – the one scrolling along this minutes rail – is taken charge of and put into orbit by an openworked retrograde hand that accompanies it throughout its journey from index 0 to 60. At the end of 60 minutes, the hand instantly flies back to zero to take charge of the next satellite.
Dual turbine system
The UR-230 is a self-winding watch regulated by an exclusive dual turbine system:
– one absorbs external shocks
– the other regulates the air flow of the automatic winding mechanism, acting as a true aerodynamic brake.
A control on the back allows the rotor load to be adjusted or even completely deactivated to switch to manual-winding mode.
Two symmetrical indicators − at 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock − display these settings.
This UR-230 “Black Star” concludes the 230 collection chapter. The end of a story, but with new adventures to follow in 2026…
Discover the Urwerk UR-230 Black Star at Cellini Jewelers, an Authorized Retailer for Urwerk. Contact us for pricing and availability at 212-888-0505.
Learn more about the UR Satellite collection