URWERK UR-105 CT Streamliner: A New York Machine for the Wrist

Some watches simply display the time. Others completely reconsider how time should look.

The URWERK UR-105 CT Streamliner belongs firmly to the second category. It has no conventional central hour hand, no traditional round dial and very little interest in following familiar watchmaking rules. Instead, time moves across its display through rotating satellites, lightweight mechanical architecture and a case inspired by the energy of New York.

Currently available in Dubai: explore the limited-edition URWERK UR-105 CT with certificate offered by Nautilus Dubai.

Collectors can also browse our wider collection of luxury watches available in Dubai, including modern, vintage and independent timepieces.

URWERK: an independent vision of time

URWERK was established in 1997 by watchmaker Felix Baumgartner and designer Martin Frei. From the beginning, their goal was not to produce another variation of a traditional luxury watch. They wanted to create an original visual and mechanical language for telling time.

The company’s name reflects this idea. “Ur” refers to the ancient Mesopotamian city associated with early methods of measuring time. In German, “Werk” can mean a work, creation or mechanism. Together, the name expresses the idea of an original mechanism and a return to the origins of timekeeping.

URWERK became known for its wandering-hour displays. Instead of placing fixed hands above a traditional dial, the hours travel across the watch like satellites moving through an orbit.

The UR-105 CT takes this signature concept and places it inside one of URWERK’s most architectural and immediately recognisable cases.

The New York story behind the Streamliner

The UR-105 CT was created from memories of New York during the earliest and most uncertain period of URWERK’s history.

In 1997, Martin Frei moved to New York after completing his studies in art and design. Felix Baumgartner remained in Geneva, where the young company was attempting to establish itself through its first creations.

Although URWERK’s early watches attracted attention, the independent company was still struggling financially. Baumgartner travelled to New York to meet Frei, and the two spent time exploring the city while considering the future of their shared project.

They absorbed the city’s red-brick buildings, metallic subway system, industrial structures and Art Deco skyscrapers. The strong vertical lines of buildings such as the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building remained in Martin Frei’s imagination.

Twenty years later, those memories became the UR-105 CT Streamliner.

Introduced in 2017, the watch marked URWERK’s twentieth anniversary. Rather than producing a conventional anniversary model, the founders returned creatively to the city that had helped shape their partnership.

The case is defined by deep parallel grooves, strong symmetry and an elongated architectural profile. It appears less like a conventional wristwatch and more like a compact mechanical structure from a futuristic version of New York.

How does the URWERK UR-105 CT tell the time?

The UR-105 CT does not use traditional central hour and minute hands. It displays time through URWERK’s wandering satellite-hour system.

An openworked carousel carries four rotating satellites. Each satellite contains three hour numerals, providing all twelve hours required for a complete cycle.

One satellite at a time travels along the curved 60-minute track at the lower part of the display. The visible numeral gives the hour, while its position along the scale shows the minutes.

For example, when the numeral “8” reaches the 25-minute position, the time is 8:25. When that satellite completes its journey, the next satellite rotates into the active position and begins the following hour.

The system combines the immediate clarity of a digital hour numeral with the continuous movement of an analogue minute display. It may initially appear complex, but it becomes surprisingly intuitive once experienced.

A watch with two different personalities

One of the defining features of the UR-105 CT is its opening protective cover.

When the cover is closed, the watch appears controlled and relatively restrained. The active hour and minute scale remain visible, while most of the mechanical architecture is protected beneath the deeply grooved upper structure.

A sliding catch at the top of the case releases the cover. Opening it reveals the skeletonised satellite carousel beneath the sapphire crystal.

The personality of the watch changes immediately.

Closed, it is a powerful architectural object with clean vertical lines. Open, it becomes a mechanical theatre filled with rotating satellites, lightweight components and structural bridges.

Martin Frei has compared the wider UR-105 design to the breastplate of a knight’s armour, protecting the mechanism from the passage of time. In the UR-105 CT, that protective concept is combined with the geometry and industrial energy of New York.

Inside the automatic UR 5.03 calibre

The UR-105 CT is powered by the automatic UR 5.03 calibre, created to support its satellite-hour display and adjustable winding system.

• Movement: Automatic mechanical calibre UR 5.03
• Frequency: 28,800 vibrations per hour, or 4 Hz
• Jewels: 52
• Power reserve: Approximately 48 hours
• Time display: Wandering satellite hours and minutes
• Additional indications: Digital seconds and power reserve
• Automatic winding: Rotor system regulated by twin turbines

The hour satellites rotate using Geneva crosses produced from beryllium bronze. The openworked carousel is manufactured from aluminium, while structural components use ARCAP, an alloy selected for its strength, stability and resistance to corrosion.

These materials were not chosen only for their futuristic appearance. Reducing the weight of the rotating components helps the calibre manage energy efficiently while positioning each satellite accurately.

Openworked digital seconds

Alongside the wandering hours and power-reserve indicator, the UR-105 CT includes an unusual digital-seconds display.

The indication advances in ten-second intervals. Its exceptionally lightweight component was produced using photolithography, a process capable of creating extremely fine structures.

Each marker was openworked to remove unnecessary mass, leaving the complete component weighing less than one-tenth of a gram.

It is a small detail, but it demonstrates an important part of URWERK’s philosophy: the unconventional visual appearance is supported by serious mechanical engineering.

Twin turbines and adjustable automatic winding

Turn the UR-105 CT over and two turbines can be seen on the back of the watch. These turbines are connected to the automatic rotor and regulate the rate at which the movement winds.

A control lever allows the wearer to select the winding response according to their activity level:

• FULL: Uses even small wrist movements to wind the mainspring efficiently.
• RED: Reduces the winding rate for a particularly active wearer.
• STOP: Disengages the automatic system, allowing the watch to be wound manually through the crown.

This system gives the owner a more direct relationship with the mechanism. The movement does not simply operate unseen in the background; the wearer can influence how it receives and manages energy.

Case dimensions and wrist presence

The UR-105 CT measures approximately 39.5 mm wide, 53 mm long and 17.3 mm thick. Because its case is elongated and strongly sculpted, the 39.5 mm measurement should not be compared directly with the diameter of a conventional round watch.

The titanium-based construction helps balance the substantial visual presence with relative lightness. The display is protected by sapphire crystal, and the model was pressure tested to 3 ATM, equivalent to approximately 30 metres.

The strap emerges from beneath the body of the watch rather than from conventional external lugs. This helps the case follow the wrist despite its bold and architectural proportions.

This is not intended to be a discreet watch. It is created for collectors who enjoy mechanical objects with a distinctive and unmistakable identity.

A limited-edition URWERK with certificate

The example offered by Nautilus Dubai is presented as a limited-edition URWERK UR-105 CT accompanied by its certificate.

The certificate is an important part of the watch’s documentation and should be examined together with the case details, reference, condition and included accessories during a physical viewing.

Because the UR-105 CT was produced in several executions, the exact edition name, individual number and material configuration should be confirmed directly from the watch and its certificate.

View the complete URWERK UR-105 CT listing, photographs and current availability.

Is the URWERK UR-105 still produced?

URWERK now presents the UR-105 within its historical collection rather than its current-production range.

This makes existing examples particularly interesting to collectors looking for an important chapter in the development of modern independent watchmaking.

The UR-105 CT combines several defining URWERK ideas in one watch: the wandering satellite-hour display, an opening protective case, lightweight mechanical architecture and a turbine-regulated winding system.

The Tony Stark and Avengers: Endgame connection

The UR-105 CT family gained wider cultural recognition when a unique UR-105 CT Iron was worn by Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame.

The association feels natural. Tony Stark is defined by engineering, unconventional technology and futuristic machines—the same qualities that make an URWERK watch immediately recognisable.

The film watch was a specific unique example with its own provenance. This connection should therefore not be interpreted as a claim that the UR-105 CT offered by Nautilus Dubai was used in the film or owned by Robert Downey Jr.

For collectors, the movie association is an interesting part of the model family’s history. The deeper appeal of the UR-105 CT comes from its independent design, technical originality and radically different presentation of time.

Why collectors seek the UR-105 CT

The UR-105 CT is not interesting only because relatively few examples appear on the market. Its importance comes from the way it combines design, engineering and independent thinking.

• A proprietary and instantly recognisable satellite-hour display
• A case that rejects traditional round-watch conventions
• A movement created around the display rather than hidden behind a conventional dial
• An interactive opening cover
• An adjustable turbine-controlled winding system
• A strong relationship between watchmaking, architecture and industrial art
• A place within URWERK’s historical collection

Many luxury watches communicate through familiar symbols: a famous case shape, a traditional complication or a recognised sports-watch design. The UR-105 CT communicates differently.

Even from across a room, it is difficult to mistake it for another watch.

URWERK UR-105 CT available in Dubai

Nautilus Dubai is pleased to offer this rare limited-edition URWERK UR-105 CT with certificate.

A physical viewing allows a collector to experience the case proportions, opening mechanism, satellite display and wrist presence properly—qualities that photographs cannot communicate completely.

Before purchasing any rare independent watch, buyers should review the exact reference, certificate, condition, operating functions and included accessories. Availability and price should also be reconfirmed before visiting or transferring payment.

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Nautilus Dubai is an independent luxury-watch specialist and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or authorised by URWERK or any other watch manufacturer mentioned in this article, unless expressly stated otherwise.