URWERK has given its distinctive UR-150 a decidedly more precious character with the UR-150 Golden Scorpion, replacing the more technical aesthetic typically associated with the independent watchmaker with the unmistakable lustre of yellow gold.
Unveiled in Singapore on September 2, 2026, the Golden Scorpion explores an unusual contrast for URWERK: one of watchmaking’s most traditional precious metals wrapped around an architecture that is anything but conventional.
Rather than simply turning the UR-150 into a dressier watch, the use of yellow gold is intended to emphasise its sculptural qualities. Its sweeping curves, sharp transitions and ergonomic form interact with light as the watch moves on the wrist, giving its complex case a noticeably different personality depending on the viewing angle.
A More Sculptural UR-150
For URWERK co-founder and Chief Designer Martin Frei, movement has always been an important part of how a watch should be experienced. On the Golden Scorpion, yellow gold becomes part of that visual effect, highlighting some surfaces while allowing others to recede as the angle and lighting change.
“I never design a watch as a static object,” Frei explains, adding that the material allows the watch to appear “compact, fluid or almost organic” depending on how it is viewed.
That approach makes the choice of gold particularly interesting. Instead of toning down the futuristic character of the UR-150, the material accentuates its architecture, shifting the watch visually from an overtly technical machine towards something closer to a kinetic sculpture.
The Scorpion Is Still Ready to Strike
Beneath its precious exterior, however, the Golden Scorpion retains the mechanical theatre that gives the UR-150 its identity.
Central to the experience is URWERK’s satellite-based approach to displaying time, paired with a retrograde indication whose rapid return introduces a sudden burst of movement into the display. It is this combination of controlled motion and instantaneous action that helps explain the Golden Scorpion name.
URWERK co-founder and master watchmaker Felix Baumgartner describes the watch as having an almost living presence, with the movement creating a constant sense of tension between the travelling satellites and the rapid return of the retrograde hand.
“A true creation must have presence, energy and almost a character of its own,” Baumgartner says. “The UR-150 always appears poised and alert, ready to strike.”
The result is an intriguing meeting of two very different sides of watchmaking. Yellow gold brings centuries of traditional luxury associations, while URWERK’s unconventional display and kinetic mechanics remain resolutely contemporary.
Rather than disguising that contrast, the UR-150 Golden Scorpion makes it the centrepiece — transforming the familiar warmth of gold into another way of experiencing URWERK’s fascination with time in motion.
The URWERK UR-150 Golden Scorpion is priced at S$184,000 including tax in Singapore.
