Urwerk UR-101 Green Mamba Brings a Sharper Edge to a Foundational Design

Urwerk’s latest UR-101 doesn’t try to out-decorate the more ornate versions that came before it.

The new UR-101 Green Mamba returns to one of the brand’s earliest ideas and gives it a sharper, darker read through black PVD steel and an emerald green time display.

For a watchmaker built around unconventional timekeeping, revisiting a 1997 design is more than nostalgia. It’s a reminder that Urwerk’s visual language was already unusually clear from the beginning.

At a glance

• Urwerk has introduced the UR-101 Green Mamba, a 50-piece limited edition based on one of its foundational wandering-hours models.
• The watch pairs a matte black PVD-coated steel case with an emerald green 180-degree minute scale and luminous hour and minute markings.
• It is priced at CHF 33,000 excluding taxes and is fitted with a black rubber strap lined in black calfskin.

A 1997 Urwerk idea in darker colours

The UR-101 sits close to the start of the Urwerk story.

First introduced in 1997 alongside the UR-102, it helped establish the brand’s alternative approach to displaying the time through orbiting indications rather than conventional central hands.

The Green Mamba follows recent UR-101 interpretations including the bronze-cased T-Rex with hand-painted guilloché and the gem-set Diamond Sky editions, but it takes a more restrained path.

Here, the effect comes from contrast rather than ornament, with the black case acting as a frame for the green scale.

The wandering-hours display remains the point

The dial architecture is built around Urwerk’s signature wandering-hours system.

Two satellites are mounted on a rotating carousel, with each satellite carrying hour indications.

As the active satellite moves from left to right across the semicircular 180-degree minute scale, its position shows the minutes while the visible numeral indicates the hour.

When one satellite reaches the end of the scale, the next takes over.

It’s a theatrical way to tell time, but not an illegible one, especially with the emerald green minute track and Super-LumiNova applied to the hour and minute markings.

Black PVD steel with a technical movement inside

The case measures 41mm across and 10.3mm thick, which keeps the UR-101 Green Mamba relatively compact by the standards of expressive independent watchmaking.

Its asymmetrical case shape preserves the distinctive UR-101 silhouette, while the case and caseback both receive the same dark treatment.

An anti-glare, metallised sapphire crystal sits over the display, and water resistance is rated to 30 metres.

Inside is the automatic UR-1.01V calibre, based on a Vaucher movement and running at 28,800 vibrations per hour.

The movement has 28 jewels and a 48-hour power reserve, with copper, brass and ARCAP P40 components finished with snailing, sandblasting and satin-brushing.

Chamfered screw heads add another layer of finishing detail, even if the watch’s main visual drama happens on the time display.

Details & Specifications

The UR-101 Green Mamba is likely to speak to collectors who prefer Urwerk at its most focused, where the brand’s sci-fi instinct is still present but channelled through a clean palette and one of its original display concepts.