Watch news in brief: URWERK, ArtyA and Czapek

Three of the week’s new releases at a glance: a new colour scheme for an early URWERK model, a sapphire case with coloured accents from ArtyA, and a motorsport-inspired chronograph from Czapek.

URWERK UR-101 Green Mamba

With the UR-101 Green Mamba, URWERK introduces a new version of one of its earliest models. The design pairs a predominantly black palette with green accents. The announcement thus centres on a fresh colour interpretation of the unconventional case and display architecture with which the brand made its appearance back in 1997.

The UR-101 was unveiled at Baselworld 1997. Even then, unconventional construction and a time display that departed from the classical format were integral to its concept. The Green Mamba’s historical reference therefore lies in the brand’s own early model history.

In the new version, the black case provides an understated frame for the time display, with green adding a contrasting note. The available announcement gives no indication of any technical developments: details of the movement, case dimensions and materials are absent, as is information on production limits, availability and price.

ArtyA Purity Curvy HMS Sapphire, Sport Edition

In the ArtyA Purity Curvy HMS Sapphire, Sport Edition, a component usually hidden from view becomes a design feature: coloured caseback gaskets are visible through the transparent sapphire case. The brand pairs them with colour-coordinated straps. Inside is the manufacture calibre Curvy Purity HMS, developed specifically for the tonneau-shaped Curvy construction, with its openworked Stairway To Heaven architecture.

Crafted entirely from sapphire, the case follows the flowing, symmetrical lines of the Curvy form. Under the name Saphir Absolu®, ArtyA uses a material selected for its clear transparency. The mechanics remain visible through the case sides, while the curved contours form a transparent frame around the movement.

Sapphire has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale. Shaping it with diamond-tipped tools is correspondingly demanding. ArtyA puts the time required at more than 120 hours for machining and more than 140 hours for polishing.

The elevated Stairway To Heaven escapement provides the mechanical focal point. Its position makes it appear almost suspended within the openworked construction. The movement operates at 4 Hz. Regulation is achieved through weights around the rim of the balance, allowing fine adjustment of its moment of inertia.

Two barrels operating in parallel are fitted with longer, thinner mainsprings. The polished mainspring blades are intended to optimise friction, while the construction aims to deliver a more consistent supply of energy. The curved barrel drums echo the contours of the distinctive bridges and bear the names of the manufacture and calibre. On the centre-wheel and balance bridges, surfaces microblasted with cast-iron beads meet hand-polished edges.

Visible from the sides, the caseback gaskets add coloured accents along the case contours without obscuring the movement architecture. A broad choice of colours is available for the Sport Edition. The gasket and matching strap can be changed by an ArtyA retailer, so the colour scheme is not permanently tied to the combination selected at purchase.

Czapek Crossroads Lightning

Czapek expands the Faubourg de Cracovie collection with the Crossroads Lightning chronograph. Limited to 18 pieces, the edition takes its colour palette from the helmet of young Swiss racing driver Jacopo Mazza. A hand-executed guilloché motif and a gradient-coloured tachymeter scale define the dial.

Mazza discovered motorsport at the age of fifteen, largely by chance. His family has had ties with Czapek for years, and the brand’s support for the driver grew out of this relationship. His helmet provides the colour reference for the Crossroads Lightning, while the guilloché motif and the design of the tachymeter scale draw inspiration from the racetrack. This does not entail any involvement by Mazza in the technical development.

The calibre SXH3 provides the technical link to motorsport. It operates at a frequency of 5 Hz and is designed to measure tenths of a second. The tachymeter scale complements the chronograph function, allowing average speed to be calculated from the time measured over a known distance.

A hand-stitched calfskin strap and an Alcantara strap are available, each with a folding clasp. The price is CHF 32,000 excluding taxes. Czapek lists its official retailers worldwide, the Czapek & Cie Boutique in Geneva and www.czapek.com as sales channels.

Editorial embargo: cleared for publication from 12 November 2026, 15:00 CET.