Urwerk has introduced the UR-150 Golden Scorpion, a new case execution for its satellite hour display, presented in 2N yellow gold. The model follows the original UR-150 Scorpion, launched in Titan and Dark versions, and the subsequent Blue Scorpion. This latest reference is limited to 25 pieces and marks the line’s first appearance in a precious metal case.
The case measures 42.5mm in width, 51mm in length and 14.8mm in thickness, dimensions carried over unchanged from the UR-150 series’ curved, ergonomic construction. What has changed is the material and its surface treatment: the case middle and crown are executed in 2N yellow gold, with the upper surface and flanks sandblasted, microbead-blasted and satin-finished. A domed sapphire crystal sits over the display, while the caseback reverts to Grade 5 titanium with a black PVD treatment, a material contrast that keeps the wrist-facing side of the watch dark and technical even as the dial-facing case turns golden. The screw-down crown maintains 50m water resistance.
Reading the Satellite Display Through Gold-Toned Finishing
The mechanism itself is unchanged in architecture. Three satellites rotate on a central flying carousel, with the active hour displayed within a retrograde minutes hand that sweeps a 240-degree arc before snapping back to its starting point in one hundredth of a second, at which point the satellites simultaneously advance to the next hour. What differs from prior Scorpion executions is the finishing applied to the components that make this display legible. The flying carousel, built in brass, is now finished in 3N gold PVD rather than the cooler tones associated with the Titan, Dark and Blue versions. The aluminium satellite hours sit atop this gold-toned carousel, while the retrograde hand itself is finely sandblasted and satin-finished in aluminium, a matte treatment that contrasts against the warmer carousel beneath it.
This combination of a 2N gold case, a 3N gold PVD carousel and a satin-finished aluminium hand changes how the display registers at a glance compared with the Titan or Blue executions, where the case and internal mechanism read as distinct in tone and temperature. Here, the case and the carousel share a family of warm gold tones, while the retrograde hand’s matte sandblasted surface is left to provide the contrast that separates moving indication from static housing. Super-LumiNova is applied to the hour and minute markers, the flying carousel and the counterweight hand, which extends legibility into low light regardless of the case material.
Movement Architecture and Finishing Detail
Power comes from the automatic UR-50.01 calibre, built on a Vaucher base automatic movement with Urwerk’s in-house display module fitted on top. The movement runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, holds 38 jewels and delivers a 43-hour power reserve. Winding is governed by a double-turbine system, and a dedicated speed regulator manages the forces involved in the rapid retrograde return, an approach Urwerk states is inspired by mechanisms traditionally found in minute repeaters.
Component finishing follows a similarly layered approach. The wheels are produced using LIGA technology, a manufacturing process suited to the fine, high-precision geometries required by the satellite and retrograde mechanism. The brass rotor is sandblasted and circular-grained, and the Grade 5 titanium screw heads are flat-polished, a detail that continues the watch’s broader pattern of mixing matte and reflective surfaces across a single component set. Case flanks carry the same combination of sandblasting, microbead-blasting and satin finishing found on the case middle, unifying the treatment of the gold case with the mechanical finishing beneath the crystal.
Wearability and Construction
The UR-150 Golden Scorpion is fitted to an adjustable high-performance hybrid rubber strap with a folding clasp, a practical pairing for a case whose curved profile is designed to sit close to the wrist despite its 51mm length. The case’s ergonomic shaping, unchanged from earlier Scorpion references, remains the element responsible for wearability at this footprint; the gold execution changes the visual register of the piece without altering how it sits on the arm.
With 25 pieces produced, the UR-150 Golden Scorpion represents a limited addition to a display architecture Urwerk has now executed in titanium, dark-toned, blue and gold finishes. For collectors and design-focused buyers tracking how satellite hour displays read under different case materials, this reference offers a direct comparison point against the cooler-toned Scorpion executions that preceded it.
