If the purpose behind Only Watch is the watch industry together to get behind a worthy cause, then now have managed to do so like Laurent Ferrier and Urwerk. Because, both brands decided that they would work together to create one watch, which would be “neither a Laurent Ferrier watch nor an Urwerk”. What was even cooler, is that when the complete line up of watches was announced last week, Laurent Ferrier and Urwerk’s piece was nowhere in sight. All that we had was a pencil sketch. And then following that on Friday last week, we were given a glimpse. And now, the whole watch has been revealed. Where else, but on Instagram.

Named, the Arpal One, what is most prominent about the watch is firstly its curved case and the sheer polished surface area. If you’re wondering why its sheen isn’t something particularly familiar of classical watch metals, it’s because Laurent Ferrier and Urwerk turned to the Cendres+Métaux company in Biel for a material that could be called unique for a very special project. Cendres+Métaux proposed an alloy, called ARPAL+, which is 75% precious metals and is supposedly better at resisting wear and tear when compared to white gold or steel. While the actual composition probably is some sorta top industrial secret, this is as much as the press release says. So let’s not speculate too far into it. For what it’s worth, the material does lend itself to quite the effect, even amplifying the case’s curves.

Next, we come to the movement and time indication. This is of course a page straight out of Urwerk’s pages with satellite hour indicators that sweep by a minute track. An estimate for the watch isn’t up just yet. But once it is, we’ll update this text. In the meantime, looks like we’re all set with watch announcements for Only Watch 2017. Now to wait on the world tour, where we’ll hopefully get some personal time with all 49 timepieces that are to be auctioned by Christie’s on the 11th of November in Geneva.

Technical Specifications

Movement: Self-winding UR5.03; hours and minutes; 48-hour power reserve

Case: Width 40,9mm, length: 60,8mm, height: 20,7mm; Arpal+; water resistant to 30m

Strap: Sand-coloured leather, hand stitched with matching thread