Most GMT watches begin with the romance of travel. The URÆD begins with someone who actually crossed an ocean.
In 1904, Norwegian inventor and adventurer Ole Brude crossed the North Atlantic aboard URÆD, the enclosed lifeboat he had designed himself. More than a century later, that remarkable story inspires Von Doren's URÆD GMT.
This is not simply the earlier URÆD with another hand added.
Von Doren has redesigned the watch around a blue pie-pan dial, new hands and a more refined case treatment, including polished flanks and bezel edges with an almost liquid-metal appearance. At 40mm, it remains pleasingly compact for a modern GMT.
The GMT function allows a second time zone to be followed alongside local time — useful when travelling, certainly, but equally useful when home is in one country and someone important is somewhere else.
Inside is the Swiss Made Sellita SW330-2 automatic movement, beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour and delivering an impressive 56-hour power reserve.
A screw-down crown, sapphire crystal with five-layer internal anti-reflective treatment and 100 metres of water resistance give the URÆD the resilience its story deserves. Swiss BGW9 Super-LumiNova® provides excellent visibility after dark.
The watch arrives on a durable silicone strap with a handmade leather travel pouch, while a fitted steel bracelet is available separately.
Only 100 examples of the Blue First Edition will be individually numbered.
Why buy it?
Because the best watches give you more than the time.
The URÆD gives you a story.
Not an invented association with exploration, but the memory of a young Norwegian who believed a better lifeboat could exist — and was prepared to cross the Atlantic in it to prove the point.
The blue dial carries some of that maritime atmosphere without becoming obviously nautical. And at 40mm, with a Swiss automatic GMT movement beneath it, this is genuinely practical enough to become a travelling companion rather than something merely inspired by one.
A watch about knowing where you are — inspired by someone brave enough to discover where he could go.