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As the owner of six NBA championship rings, five NBA Finals MVP awards, two Olympic gold medals, and countless other trophies, Michael Jeffrey Jordan has accumulated a ton of fancy hardware in his 59 years. But one of his favorite items to collect is high-end watches, and the NBA GOAT was spotted at last weekend’s Ally 400 race at the Nashville Superspeedway with one extraordinary timepiece: a limited edition UR-220 timepiece from Swiss watchmaker Urwerk. This particular design is officially called the UR-220 Red Gold a.k.a “Miami Vibe,” named after the popular 1980s show Miami Vice.
According to GQ, only 10 “Miami Vibe” watches were created, and each is reportedly worth $155K. Released in May, it has a 4N rose case with a white rubber strap and Velcro fastening, and the parts were meant to play the modernity of the band against the feeling of timelessness associated with the precious metal. It was also revealed that the entire UR-220 line will no longer be in production.
“This UR-220 Red Gold, which marks the end of a collection, is a powerful model endowed with strong character.” Urwerk cofounder Felix Baumgartner said in a press statement. “It plays on striking, full-on contrasts. It’s a great way to make a statement and wrap up this line with a clear-cut bias, a surprise ‘wow’ effect.”
Jordan is a fan of the brand, founded in 1997, and he already owns watches from their UR-103, the UR-202, and the UR-202S lines. He even sported a blue version of the UR-220 at Sonoma Raceway in June 2021.
But His Airness showed off another unique variant of the UR-220 earlier this year at the 2022 NBA All-Star Game. That one employed the Roman numeral “XXIIII” in gold at the standard 12 o’clock position and had a black-and-red color scheme. It was most likely constructed in honor of Jordan’s legendary career with the Chicago Bulls and commemorating his appointment to the league’s 75th Anniversary Team.
“Gold and white may seem an unlikely combination,” Baumgartner’s fellow cofounder Martin Frei acknowledged of the UR-220 Red Gold, “yet the combo resonates deeply with me as a happy memory.”
“I remember the super-cool heroes of my teenage years that we all wanted to resemble. [James Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs] were ruggedly handsome, and nothing could faze them,” he continued. “They would chase down criminals in their pristine loose-fitting suits, with their hair blowing in the wind and gold gleaming on their wrists. That was really the iconic image of the 1980s.”
And as a matter of fact, Frei confirmed that he also got a pair of sunglasses to round out the Miami Vice look properly. “A must!” he said.
