The world of watches looks more like Jupiter than Mercury. It’s simply massive; there are digital LCD time-keepers, analog divers made to explore the ocean depths, smartwatches that score your sleep, count your calories, and also tell time, and of course, luxury wrist-candy that have more shiny bits than the Milky Way.
And still … there’s more. This month, URWERK — Swiss maker of extremely limited-run, art-forward timepieces — unveiled a peculiar wristwatch that looks distinctly out-of-this-world. Or, at the very least, a timepiece that harkens back to a world before our own.
The UR-101 T-Rex bucks the trend of large-face chronographs and skeleton watches that show off their mechanical mastery, and instead obscures most of the watch’s information behind a scaly, reptilian carapace. And while it’s far from the most expensive wristwatch on the planet, its $45,000 price tag puts it firmly in the stratosphere.
URWERK UR-101 T-Rex
As unorthodox as the T-Rex looks, it actually aligns with URWERK’s typical offerings. The relatively young watchmaker (it was founded in 1997) bills itself as “an artisans’ workshop where traditional expertise and avant-garde aesthetics coexist in perfect harmony.” It manufactures just 150 of its head-turning timepieces each year.
With the UR-101 — the third URWERK watch to carry the T-Rex monicker — co-founders Felix Baumgartner and Martin Frei envisioned a mashup of adult pop culture and childhood stories. In this case, something that captured the wonder of dinosaurs and the aesthetics of Star Wars.
First, its reptilian case is made from guilloched, oxidized bronze. According to URWERK, the watch will “evolve over time” (dinosaur pun?), with its bronze finish becoming more brown over time — but never turning green. What’s more, the material heals itself from abrasion.
“Bronze is a fabulous metal — it reacts to the touch, it is alive,” Frei said in a press release. “It re-oxidises as soon as it is scratched and this oxidation protects it and erases the traces of time. It is fascinating, as if reacting like the skin’s natural regenerating process.”
Meanwhile, the narrow, 180-degree watch face drew its inspiration from the famed Millennium Falcon — the semi-circular spacecraft famously piloted by Han Solo.
$45,000 Watch: By the Numbers
In place of a traditional face, the T-Rex sports a horseshoe-shaped dial under sapphire crystal. Dual satellites — no hands here — show the procession of minutes, eventually ticking the succession of a new hour, tucked neatly in its own window. Twenty-eight jewels facilitate the automatic movement, which vibrates 28,800 times per hour at a frequency of 4Hz.
The case spans 41 mm, not oversized but certainly not small, and 11.86 mm thick. It also has a slight curve, designed to rest between the two bones of the wrist. The T-Rex carries a 48-hour power reserve and 30m water resistance.
The band is rubber with a black calfskin lining. The whole enchilada costs $45,000, but don’t balk too long at the price; only 100 of these saurian watches will be made. So if the sticker shock is more like static sting, scoot over to URWERK’s site and inquire about securing one for your own wrist.
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