The Urwerk UR-100 “T-Rex” Is Truly “Roarsome”

I have to say, this week has been good. I’ve had some real gold in the inbox. Usually, if there’s one thing that comes through that’s incredibly cool and exciting, I’m pretty happy. This week there have been three! Yes, three releases, which all had me saying “HOT DAMN!” when reading through them. I’ll share news of the other two with you in the coming days (look out for posts on Panerai and Girard-Perregaux hitting the homepage), but today it’s all about the latest watch from one of my all-time favorite brands — the superlative Urwerk UR-100 “T-Rex”.

My tastes have changed a lot since I began my watch collecting journey. For the first few years, my collection was 100% dive watches, and they were all fairly traditional in design and style. Fast forward to the modern-day, and I find myself appreciating things quite differently. I get particularly excited when I see brands doing something interesting and new, experimenting with advanced/alternative materials, and just pushing themselves outside of their comfort zones. That’s why some of this week’s news had me exclaiming, “HOT DAMN!”.

Urwerk UR-100 “T-Rex”

I love this brand — a lot. But I will happily admit it took me some time to “get” them and what they were doing. Back in the day, when my tastes were quite conservative, I didn’t understand the designs. The brand didn’t speak to me. Enter the first UR-100 Spacetime. This isn’t the first time I’ve talked about this story, but I feel it’s relevant. I wasn’t the first person to feel this way, nor will I be the last.

…I have a particular fondness for this model…

I’d often been intrigued about the brand and their watches. The first time I saw one, it was this hyper-modern mechanical marvel. I was intrigued but uncertain. Something wasn’t quite right. When Urwerk finally dropped the original UR-100 Spacetime, everything just seemed to “click” into place. Suddenly I’d found my way into the brand, and everything else made a little more sense. For that reason, I have a particular fondness for this model as it represents an interesting point in my growth as a watch enthusiast. A UR-100 is also one of three watches in my “grail list”. That said, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t got an idea of my ‘perfect’ UR-100 in my mind. I think most of us fancy ourselves as watch designers in the back of our minds… I guess that’s part of the fun of this hobby.

It’s all about that case…

With all this in mind, you can understand why I always get excited when Urwerk debuts new models from this family. I always get a little hot under the collar and have not seen one yet that I dislike. The latest addition is probably the most striking, however. Nicknamed the “T-Rex” one cursory glance makes it reasonably easy to see how the name is inspired…

…Urwerk keeps the exact composition close to its chest.

The scale-like mosaic pattern on the case is just one of three steps to achieve that distinctive case finish. A lot of work and effort have gone into the case, and I’d be doing a disservice not to talk about it. The process begins with the unusual bronze alloy, which allows for a delicate and even patina. This isn’t your standard bronze alloy though, and Urwerk keeps the exact composition close to its chest. In my head, I had some funny pun about a T-Rex only having short arms and keeping things close to your chest, but I couldn’t find the right wording. The imagery was pretty amusing to me though, so I’ll allow you to figure this one out in your head.

HOT DAMN! I love it

Next, the bronze case moves on to the care of a precise CNC-milling station that carves out the scaly pattern on the case’s top and sides. The result is striking and probably one of those things you either love or hate. Me? I love it. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this case texture used by Urwerk. The brand previously used it to great success on their UR-105 “T-Rex.” The final finishing processes complete the dino-inspired aesthetic and color: a healthy dose of sand-blasting, and a type of proprietary biochemical burnishing.

…your time will come.

If it’s not apparent just yet, I love this watch. Not everyone will, and that’s OK. Some people will look at this and go, “what?! why?!”. That’s OK; your time will come. For me, when I look at this watch, it’s “HOT DAMN!” all the way. Limited to 22 pieces, the Urwerk UR-100 Spacetime “T-Rex” costs 50,000CHF. You can read more about it in the brand’s press release here, and on the official website.

Let’s talk!

I know some readers will look at this one, and come away with a somewhat alternative point of view to me, but that’s OK. Watch collecting is a hobby that includes something for everyone. I can admit that these watches are certainly not traditional examples of watchmaking, each for different reasons, but I think that is something to be celebrated in its own right. What do you think of them? What other non-traditional watchmaking do you like? Let me know in the comments and let’s have a discussion! Learn more about Urwerk here.