Hands-On: Urwerk UR-101 T-Rex Watch

Photos by Ripley Sellers and Sean Lorentzen

For quite some time, Urwerk has sat at the vanguard of the avant-garde, delivering timepieces that are as modern as they are jaw-dropping. In the past few years, my attraction to the brand’s timepieces has waned. They had taken on a look that was too utilitarian for my taste, almost Fallout-esque in their appearance, and while I still admired them for the incredible works of horological wonder that they were, there was no appeal beyond that. But then, every once in a while, Urwerk releases a watch that reminds me of the brand’s charm beyond innovation. The new Urwerk UR-101 T-Rex is one such watch. Released just before Watches and Wonders 2025, the watch is the third in the brand’s T-Rex series, and we got a chance to handle the T-Rex in person at the show.

Based on one of the brand’s 1997 debut models, the UR-101, the UR-101 T-Rex is one of the more wearable pieces that Urwerk offers due to its size and shape (it’s seen here on a 6.6-inch wrist). The bronze case is 41-wide and 11.86mm thick (at the peak). The round form with the lower lugs has a slight curve that hugs the wrist and the novel strap hook-up (internal up top, traditional on the bottom, serve for an excellent fit that gives the texturized rubber strap great lug articulation. Most thoughtful and much appreciated, the case is slightly sloped toward the wearer, facilitating the actual reading of the time (or ogling of the watch). Despite its more rugged look though, the 30m of water resistance keeps it from being adventure-friendly. So don’t bring this back in time when you actually visit the dinosaurs.

The watch has an undeniable Millennium Falcon shape, and that’s because it was inspired by the iconic Star Wars freighter — but that won’t be what you focus on. The standout here is the incredible bronze case, chosen to be more organic than its other space age watches and meant to evoke the scaly skin of a T. Rex. This is actually the third Urwerk to get the T-Rex treatment after 2016’s UR-105 T-Rex and 2021’s UR-100V T-Rex. Each case is hand-engraved and hand-painted, giving the watch what you could call a prehistoric look and feel. It certainly has a tribal, ancient look to it, and because it’s bronze, each case will take on its own look as it ages. But It’s important to note that while the metal will age, it isn’t meant to take on green patina like other bronzes, so it should simply be a darkening and shifting of tones.

The wandering hour is where it all started for Urwerk, and while the brand has shifted its focus to its now more recognizable and often fully exposed rotating satellite display, it still revisits the wandering hour, and I’m very grateful for that. Two discs contain the hour numerals, with the current hour tracing an arced aperture, which also contains a fixed minute track. The hours and minutes are coated in Super-LumiNova, and my only gripe is that the cutout for the hour looks a bit budget-friendly. There’s really no better way to do this, but I wish there were. This method of displaying the time is incredibly intuitive. There’s no way to be wrong, and no confusion as can happen with Urwerk’s more fully exposed movements, which have a ton going on. The dial shows you exactly where to look, a finite space that makes telling the time an absolute cinch.

The first thing you may notice on the black DLC steel caseback is a brilliant bit of accessibility innovation: When you do need to adjust the time, flip the watch over, slide the black tab at the top, and the crown moves out to facilitate gripping the crown; the brand calls this the PEEK crown puller. Underneath the caseback is the UR-1.01V movement, which sees a wandering hour module placed on a Vaucher base. The automatic caliber has a 48-hour power reserve at 28,800 vph.

It doesn’t happen often, but whenever Urwerk revisits its debut model, it’s a reminder of the more restrained refinement upon which the brand was founded. It’s not all watches with hand cranks and suitcase bombs carriers that sync a watch to atomic time. Believe it or not, this watch — dinosaur textured bronze, wandering hour, and all — is an exercise in editing and restraint for the brand. It’s always good to know that’s still there, and that Urwerk hasn’t forgotten where it started. The Urwerk UR-101 T-Rex is priced at CHF 38,000 and limited to 100 pieces. For more information, please visit the Urwerk website.