Urwerk auctions the UR-105M Trinity piece unique, inspired by a prehistoric monster
Borna BošnjakNot many watch brands can be proud of the fact that their watches are inspired by dinosaurs, but the deviant horologists over at Urwerk can claim at least two pieces that have drawn inspiration from these overgrown lizards – the UR-100 T-Rex and UR-105 T-Rex. It is the latter that serves as the base for the Urwerk UR-105 Trinity piece unique, getting its name from another unique proposition codenamed TRX-293, or Trinity, to its friends – the 11.6-metre long Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton composed of three different T-Rex specimens. Both of these collectors’ items will be present in the Out of This World II auction in Zurich, on April 18, so if you’ve got a T-Rex shaped hole in your fossil and/or watch collection, make sure you at least tune in.
Cased in a spaceship-like enclosure of hand-painted bronze and PVD-coated titanium, the Urwerk UR-105 Trinity replicates the colours and patterns of the prehistoric giant. Measuring in at 39.5mm across and 53mm lug-to-lug, it’s a large piece, especially when considering an imposing thickness of almost 16.8mm.
Hues of green, gold and black mix across the scale-like surface, interrupted only by a cockpit-like display at the front showing off Urwerk’s signature satellite hour display. A total of four rotating discs travel across the brushed semi-circular minute track, before going into hiding beneath the expansive bronze bezel, though not much more of the UR 5.02 movement is visible, as the caseback is solid PVD titanium.
On a regular UR-105 T-Rex (if you can call a 22 piece limited run regular), the winding lever that adjusts the efficiency of the winding is really the only interesting feature on the caseback. The Trinity, however, features one of the coolest bits of extra stuff I’ve seen on any watch. Hidden behind a small sapphire crystal, you’ll find actual bone material from the Trinity fossil. We’ve seen watches made with pieces of the Titanic, rotors with pieces of cloth from the Wright Flyer, but T-Rex fossils on the caseback are about as cool as it gets, especially on a watch that’s as sweet as the UR-105. With an estimated hammer price of CHF 80,000 and CHF 120,000, the Urwerk is a bargain compared to the T-Rex, carrying an estimate of CHF 5,000,000 and CHF 8,000,000.
The Urwerk UR-105 Trinity, the TRX-293 Trinity skeleton and many other historical artefacts are going to be auctioned in the Koller Out of This World II auction on April 18.