The story begins at the time Christian VI was King of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, a child named Jürgen Jürgensen was born, and he was to have great significance for watchmaking history. He was both the father of the most famous Danish watchmaker Urban Jürgensen and at the same time the founding father of the horological dynasty which was to revolutionize the outdated structures of the clock and watchmaking craft in Denmark and Switzerland. Through their use of new theoretical findings and practical working methods, they subsequently achieved the highest recognition both in Denmark and Switzerland.
Since 1773 Urban Jürgensen timepieces have always been an example of uncompromising craftsmanship and use of best talents; A tradition the company feel honour-bound to perpetuate. The Maison’s timepieces are not factory made out of some large industrial building but carefully honed in a traditional atelier. The choices of traditional handcraft we make at Urban Jürgensen for example making our dials, hands, movements, cases and moon discs – means all our timepieces end up being unique pieces as the human manufacturing variations simply will
not allow two pieces to come out identical.
At Urban Jürgensen there is a belief that perfection is seldom the product of haste. Machinery may offer capacity, but hand craftsmanship provides individuality and lasting joy. While traditional materials ensure longevity, skilful hands are required to deftly manipulate tools to create horological objects of beauty.
Continuing the extraordinary 245 years of history, and to mark the anniversary, Urban Jürgensen presents two new timepieces; Reference 1140L RG BROWN, a limited edition of 20 pieces, and a new addition to the Jules Collection, the Reference 2140 in White Gold.
Jürgensen 1745 Collection – Reference 1140 RG Brown
The Reference 1140L RG Brown Limited Edition strikes a unique tone with a chocolate brown dial juxtaposed against the finely blued hands and exquisite Arabic numerals crafted in solid rose gold and hand polished to a fine pillow shape. The limited-edition piece exhibits a simplicity that conceals the complexity of its creation. The timepiece contains the sought-after hand-crafted blend of Urban Jürgensen hands, Guilloché dial, in-house P4 hand-finished movement and tear-drop lugged casework that ensures every piece is a unique work of art.
Urban Jürgensen hands are handmade. They comprise a significant number of components that are individually honed, polished, assembled and finished. The process requires numerous hours of highly skilled workmanship and is a key feature of Urban Jürgensen timepieces.
The Rose Gold Urban Jürgensen Arabic numeral appliqués are inspired by the hand-painted enamel and gran-feu dials of our historic pocket watches – an inspiration that imparts almost impossible challenges of crafting them in solid gold.
Reference 1140 RG Brown. Limited Edition – 20 Pieces.
Jules Collection – Reference 2140 WG
Urban Jürgensen is delighted to present a new addition to the Jules Collection; the Reference 2140 in white gold.
An elegant timepiece with a monochrome look, featuring our contemporary tapered lugs in a classic design on a convex and concave curved case with a diameter of 40 mm.
The fine Guilloché one-piece solid silver dials produced by Urban Jürgensen require up to 700 operations and take two full days of handwork to complete. These operations are carried out on special machines, some of which are over a century old. The specifics of Urban Jürgensen hand Guilloché dial surface shimmering effect results from a selection of highly complex patterns. The art of the craft lies in selection and scaling of the chosen patterns, ensuring the right balance between grain size, type and complexity.
The in-house P4 movement, finished to the ambitious Urban Jürgensen standards, can be admired through the exhibition case-back.
Reference 2140 WG from the Jules Collection.
The Alfred
Named in tribute to Jacques Alfred Jürgensen, the last watchmaker of the Jürgensen family, the Alfred distils the best of the brand’s century- old tradition and simultaneously ads a touch of modernity to its collection.
The iconic case with tear-drop shape lugs is fashioned out of stainless steel and opts for a modern 42 mm diameter. Each lug is individually forged, meticulously hand-finished and soldered to the
watch case in a way which makes the soldering lines invisible to the naked eye.
Its ‘Grenage’ dial is a manifestation of elaborate craftsmanship. ‘Grenage’ is a traditional, time-consuming technique. The Urban Jürgensen numerals and other inscriptions on the solid fine silver dial are engraved and the recesses are filled with lacquer. The dial is flat polished and a mix of pure silver in powder form, salts, oils and other secret ingredients are then manually brushed onto the dial. An electrochemical process creates millions of fine silver balls that results in a silvery, frosted surface with remarkable depth and granularity in a process that makes every dial unique. The understated elegance of the dial is paired with distinctive hands. Entirely hand-crafted, a single set requires some 50 manufacturing steps and over a day of work; the surfaces are patiently finished, the steel arms are thermally blued, the eye of the hour hand is mirror-polished.
These hands are advanced precisely by the Urban Jürgensen P4 movement with manual winding. Displaying small seconds at 6 o’clock, this twin barrel calibre runs at 21’600 vibrations per hour with a 72h autonomy. Buyers will have the opportunity to collect their watches directly from the company’s atelier in Bienne, Switzerland by appointment by the company’s CEO, Søren Jenry Petersen, who will personally hand over the finished watches and introduce the buyers to the craftsmen who have spent months working on them. To inquire about ‘The Alfred’ visit: www.alfred.watch or email: info@urbanjurgensen.com.
The Alfred in tribute to Jacques Alfred Jürgensen.