Celebrating 250 years of Jürgensen

Celebrating 250 years of Jürgensen

Timepieces from the collection of Dr. Helmut Crott

Celebrating 250 years of Jürgensen Timepieces from the collection of Dr. Helmut Crott

JÜRGENSEN WATCHMAKERS ONE BRAND TWO BRANCHES GENERATIONS

Jürgen Jürgensen

I

(1745-1811)

Copenhagen

II Urban Jürgensen (1776-1830)

Frederik Jürgensen (1787-1843)

Copenhagen

Georg Urban Frederik Jürgensen "Fritz" (1818-1863)

III

Louis Urban Jürgensen (1806-1867)

Jules (I) Frederik Jürgensen (1808-1877)

Copenhagen / Le Locle

IV Copenhagen / Le Locle

Jules (II) Frédérik Urban Jürgensen (1837-1894)

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Frederik Jürgensen "Fritz the Colonel" (1816-1891)

Jacques Alfred Jürgensen (1842-1912)

FOREWORD Alexandre Ghotbi

Urban Jürgensen was a brand that entered my radar quite rapidly when I started my horological journey in the early 1990s avidly researching anything linked to watches.

I was aware of its rich history spanning over two centuries between Denmark and Switzerland, but it was the powerhouse set up

by Peter Baumberger the new owner (who had purchased the brand in the 1980s) with the then unknown Kari Voutilainen and Derek Pratt that left me in awe.

in the flesh and I was smitten. The watches exuded a certain debonair dandy flair and the Reference 2 perpetual calendar became an obsession and close to 25 years after having seen one, it still remains in my eyes one of the most beautiful wristwatch ever created!

With the passing of Baumberger the brand went through different ownerships and design phases, but as they say in French “la boucle est bouclée” (The circle is complete) and Urban Jürgensen is now in the hands of Kari Voutilainen and I am eager to see what is next.

The watches epitomized the marriage of old and new in a way that breathed fresh life into contemporary watchmaking. The new team, under the guidance of Baumberger, set out to rebuild the brand still committed to the original tenets of technical excellence, traditional aesthetics, and handmade master craftsmanship.

The Jürgensen wristwatches with their slim cases with tear drop lugs, superb guilloché dials and original displays were definitely classical but with an elegant twist.

I am delighted that Dr. Crott, one of the world’s greatest collectors and scholars has decided to exhibit – at Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo – part of his incredible Jürgensen collection spanning 250 years of technical excellence and aesthetical prowess.

Each watch is a marvel of historical relevance and it is quite probable that this will be the first, and last time, they will be all united in the same place at the same time.

The more I read about the brand the more I was attracted, but it was only in the late 1990s or early 2000s that I managed to finally see one

Alexandre Ghotbi, Deputy Chairman, Watches, Head of Watches Europe and the Middle East at Phillips

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FOREWORD Kari Voutilainen

I’m proud to welcome you to a remarkable exhibition dedicated to the world of Urban Jürgensen.

This extraordinary retrospective celebrates 250 years of uninterrupted history for the Jürgensen watchmaking dynasty.

None of this would have been possible without the contributions of one man: Mr. Helmut Crott, a longtime friend and advisor to the Urban Jürgensen Company.

He’s assembled the exceptional, one-of-a-kind collection of timepieces on display, providing a valuable overview of more than two centuries of watchmaking history at Urban Jürgensen in the process.

I’d like to express a sincere thank you to Helmut for all his dedication in building this superlative collection, to Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo for hosting the exhibition, and to all our guests for coming to experience the craft and culture of Urban Jürgensen.

Please take your time and enjoy the exhibition.

With gratitude, Kari Voutilainen, CEO, Urban Jürgensen

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INTRODUCTION Dr. Helmut Crott

This year, the Jürgensen watchmaking dynasty celebrates its 250th anniversary.

On this occasion I am honoured and proud to present a selection of unique timepieces I collected over the years, one that, in my opinion, illustrates the exceptional talent and the importance of the Jürgensen watchmaking family and their successors. This collection represents more than 50 years of my life, an international journey paved with special circumstances, several ups and downs, and most of all, tremendous aesthetic satisfaction.

lifelong friendship. One year later I launched my own watch auctions, with the support of Baumberger as a consignor and buyer.

Jürgensen watches already fascinated me in those early days. They were seldom offered, yet they often realized higher prices than competitive watches from more famous companies. Baumberger’s special interest in Jürgensen also intrigued me, leading me to sharpen my eye for these objects.

I remember, in 1978, the famous Urban Jürgensen N°XI, a prestigious chronometer known as the “Krusenstern” came up for sale at a Niedheit auction in Düsseldorf. I was fascinated by the watch. Only much later did I realize that the buyer was none other than Baumberger, and that Peter was in fact in negotiations to acquire the Jürgensen brand. He officially received the rights to use the Urban Jürgensen & Sönner name on watches in 1979, eventually becoming the owner of the company in 1985. It was in those days I started to collect historical Jürgensen pocket watches for my own pleasure. In the meantime, Peter and I had become forever friends.

It started in 1972, with a small antique store I owned in my hometown of Aachen, Germany.

In 1975, I founded an auction house for art and antiques. I soon realized the limitations of my provincial auction house, and I realized I had to find something that would set me apart. So, I decided to attend a few watch auctions. Their atmosphere and the collectors’ enthusiasm immediately fascinated me. An important and influential encounter took place when I met Peter Baumberger and Derek Pratt at a Peter Ineichen auction in 1976. Baumberger, with his spontaneous unconventional manner, was immediately sympathetic to me. The feeling was mutual, initiating a

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I witnessed the rebuilding, relaunch, and marketing of new products at Urban Jürgensen & Sönner from the beginning, including the ambitious undertaking started by Baumberger in 2003 of developing an in-house movement, with the support of Derek Pratt, later joined by Jean François Mojon and Kari Voutilainen.

It was a movement founded in the great tradition Urban Jürgensen, with the ambition to become the first chronometer escapement produced in series in a wristwatch.

I am, before all, honored that Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, with Aurel and Livia, the director Alexandre Ghotbi, Diana Ortega, Logan Baker and the editorial/ video team, have given me this opportunity to present my Jürgensen collection to the grand public, on this elite brand ‘s 250-year anniversary.

Things turned tragic, when Peter Baumberger died, unexpectedly, in May 2010, at the age of 70. It was a sad and difficult situation, resulting in my acquisition of the Urban Jürgensen Company. From the day Peter Baumberger left us, I settled in the Urban Jürgensen workshop in Biel, not to leave until I placed the brand in good hands.

In the end it took five years, a fantastic challenge, but everything worked out well. My successors have continued the brand with respect and great commitment, and today I am happy and proud that Kari Voutilainen has taken on the lead of the Urban Jürgensen Company.

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A SHORT HISTORY OF THE JÜRGENSEN WATCHMAKING DYNASTY FIRST GENERATION

greatest interest to Jürgensen, who learned new manufacturing methods and how to achieve a high standard of quality in his work.

It begins in 1745 with the birth of Jørgen Jørgensen, the forefather of the Jürgensen dynasty, a family who, over four generations, broke up the encrusted guild structure of craftsmen in Denmark by applying new theoretical and practical working methods. The Jürgensen family has achieved the highest recognition in watchmaking, as well as great prosperity and reputation in Denmark and Switzerland.

In April 1773, one year after his return to Copenhagen, Jürgensen applied to the watchmakers’ guild for permission to make a repeating watch as his masterpiece. He had created the necessary drawings and was referred to a watchmaker named Isaac Larpent for a joint execution of the watch. The two men already knew each other, and the situation brought them closer to the idea of founding a watchmaking industry in Denmark.

In the spring of 1766, Jørgen left Copenhagen for Germany where he pursued an apprenticeship as a journeyman watchmaker for six years. It was in this period that Jørgen changed his name to Jürgen Jürgensen, a more conventional German spelling.

It was only eight years later, in 1781, that Jürgen Jürgensen finally received, in his name alone, authorization to establish a watch factory, creating new timepieces sold under the name Larpent & Jürgensen. Larpent & Jürgensen-signed watches date between 1773 and 1814, where about 4,000 examples were produced.

Eventually, Jürgensen traveled to Le Locle, Switzerland, where he had the privilege of working with Jacques-Frédéric Houriet, a well-known and important watchmaker.

Houriet had founded a watchmaking business of considerable importance and was a great promoter of the emerging industrialization of watchmaking. All this, of course, was of

Jürgen Jürgensen’s marriage to Anne Leth Bruun produced numerous children, including Urban, born 5 August 1776, and Frederik, born 19 August 1787, who followed

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their father professionally as watchmakers.

Jürgen Jürgensen earned the merit of being the first individual to successfully introduce pocket watch manufacturing to Denmark, using the most modern methods of the time.

According to church registers, he died on 16 April 1811.

Ferdinand Berthoud, in Paris, followed by a rotation at the ateliers of John Roger Arnold and of John Brockbank, in London.

In 1801, Urban returned to Le Locle, where he married Sophie Henriette, Houriet’s daughter.

He soon prepared for his return journey to Copenhagen, sourcing and importing a few proper machines meant for manufacturing precision clocks and watches from Switzerland to his home country.

SECOND GENERATION Urban Jürgensen was born 5 August 1776 in Copenhagen, he was the eldest son of Jürgen Jürgensen and is the most famous of the four generations of the Jürgensen family watchmaking dynasty; in fact, the most important Danish watchmaker of all time.

Expectations at home were enormous.

Urban published a general-use watchmaking textbook in December 1804, which quickly become a standard work for Danish watchmakers. That same month, he received a silver medal from the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences for his treatise on the manufacture of steel springs with machines and their subsequent hardening. Urban was again honored in 1805 with a gold medal from the Royal Danish Agricultural Society for his famous bimetallic pocket thermometers.

Urban Jürgensen’s theory and practice of precision watchmaking was based on scientific principles, setting him apart from most of his colleagues at home and abroad. His methodology enabled him to competitively produce marine chronometers in Denmark, despite overwhelming international competition. When sent on his first trip abroad in 1797, at the age of 21, his education facilitated him entrance into famous watchmaking workshops in London and Paris.

Urban returned to Switzerland in 1807 to visit his father-in-law, where he stayed for twoand-a-half years, working on the creation of different machines, which were needed to modernize his father’s workshop. He eventually returned to Denmark with three trained, government-financed Swiss watchmakers.

Despite his busy work schedule, Urban presented his first marine chronometer in 1811.

In the spring of 1811, Urban founded his

Urban’s first stop was Le Locle, to work with his father’s watchmaker friend, Jacques-Frédéric Houriet. Urban then traveled to receive horological training directly from the most famous watchmakers of the time, including Abraham-Louis Breguet and 8

Jürgen Jürgensen’s fifth child, Frederik, was born on 19 August 1787 in Copenhagen.

Despite his great talent, he remained in the shadow of his famous brother. In 1801, he became Urban’s first apprentice, and at the age of 20, in 1807, he left Denmark for an international study trip.

own business in Copenhagen that quickly expanded production. He achieved a breakthrough in the serial production of marine chronometers and astronomical pendulum clocks. In addition to scientific clocks, fine consumer pocket watches were also produced, mainly due to the demand from travelers, especially the burgeoning American market.

While in Switzerland in 1811, he learned of his father’s death and was called home to help continue his father’s business. That same year, Frederik was appointed as a court horologist and married Vilhelmine Rebecca Dichman, with whom he had a daughter, Sophie, and a son, Georg Urban Frederik, also known as Fritz. The company’s name was changed to Frederik Jürgensen that year.

Urban had to endure numerous tragedies throughout his life. He lost five of his eight children at a young age. When he died at the height of his fame on 14 May 1830, after a long illness, only three of his sons were still alive: the two watchmakers, Louis Urban and Jules Frederik, and the youngest, Frederik, known as “Fritz, The Colonel.” All three would later be associated with the company Urban Jürgensen & Sönner.

The fact that Frederik’s watches were often not numbered makes determining a production total difficult. One assumption is that Frederik made only 500 watches in the period between 1811 and his death in 1843, from which we can conclude the factory production never functioned as well as it did under his father’s leadership.

From 1800 until his death in 1830, Urban created more than 700 watches, 45 chronometers - mainly deck watches, as well as six precision pendulum clocks – plus many examples of his well-known bimetallic pocket thermometers. From 1811, he signed the watches with his own name. The watches were consistently signed on the dial but not always on the movement. Under the dial we often find “UJ” stamped with the movement number. However, since Urban was not always consistent when assigning serial numbers, it’s difficult to know what the exact production total was.

THIRD GENERATION When Urban Jürgensen died, his three surviving sons were 24, 22 and 13 years old.

Louis Urban, the eldest, trained as a watchmaker at his father’s company from 1822 to 1828. He later embarked on an international study trip to renowned workshops in 9

Paris, London, Liverpool, Geneva, and Le Locle. Louis Urban returned home in February 1834, and in June 1835, he married Annette Birgitte Leth Horstmann. They had only one child, Urban August Jürgensen.

or, as of 1836, from a sales catalog. These were novelties at the time. Approximately 150 standard watches, from movement numbers 750 to 900, were built in Louis Urban’s workshop over a period of more than three decades. In addition, approximately 40 unfinished watches from his father’s workshop were completed after his death. Louis Urban also built 110 marine chronometers and a small number of luxury pocket chronometers.

Earlier, in 1830, Louis Urban and his brother, Jules Frederik, took over the family business and renamed it Urban Jürgensen & Sønner.

Louis Urban became the sole owner in 1835, managing the Copenhagen business, while Jules moved permanently to Switzerland.

After Louis Urban’s death in July 1867, the Danish branch of Urban Jürgensen & Sønner was led by his widow, Anette, and his younger brother Frederik, known as Fritz, The Colonel.

Born in 1816, Fritz, unlike his brother Jules Frederik, was not a trained watchmaker; instead, he had a remarkable career in the military starting at just 12 years old.

Louis Urban was less interested in dayto-day business than he was in the higher art of watchmaking. In contrast with his brother Jules’ work in Switzerland, who ran a factory with over 80 employees, Louis Urban employed only two journeymen and a single apprentice.

Louis Urban’s son completed a six-year apprenticeship in his father’s workshop, and, like his ancestors, Urban August received a state-funded scholarship for an international study trip. His talent rightly provided hope for a fourth generation of high watchmaking in the Jürgensen family. Unfortunately, fate had a different plan. Urban August died suddenly in 1866, at the age of 28; his father followed the following summer, at the age of 61.

Fritz remained in close contact with his brother Jules Frederik throughout his life. According to a January 1866 letter, Fritz was granted general power of attorney to act under the name of Jules Jürgensen in Denmark. Fritz managed Urban Jürgensen & Sønner for over 20 years. When Anette died in January 1886, Fritz was given the task of sorting out the family estate. He found a suitable successor in Louis Urban’s trusted shop foreman, the horologist Heinrich E. Kiens.

It is interesting to note that Louis Urban Jürgensen’s clocks and watches could be purchased via a pricelist,

When he took over the business, Heinrich Kiens renamed the firm Urban Jürgensen 10

& Sønner Eftf (successor). The main business remained on Gothersgade, in Copenhagen, to handle the trade and repair of high-quality clocks. When Kiens died in 1898, his widow continued to run the business until their son, Carl, took over in 1911.

He visited London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Paris, and Geneva, before finally settling in Le Locle to study under his uncle Jules Houriet, who had taken over his father’s illustrious watchmaking atelier.

From the beginning, Jules was interested in developing a new type of pocket watch – one that was flatter, more elegant, and more complicated than ever before, but was still just as precise. Production according to these new principles quickly took off. Demand came from English and American customers visiting Paris, where Jules Jürgensen had set up a depot and salesroom. He was to become, in the commercial sense, the most successful of all Jürgensen watchmakers.

In 1932, the company was sold to a man named E. Bjerring. Fourteen years later, Randrup Jensen, a future chairman of the watchmakers’ guild, acquired the firm. In 1955, Jensen’s journeyman, Christian Gundesen, took over the business for 22 years. Gundesen was committed to running it in the grand tradition of the Urban Jürgensen name. In 1977, the then-chairman of the watchmakers’ guild, Gerhard Scheufens, took over the shop, setting up a small museum with historic clocks, tools, designs, and archives.

FOURTH GENERATION

Since the death of Louis Urban Jürgensen, there have been no watchmakers of distinction in the Danish lineage of the Jürgensen family.

Nevertheless, the Urban Jürgensen & Sønner brand has survived to date, confirming the historical importance of this Danish dynasty.

Jules married Anastasia Lavalette in October 1835. They had five children, including two sons, Jules Frédéric Urban (Jules II), born in 1837, and Jacques Alfred, born in 1842.

In 1872, Jules I withdrew completely from his business in Le Locle, and on June 28, he signed the company over to his eldest son, Jules II. Although gifted in theoretical and practical watchmaking, Jules II preferred to work on the business side of the industry. In the meantime, total production exceeded 15,000 watches.

Jules (I) Jürgensen died on 17 December 1877.

The third son of Urban Jürgensen, Jules Frederik, generally called Jules (I), was born in Copenhagen on 27 July 1808. Jules completed a watchmaking apprenticeship in his father’s business and took over the management of Urban Jürgensen & Sønner at the age of 23. Jules eventually left Copenhagen in 1834 for his own watch study journey.

In 1862, Jules II married Cécile Dubois. Their only child, Jules Philippe Frédéric, born in 11

March 1864, will be the one family member to break the Jürgensen family watchmaking tradition. Jules II died in Le Locle, on 19 February 1894.

company alone; in fact, with no family heirs, the Jules Jürgensen Copenhagen Company in Le Locle was meeting the same fate as Urban Jürgensen & Sønner did, in 1891. It was a trusted former employee, David Golay, who later managed the business. He became the official owner of Jules Jürgensen in February 1917.

Jacques Alfred Jürgensen, the second son of Jules I, was born in Le Locle on 17 May 1842. He had an entrepreneurial spirit, setting up his own business, and in 1865, the “Jacques Alfred Jürgensen Locle” company was founded. The two Jürgensen companies operated closely together.

Henry Freund, an agent for Urban Jürgensen based in New York, and Charles Heuer, the son of the founder of Ed. Heuer & Co., in Biel, Switzerland, pushed for a takeover of the Jules Jürgensen brand in 1919. They succeeded, acquiring the rights to the Jules Jürgensen corporate identity and all its existing assets.

On the death of his brother Jules II in 1894, his only child, Jules Philippe Frédéric, inherited the factory and all the land. However, as he had no horological ambitions, his mother and Jacques Alfred had to manage the company and the inheritance. Jules Philippe Frédéric took his own life in tragic circumstances on 15 July 1897. This forced Jacques Alfred to buy out the company “Jules Jürgensen Copenhagen,” merging the two under the same name.

The 1929 stock market crash plunged the global economy into the Great Depression, which eventually led to the closure of the Biel factory, in 1932. Jules Jürgensen changed hands once again in December 1936 as an aftershock of the Great Depression. I believe this date signifies the end of any high-quality standard being associated with Jules Jürgensen watches.

In the period from 1865 to 1896, Jacques Alfred produced approximately 2,200 watches.

Of those, he sold 356 to Jules Jürgensen Copenhagen and approximately 80 watches to Tiffany & Co., in New York.

The company moved to La Chaux-deFonds in 1953 after being acquired by an American organization. Ownership of Jules Jürgensen subsequently changed hands several more times until it was finally acquired

by Morton Clayman, the owner of one Rhapsody Watch Company in Pennsylvania, in 1974.

THE SUCCESSORS Jacques Alfred died on 30 June 1912. His widow was thus faced with the task of continuing the 12

ENTER PETER BAUMBERGER

now different and a little gruff: “This clock is already reserved for an American collector who offered USD $ 45,000.”

Peter Baumberger was born in 1939, in Koppigen, Switzerland. He trained at the only Swiss-German Watchmaking School, in Solothurn, from 1955 to 1959.

The Quartz Revolution was already looming in the foreground, and watchmaking jobs were hard to find once Peter graduated, so he ended up joining his father’s company producing luminous dials. When a former watchmaking colleague, who had entered the antique clock trade, offered Peter a partnership in exchange for a small financial contribution, Baumberger was ready to get started on his new career.

Slowly, however, the merchant began to take this unknown, prospective buyer – one that was asking for such expensive objects – more seriously. “How about you buy the whole place, then?” he quipped. This intriguing reaction, with the prospect of being able to acquire such a historically significant name, alongside the rare watches, would fundamentally change Peter’s professional and personal life. It appeared to be a remarkable opportunity.

Three years passed before Peter came any closer to his dream goal. In the meantime, Gundesen sold the shop to his nephew, Gerhard Scheufens. When Peter met with him for the first time, he was told in no uncertain terms that the name of this important Danish watchmaking dynasty was required to stay in Danish hands.

A significant moment in Peter’s life came in 1976, during the 200th anniversary of the Danish Watchmakers’ Guild. The then-owner of Urban Jürgensen, Christian Gundesen, had prepared a small exhibition of historic watches, tools, and documents in his shop window in Copenhagen. Peter, in those days, had the habit of regularly scouring the antique districts in the cities he visited.

Peter thus had to persuade the new owner of Urban Jürgensen to sell the brand to a nonDane. In addition to his powers of persuasion and his proverbial charm, Peter was also able to use his watchmaking expertise to convince Scheufens that he – and only he – could lead Urban Jürgensen to new glory. It was finally through a ruse that Peter was able to break the ice once and for all.

At the sight of Urban Jürgensen’s shop window in Copenhagen, Peter sensed his luck and stepped into the shop with aspiration and hope. With a casual outfit of jeans and T-shirt, he was eyed critically. To all enquiries about prices, he received the same answer: “Not for sale.” His last attempt was for an Urban Jürgensen precision pendulum regulator, hanging on a wall. The answer was

An English watchmaker named Derek Pratt that Peter was sponsoring had been working 13

on his own movement at the time for the past five years. In 1979, Peter took Pratt’s first completed example and showed it to Scheufens with the tempting request of signing the said watch “Urban Jürgensen & Sønner Copenhagen.” One can imagine Scheufens was impressed, and proud that nothing, in principle, stood any further in the way of transferring the trademark rights to Peter.

The quality of Peter and Derek’s first run of pocket watches set a high standard for their eventual series of wristwatches, which was finally realized with the ref. 1, featuring calendar, moon phase, chronograph, and automatic winding, in a limited run of 186 examples produced between 1982 and 1986. With heavy cases and soldered teardrop shaped lugs – not to mention the complex two-tone, frosted, hand-engine turned dials and delicate hands – Peter had created a modern image for Urban Jürgensen, which is now considered the DNA of the contemporary brand.

The first part of Peter and Derek’s business plan was to create a small production series of pocket watch tourbillons. To do this, they needed to find an extremely well-equipped workshop – and a few specific antique machines. Peter sold his personal collection of important historic watches to finance their goals. One struck of luck came from their timing. More and more Swiss Jura watchmaking companies were being liquidated every year due to the Quartz Revolution. The entire stocks of countless watch factories were placed on the side of the road for sale where they could be purchased for small sums of money. Peter selected the best machines and was able to quickly set up a new atelier for Urban Jürgensen and Derek Pratt.

Urban Jürgensen then launched the ref. 2 in 1986, consisting of 50 platinum and 172 gold wristwatches with perpetual calendar, moon phase, and the upgraded Frederic Piguet No 71 automatic movements. The ref. 3 was introduced in 1993 as the natural successor to the ref. 2. The difference lies in the addition of a power reserve complication. Although, at first glance, this addition does not appear overly complex, its development took Peter and Derek much more time than expected, becoming considerably more expensive in the process, leading to financial difficulties for the reborn Urban Jürgensen brand for the very first time. Other variants of the ref. 2 include the ref. 9 with sub-dial displays, and the ref. 10 with small seconds; less than a handful of the latter may have been made. The ref. 4 had a two time-zone indication at 12 o’clock and was likely a unique piece.

While Derek took care of movement construction and the production of dials and hands, Peter adopted the task of casemaking, as well as all branding and marketing activities.

Today, the cases made by Peter bear “3000” serial numbers, with the highest currently known being 3068.

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Entry-level two- and three-handed models were produced as the ref. 5, ref. 8 and ref. Big 8, which had the upgraded Frederic Piguet caliber 1150 and 1160. The little-known ref. 6 had a tonneau-shaped case with a different caliber; this model likely never progressed beyond the prototype stage. One especially unusual model – likely a custom order – is the ref. 7, the so-called Diaplago, featuring a Dali-like case and a bracelet set with diamonds. A total of 11 individual wristwatch references were created before Peter passed away in May 2010.

was the escapement’s sensitivity to shocks, which was exacerbated in an always moving wristwatch.

Derek Pratt had successfully built a single one-off piece. However, serial production was the aim, and the challenge called for advanced horological engineering. So, the development was eventually placed in the hands of a young engineer named Jean-François Mojon, best known today as the owner of Chronode. The goal was to create a multifunctional caliber that could host various complications and could be equipped with two different types of escapements, e.g., the P8 caliber should have a chronometer escapement and the P4 caliber, a lever. Derek gradually withdrew from the project for health reasons, so the independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen took over his role, which was to carry out the decoration, assembly, control, and regulation of the movement, and then to provide feedback to Mojon and his engineers.

As a matter of prestige, it appeared increasingly important for a premium brand to develop its own caliber. Peter and I often discussed this.

He was very good at keeping company secrets, even to his closest confidants, but as my financial involvement in the company had taken on considerable proportions, he eventually let me in on the P8 and P4 project in 2008; these were in-house movements he had hidden from me for five years.

Peter didn’t want to develop any in-house caliber, but one that would continue in the great tradition of Urban Jürgensen. In other words: precision timepieces with chronometer escapements. As early as 2003, Derek Pratt had prepared a feasibility study for the socalled P8 project, installing a chronometer escapement in a Unitas caliber as a test example. The result was encouraging; however, the challenges were manifold. In addition to miniaturization, the main issue

Finally, in December 2008, Urban Jürgensen was granted two separate patents for a new chronometer escapement that could be placed inside a wristwatch. Peter had already prepared the press kit for Basel 2010, all that was missing were the media invitations, as well as a worthy location at the fair to present this first-of-its-kind achievement.

At the last moment, we ended up cancelling the presentation of the new caliber during 15

that year’s Baselworld. It was a difficult decision and certainly very bitter for Peter.

It’s even more tragic in retrospect, as Peter died unexpectedly two months after the fair’s conclusion.

motivated Danish investors who intended to maintain the brand carefully and sustainably, with small production numbers, positioned in the premium sector.

In November 2014, the new Danish owners, under the leadership of CEO Søren Jenry Petersen, officially acquired the brand and continued in its traditions. A new, high-quality product line was created based on the existing P4 and P8 calibers. Under Petersen’s leadership, new sales points were opened worldwide and a new prestigious company headquarters was opened in Biel, in 2017.

I went to our atelier in Biel immediately after the sad news was released and told everyone that I would honor all the commitments our company had made. It was important that all our suppliers understood that our brand would continue without any disruption to the old tradition and quality.

When I became responsible for the Urban Jürgensen brand in 2011, I had the immediate and fervent desire to see the two brands, Jules and Urban, reunited once again. It was a serious challenge, but finally – after more than 100 years apart – the Jürgensen watchmaking companies were reunited under the same corporate structure.

Seven years later, at the end of 2021, the brand has now been passed into the care of master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. It’s a logical evolution in several respects. Kari’s career was significantly influenced by Peter. He worked on behalf of Urban Jürgensen for years and was friends with Peter until the very end.

Our prototype chronometer escapement was finally presented at the 2011 Basel fair inside the ref. 11C. Three years later, the same model, with the addition of a central seconds hand, received the “Men’s Watch” prize at the 2014 GPHG. Despite these successes, it was clear to me that I had to find a successor who could handle the enormous financial outlay in the long term, while also continuing to credibly represent the values associated with the name Urban Jürgensen. I was very happy when, at the end of 2013, I met an independent group of

There is no doubt that this is another historic moment for Urban Jürgensen. With his exceptional watchmaking ability and true dedication to high-quality horology, Kari Voutilainen is a legitimate successor to the legacy of Urban Jürgensen and the rest of the Jürgensen watchmaking family, in addition to my friends Peter Baumberger and Derek Pratt.

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Timepieces from the collection of Dr. Helmut Crott

Larpent Jürgensen Kiöbenhavn N° 2862 Ca. 1804

Urban Jürgensen N° 56

Urban Jürgensen N° XI

Ca. 1812

1821

PAGE 20

PAGE 20

Jules Jürgensen N°14037

Jules Jürgensen N°14168

Ca. 1883

Ca. 1883 PAGE 23

Urban Jürgensen & Sönner N°3024 1983 PAGE 25

PAGE 21

Urban Jürgensen & Sönner N°8565 Ca. 1925

PAGE 23

Urban Jürgensen & Sønner N°3019 1985

Louis Urban Jürgensen N°841 Ca. 1846

PAGE 24

Urban Jürgensen & Sønner N°3028 Ca. 1985

PAGE 25

PAGE 26

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Jules Jürgensen N°5212 Sold 1859 PAGE 22

PAGE 22

Jules Jürgensen N°16879

Jules Jürgensen N°17620

Ca. 1930

Ca. 1930 PAGE 24

Urban Jürgensen & Sönner N°3055 1987 PAGE 26

PAGE 24

Urban Jürgensen & Sönner N°3068 2012 PAGE 27

Urban Jürgensen – Derek Pratt Oval N°1 1982 – 2006

Urban Jürgensen & Sönner N°16/1252 1832

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Jacques Alfred Jürgensen N°1063 Ca. 1912

Urban Jürgensen & Sönner 1841 – 1843

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Urban Jürgensen Urban Jürgensen Ref. 1 Daniel’s Co-axial Ref. 2 N°097

Urban Jürgensen Ref. 10 N°002

Urban Jürgensen Ref. 11 LAPT N° 131

1986

Ca. 2005

2012

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Ca. 1990 PAGE 33

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Urban Jürgensen Ref. 11 CR N° 105

Urban Jürgensen Urban Jürgensen Ref. 11 CEOR N°00/16 N°312/NVL92/452

Urban Jürgensen Ref. 1140 LPT

2012

2013

2015

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Ca. 2014 PAGE 38

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Larpent Jürgensen Kiöbenhaven N°2862 Ca. 1804 Quarter repeater.

In 1773 Jürgen Jürgensen applied to the guild for permission to construct a repeater timepiece. He made the drawings and was referred to Isaac Larpent, for a joint practical execution of the watch.

Urban Jürgensen N°56 Ca. 1812 Deck-watch chronometer with regulator dial and Arnold’s spring detent escapement.

A superbly made watch from a series of eight, used as his best chronometers destined to go to sea.

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Urban Jürgensen N°XI 1821 Exquisitely made rose gold Deck-watch, chronometer with Arnold spring detent escapement.

The Danish King Frederik VI asked Urban Jürgensen to build a chronometer of highest luxury and precision, regardless of cost.

In 1821 the King presented the watch to the famous Russian naval officer and geographer Baron von Krusenstern.

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Louis Urban Jürgensen N°841 1846 Index Thermometer Maximum Minimum.

Exposed at the 1851 London Industrial World Fare.

Jules Jürgensen N°5212 Sold in 1859 Demi-chronometer with regulator dial, bimetallic thermometer.

This rare unusual watch was almost certainly made on special order and is a most likely unique.

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Jules Jürgensen N°14037 Ca. 1883 A unique triple-complicated retro-grade perpetual calendar with chronograph and minute repeater.

Jules Jürgensen N°14168 Ca. 1883 A rare 3-Bridge One-minute tourbillon, with spring detent escapement regulated by Albert Pellaton.

Jules Jürgensen is believed of having made 7 tourbillons in total.

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Urban Jürgensen & Sönner N°8565 Ca. 1925 Square Art Deco night table watch.

Jules Jürgensen N°16879 Ca. 1930 Gold enamel Art Deco dress watch with incrusted sapphirelike baguettes.

Jules Jürgensen N°17620 Ca. 1930 Digital dress watch with American calendar.

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Urban Jürgensen & Sønner N° 3024 1983 Perpetual calendar moon phase, minute repeater.

Only 4 watches were made

by Derek Pratt with this configuration.

Urban Jürgensen & Sønner N°3019 1985 Perpetual calendar with moon phase, minute repeating and aequation of time indication.

It is the only known triple complication made by Derek Pratt with aequation of time.

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Urban Jürgensen & Sønner N°3028 Ca. 1985 Quadruple “grande complication” with perpetual calendar moon phase, split second chronograph with 60-minute counter and minute repeating.

The only one made by Derek Pratt with a 60-minute counter.

Urban Jürgensen & Sönner N°3055 1987 Skeletonized twin barrel One-minute tourbillon with carriage-mounted remontoire, dead beat seconds and power reserve indication.

Three skeletonized versions were executed.

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Urban Jürgensen & Sönner N°3068 2012 Exclusive platinum twin barrel One-minute tourbillon with carriage mounted remontoire.

Only three UJS platinum cased tourbillons were made.

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Urban Jürgensen – Derek Pratt Oval N°1 Made between 1982–2005 and finished by the end of 2006 by the master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen.

“The Oval”, exceptional platinum pocket watch with Flying One-minute tourbillon, carriage mounted remontoire, constant force spring detent chronometer escapement with jumping seconds, power reserve indicator, thermometer and moon phase.

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Urban Jürgensen & Sönner (Louis Urban Jürgensen) N°16/1252 1832 One-Day marine chronometer with regulator dial, thermometer and Earnshaw spring detent escapement.

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Urban Jürgensen & Sönner 1841–1843 Two exquisite and small escapement models.

– The Urban Jürgensen double-wheel chronometer escapement.

– The Thomas Earnshaw spring detent escapement.

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Jacques Alfred Jürgensen N°1063 Ca. 1912 Silver cased early officer type wristwatch.

First known Jürgensen wristwatch.

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Urban Jürgensen Ref. 1 with Co-axial prototype 1986 Automatic, triple calendar chronograph customized by George Daniels for his slim Co-axial escapement.

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Urban Jürgensen Ref. 2 N°097 Ca. 1990 Yellow gold perpetual calendar, moon phase, automatic wristwatch.

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Urban Jürgensen Ref.10 N°002 Ca. 2005 Perpetual calendar moon phase automatic wristwatch.

Reference 10 was the last version of a perpetual calendar developed by Peter Baumberger, less than a handful were made.

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Urban Jürgensen Ref. 11 LAPT N° 131, prototype 2012 The first automatic movement to ever integrate a UJS P4 lever escapement, presented at Baselworld 2012.

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Urban Jürgensen Ref. 11 CR N° 105, V1 prototype 2012 Unique wristwatch with patented pivoted detent chronometer escapement.

In this UJS P8 movement the escape wheel is modified.

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Urban Jürgensen Ref. 11 CEOR N°00/16, prototype 2013 Unique “Montre Observatoire” wristwatch with patented pivoted detent escapement, hand painted enamel dial, presented at Baselworld 2013.

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Urban Jürgensen N°312/NVL92/452 2014 Unique platinum grande complication with perpetual calendar moon phase, minute repeater and One-minute tourbillon.

Most complicated Jürgensen wristwatch, presented in Baselworld in 2014.

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Urban Jürgensen Ref. 1140 L PT 2015 Platinum manual winding lever wristwatch with UJ P4 in-house movement, 2-tone dial.

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AUTHOR Dr. Helmut Crott HISTORICAL CONSULTANCY John M.R. Knudsen EDITORIAL SUPERVISION Philippe de Palmaërt GRAPHIC DESIGN Oliver Aretz PAGE LAYOUT AND GRAPHIC ADAPTATION Philippe Koeune PHOTOGRAPHY Jess Hoffman COPY-EDITING Logan Baker

WITH THE SUPPORT OF

CELEBRATING 250 YEARS OF JÜRGENSEN

EXHIBITION INFORMATION

VIDEO INFORMATION

LOCATION Phillips Hotel La Reserve 301 Route de Lausanne 1293 Bellevue

Dr. Helmut Crott sat down with Phillips to discuss the 250-year history of Urban Jürgensen through a collection of timepieces he has assembled over the years.

Watch the exclusive video series on our YouTube channel, by scanning the QR Code below.

EXHIBITION DATES 1 – 4 November CONTACTS Diana Ortega Head of Strategic Partnerships & Events, Watches, Europe

— dortega@phillips.com

FILMED BY Arthur Touchais Video Producer, Phillips

INTERVIEWED BY Arthur Touchot Head of Digital Strategy and Watches Specialist, Phillips