Urban Jürgensen returns with 3 new watches, each executed perfectly. We had a sneak peek earlier this year, and here is the release with our commentary. As well as hands on photographs of the watches shot yesterday in Los Angeles.
Look out for more coverage, including detailed photographs and videos, and a video discussion with Kari Voutilainen. For now, here is the Press Release details on the watch with brief impressions in italics at the pre-release viewing in Geneva, earlier this year.
Hands-on: Urban Jürgensen is reborn with 3 new watches
The new collection comprise of three new collections, viz UJ-1, UJ-2, and UJ-3. The UJ-1 has a retail price of CHF 368,000. The UJ-2 retails at CHF 105,000 and the UJ-3 carries a retail price of CHF 168,000. All are listed exclusive of VAT. The UJ-1 is limited to 75 pieces total, and offered in two platinum variants and one rose gold variant. The UJ-2 and UJ-3 are not limited editions. Price is the same for platinum or rose gold cases. The brand distribution strategy is direct to collector.
Commentary
The magnificent house of Urban Jürgensen returns to the world of haute horlogerie with not one watch to test the waters, but with a full blown arsenal of three new movements in three collections. We were rightly excited to learn that Kari Voutilainen has taken over the maison in an announcement in November 2021, and we came to know that the leadership will be helmed with co-CEO Alex Rosenfield (with Kari) earlier this year. We had a sneak preview in Geneva, and have seen/handled the novelties, but were not allowed any photographs. This is an impressive collection. One worthy of the 250 year old Jürgensen name, and that of Peter Baumberger and Derek Pratt.
Common features in the new collections
Initial inspection of the three watch collection blew our minds. While the design is very Urban Jürgensen with Derek Pratt’s genius shining through, it bears all the signatures of Kari Voutilainen. It also is reminiscent of the aesthetics of A.L. Breguet. A special pocket watch, made by Derek for Urban Jürgensen, known as “The Oval” was recently sold for a record CHF 3.69M by Phillips. It is also of interest to note that though The Oval was attributed to Derek, he only completed the ebauche, and the final work and finishing was undertaken by Kari Voutilainen. So the linkage between Kari and the brand is indeed deep.
The build quality of the entire watch – the case, dial, hands and movement is top notch. The lugs are fancy teardrop shaped lugs which are inspired from the Jürgensen originals, and now stepped. Nothing is spared. Even the buckle gets the attention to detail that only comes from an experienced. hand. The case blueprint is shared across all 3 watches. The dials also share common DNA, and all have immaculate guilloché which is a signature of Jurgensen, Pratt and Voutilainen. The markers are in Roman numerals pad printed on the inner side of the hour-minute chapter ring, with the Arabic numeral 0 at the 12 o’clock position. The hands are distinctly quite Breguet in inspiration.
Live photographs and hands on impressions
Urban Jürgensen UJ-1
The UJ-1 which carries a retail price of CHF 368k, excluding VAT is offered in a platinum case with a light silver dial (limited to 25 pieces), a platinum case with a grey dial (limited to 25 pieces), and a rose gold case in a light silver dial (limited to 25 pieces).
The dial side is very conservative and classical. Though this is a watch sporting a tourbillon, it is not revealed on the dial side, which keeps the elegant, distinguished look. The key elements of the dial are cleanly and clearly laid out. With the emphasis on immaculate finishing, The dial features two different guilloché patterns, and polished chapter rings – one as the hour minute chapter ring and the other as the frame for the subsidiary seconds hand. The twist of the numerals as mentioned – an Arabic “0”, with the rest of the numerals in Roman typeface. The only other adornment on the dial is the brand name presented on a plaque, and the power reserve indicator shown as an inverted arc, together with the subsidiary seconds hand.
And even with this immaculate presentation offered on the dial side, the case back offers even more. If that was possible. And it truly knocked our socks off! Not only does this movement offer a tourbillon escapement, but also one with a remontoire. The staccato movement of the seconde morte providing constant force to the tourbillon is absolutely mesmerising to watch. This spectacle is only visible from the case back, leaving the dial very clean and understated. A very large, conical steel bridge holds the center pinion, similar to Kari’s own watches where he signs his name on the dial. This bridge is also found in The Oval. This bridge is high polished with a collar at each end terminating at the screws being held above the base plate with polished turrets. The base plate is in 5N rose gold plated, presumably over brass.
My top pick is the platinum with the grey dial version. Absolutely beautiful. And I particularly love that the tourbillon is not visible from the dial side, which remains absolutely discreet and understated. Especially the grey with silver chapter ring. The 39.5mm case fits just perfect.
Urban Jügensen UJ-2
The UJ-2 is their entry level piece. Priced at CHF 105k, excluding VAT. The pricing is very similar to the retail price of a Voutilainen Vingt-8. But Voutilainen signed watches now have a 8-9 year waitlist. This pricing level is certainly below what the secondary market is seeing for the Vingt-8, so one can argue that the UJ2 is a bargain in the works.
UJ presents two versions in a platinum case and two versions in rose gold case, making a total of 4 to choose from. Each case metal gets one version with a blue dial and the other in light silver.
The dial side is born from the same DNA, but achieves a different look. The hour and minute chapter ring is offset, and intersects the seconds chapter ring which is placed at the 4:30 position. The main hour minute dial is finished by galvanic treatment, leaving a matte surface with a powdery texture. A different guilloché pattern is applied to the outside of the frame carrying the hour minute chapter ring, while the seconds sub-dial carries a different guilloché pattern within its frame. The hands tie the UJ-1 and UJ-2 together with their elegant Breguet styling. My favourite is this cobalt blue dial in the understated platinum case. The watch feels hefty, but not heavy on the wrist.
The UJ-2 is powered by a classically laid out lepine movement, also in 5N gold plating. The idea is to link back to the movement layout back in the day when Jürgensen made the pocket watches. But it is updated with the modern and special feature of the double wheel natural escapement, which is another Voutilainen signature.
Urban Jürgensen UJ-3
The UJ-3 is the final piece in this launch puzzle. It offers the practical complication of a perpetual calendar with moonphase display. For a perpetual calendar, the legibility of the dial is excellent. The leap year indicator is relegated to the case back. As with the other watches in the maison, the dial is superbly finished. And the design language defined by the brand DNA is strong throughout. From the guilloché to power reserve indicator to the Breguet styled hands.
The movement side is equally spectacular. The layout of the bridges follow the traditional lepine movement from the turn of the 20th century. The movement carries a perpetual calendar with instananeous jump and a high precision moonphase display, also instantaneous jumping at midnight and precise up to one day every 14,000 years. The moonphase display is licensed from Andreas Strehler. It also carries the direct double escapement featured on the UJ-2. Two versions of the UJ-3 are offered. One in platinum and the other in rose gold. Both with black dials. This model is priced at CHF 168k, excluding VAT.
These three collections truly share the same DNA, with the aspect tying in these brothers together is the magnificent guilloché dial. But also the impeccable finishing and attention to detail on all aspects of the watch. The movements are all gloriously beautiful. And we are highly impressed! We have an exclusive one on one interview with Kari Voutilainen already scheduled (a few hours after embargo lifts at June 5 (today!), 10am PST). And will bring you hands on comprehensive reviews of all three watches later.
Release details
Urban Jurgensen UJ-1 – the 250th Anniversary Watch
The Anniversary Watch charms the eye with its harmony of graceful curves and light-catching surfaces. But beyond this immediate beauty lies something deeper: it is a bridge. Carrying Urban Jürgensen’s philosophy of uncompromising craftsmanship across generations, it reflects the legacy of Peter Baumberger and Derek Pratt, previous stewards of the brand, while looking ahead under Kari Voutilainen’s guiding hand. Limited to an exclusive edition of 75 pieces, there are three references each in a limited series of 25 wristwatches.
It is a reimagination of the legendary Urban Jürgensen Pratt Oval Pocket Watch, this wristwatch revisits the project that spanned nearly two decades. The UJ- 1 miniaturizes and adapts a version of the legendary pocket watch movement into a wristwatch for the first time ever – a feat that has been sought by watchmakers since the Oval’s unveiling.
Every detail represents countless hours of patient hand-finished artistry channeled to create a very special timepiece. Not merely an homage, but a continuation – a watch that makes time itself feel more precious through its affordance on the wrist.
Its story is closely tied to Kari, whose connection to Urban Jürgensen is defined by shared ideals. Years ago, when Pratt could no longer complete the Oval, Peter Baumberger turned to Kari to see it through. Now, as Co-CEO of UJ, he returns – not to replicate, but to carry forward a vision of time kept beautifully.
The Anniversary Watch is not about preserving the past. It is about making it part of today. Every curve, every gear, every guilloché surface speaks to where we’ve been and what comes next – a celebration of moments made more meaningful by how we choose to mark their passing.
Urban Jurgensen UJ-2
Through the UJ-2’s understated beauty flow Urban Jürgensen’s philosophies – that the purest things demand our greatest efforts; that excellence is a goal in and of itself; and that the pursuit of perfection and doing things right is the key to joy. This timepiece is by a Maison that seeks the challenges posed by exceptional watchmaking and doesn’t skirt them.
At its heart is the double wheel natural escapement – a mechanism whose elegance belies the complexity of its creation. That Urban Jürgensen has chosen this sophisticated system for serial production reveals something essential about the manufacture’s philosophy: what others reserve for their pinnacle pieces becomes our starting point. Each component, from the hand-finished wheels to the pristine bridges, to the decoration on parts unseen by the naked eye, exists because that’s the way it should be.
This commitment to the extraordinary speaks to Urban Jürgensen’s understanding of time itself. When the escapement wheels perform their intricate ballet – each tooth precisely engaging and releasing in a mesmerizing rhythm, orchestrating time with microscopic precision – they represent generations of watchmakers, from Urban’s teacher Abraham Louis Breguet to the watchmakers of today, who looked at accepted solutions and strove to make them better.
The UJ-2 is not about complexity for complexity’s sake. It is about the relentless pursuit of perfection in even the simplest things. Every element, visible or hidden, exists as a testament to the belief that marking time beautifully matters – that the way we choose to count our moments shapes how we experience them.
Urban Jurgensen UJ-3
In the rarefied sphere of ultra-high horology, a perpetual calendar remains an item of delight. This watch, a creation of Urban Jürgensen Co-CEO, Kari Voutilainen in collaboration with master engineer Andreas Strehler, tames extraordinary mechanical complexity within the confines of a wearable timepiece, achieving that rarest of goals: turning mechanical virtuosity into pure elegance.
It is the story of human ingenuity meeting uncompromising craft, of mechanical necessity transformed into artistry. From the seamless integration of the calendar displays to the Strehler precise moon phase indication, licensed here for the first time in a serially produced watch, each function exists in perfect balance with the others. And at the heart of this harmony beats the UJ double wheel natural escapement. Each component, each carefully considered detail, is elevated through hand-finishing to a standard that would satisfy Urban Jürgensen himself – a standard that exists independent of whether the component can be seen from outside the watch.
That such ambition could be contained within such graceful proportions speaks to both the intelligence of its conception and the mastery of its execution. The UJ-3 is proof that intricate engineering can achieve sublime beauty, that complexity need not come at the cost of refinement.
In an age in which mechanical timekeeping is purely a matter of choice, the UJ-3 demonstrates why that choice matters: the belief that excellence, pursued for its own sake, is a joy in itself. Because the finest watchmaking is as much about the unseen as the revealed – about creating something of lasting beauty and meaning that strives for perfection for no reason but the spirit of the pursuit and the joy of wearing it.
Urban Jürgensen UJ-1 Specifications
UJ-1-PT-S-001 Platinum case, light silver dial (limited edition of 25) * UJ-1-PT-G-001 Platinum case, grey dial (limited edition of 25) * UJ-1-RG-S-001 Rose gold case, light silver dial (limited edition of 25)
PLACE OF ORIGIN Swiss Made
CASE Material: 950 platinum or 5N rose gold * Diameter: 39.5mm * Thickness: 12.2mm * Bezel: Stepped, polished, satin-polished Lugs: Reinterpreted Jürgensen teardrop design, stepped, polished * Lug width: 20mm * Crystal: Domed sapphire with anti-reflective treatment * Case middle: Satin-polished * Crown: Non-screwed, fluted; UJ engraving * Case back: Hand guilloché * circular Grain d’orge; sapphire crystal * Water resistance: 3 ATM (30 meters, ~100 feet)
DIAL & HANDS Material: Solid silver, galvanic color treatment * Indications: Central hours, minutes; small seconds at 6 o’clock; fractional power reserve at 12 o’clock * Finishes: Hand guilloché linear * Grain d’orge for main dial, Clous de Paris 45° for small seconds auxiliary dial; satin-polished chapter ring; applied surrounds for hours and small seconds in silver or 5N rose gold, satin-polished * Hands: Flame-blued Jürgensen hands
MOVEMENT Caliber UJ-1: In-house, 5N rose gold-plated, hand-wound * Diameter: 30mm * Height: 8.17mm *Complications: One-minute flying tourbillon; remontoir d’égalité constant-force mechanism * Winding system: Flying barrel with Geneva stop-work * Regulator: Swiss lever escapement; balance wheel with micrometric timing screws; hairspring with Phillips terminal curve * Jewels: 32 * Power reserve: 47 hours * Frequency: 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz) * Finishes: Grenage, perlage, domed chamfering; mirror-polished screws; satin-polished wheels – all by hand
STRAP & BUCKLE Strap: Hand-stitched, ethically sourced alligator leather with soft calfskin lining * Buckle: 950 platinum or 5N rose gold pin buckle
Urban Jürgensen UJ-2 Specifications
UJ-2-PT-S-001 Platinum case, light silver dial * UJ-2-PT-B-001 Platinum case, light silver dial * UJ-2-RG-S-001 Rose gold case, light silver dial * UJ-2-RG-B-001 Rose gold case, blue dial
PLACE OF ORIGIN Swiss Made
CASE Material: 950 platinum or 5N rose gold * Diameter: 39mm * Thickness: 10.9mm * Bezel: Stepped, polished, satin-polished * Lugs: Reinterpreted Jürgensen teardrop design, stepped, polished * Lug width: 20mm * Crystal: Domed sapphire with anti-reflective treatment * Case middle: Satin-polished * Crown: Non-screwed, fluted; UJ engraving * Case back: Hand guilloché circular Grain d’orge; sapphire crystal * Water resistance: 3 ATM (30 meters, ~100 feet)
DIAL & HANDS Material: Dial in solid silver, galvanic color treatment * Indications: Offset central hours, minutes; small seconds at 5 o’clock; fractional power reserve at 12 o’clock * Finishes: Hand guilloché circular * Grain d’orge for main dial periphery, Clous de Paris 45° for small seconds auxiliary dial; applied surrounds for hours and small seconds in silver or 5N rose gold, satin-polished * Hands: Flame-blued Jürgensen hands
MOVEMENT Caliber UJ-2: In-house, 5N rose * gold plated, hand-wound * Diameter: 32mm * Height: 5.5mm – Regulator: Free spring balance with direct double wheel escapement * Frequency: 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz) * Jewels: 32 * Power reserve: 52 hours * Finishes: Grenage, perlage, domed chamfering; mirror-polished screws; satin-polished wheels – all by hand
STRAP & BUCKLE Strap: Hand-stitched, ethically sourced alligator leather with soft calfskin lining Buckle: 950 platinum or 5N rose gold pin buckle
Urban Jürgensen UJ-3 Specifications
UJ-3-PT-B-001 Platinum case, black dial * UJ-3-RG-B-001 Rose gold case, black dial
PLACE OF ORIGIN Swiss Made
CASE & DIMENSIONS Material: 950 platinum or 5N rose gold * Diameter: 39mm *Thickness: 13.9mm * Bezel: Stepped, polished, satin-polished * Lugs: Reinterpreted Jürgensen teardrop design, stepped, polished * Lug width: 20mm * Crystal: Domed sapphire with anti-reflective treatment * Case middle: Satin-polished *Crown: non-screwed, fluted; UJ engraving * Case back: Hand guilloché circular Grain d’orge; sapphire crystal * Water resistance: 3 ATM (30 meters, ~100 feet)
DIAL & HANDS Material: Solid silver, galvanic color treatment Indications: Offset central hours, minutes; calendar and small seconds at 5 o’clock; moon phase at 8 o’clock; offset date at 9 o’clock; offset month at 3 o’clock; fractional power reserve at 12 o’clock Finishes: Hand guilloché in circular Grain d’orge for main dial periphery, in 45° Clous de Paris for date/small seconds auxiliary dial, in Sauté-piqué for minute track ; applied surrounds in silver or 5N rose gold, satin-polished * Hands: Flame-blued Jürgensen hands
MOVEMENT: Caliber UJ-3: In-house, integrated perpetual calendar, 5N rosegold-plated, hand-wound * Diameter: 30mm * Height: 8.1mm * Components: 484 * Regulator: Free spring balance with direct double wheel escapement Calendar: Perpetual calendar with instantaneous jump mechanism at midnight, leap year indicator on the movement * Moon phase: Instantaneous jump mechanism at midnight, accurate to one day every 14,000 years * Jewels: 42 * Power reserve: 52 hours * Frequency: 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz) * Finishes: Grenage, perlage, domed chamfering; mirror-polished screws; satin-polished wheels – all by hand
STRAP & BUCKLE Strap: Hand-stitched, ethically sourced alligator leather with soft calfskin lining * Buckle: 950 platinum or 5N rose gold pin buckle
