Collectors’ Guide to Urban Jürgensen wristwatches

Even if Baumberger’s emphasis on classicality in pocket watches seemed comprehensible – after all, the market for collectible pocket watches remained robust even through the 1970s when quartz technology seemed most threatening – his desire for a small production series of complicated wristwatches must have seemed particularly ill-timed to contemporaries. However, just as Baumberger had been able to achieve his ambition of a workshop to make pocket watches using the tools and lathes he had bought cheaply during the turmoil of the quartz years, the plan for a series of wristwatches was set in motion because Baumberger had managed to procure a stock of the Zenith El Primero calibre 410 and was keen to make use of it.

On the dial side, Pratt’s engine-turning on a solid silver base served as the backdrop for the three-register layout. Each unit of time was delineated by fluted, sauté piqué-style rims. The face featured a clous de Paris pattern while the subsidiary registers wore a basketweave pattern. The full chapter of Roman hours was only interrupted by the date between 4 and 5 o’clock. Two similar windows in the top half of the dial expressed the day and month. At 9 o’clock lay the running seconds, while the 30 elapsed minutes were recorded at 3. The half open-work register at 6 consolidated the 12-hour chronograph counter and the moonphase. The 12-hour counter featured a quarter chapter of Roman hours to visually distinguish it from the other two registers. The heat-blued stainless-steel moonphase disk was embedded with solid-gold inserts; the stars were carved individually and then filled with gold.

The hours and minutes hands were Breguet-style, and the seconds indicator was a simple pointer with a rounded counterweight. The three chronograph hands were similarly formed – simple pointers that narrowed to a tip. However, the central chronograph seconds hand had a moon-shaped counterweight.

Luca Soprana thinks the aesthetic was quintessentially Pratt. He says, “I was always really fascinated by the fact that he managed this perfect combination of styles,” he says. “He had a Swiss style because he was [based] here, but he had a British basis and classical inspiration from Breguet. He didn’t have strict guidelines, like with some older watchmakers have over here for Swiss watchmaking, be it Geneva-style or Vallèe de Joux-style. He was someone who could take from every kind of great watchmaking.”

While examples produced in series wore the same layout and engine-turning patterns, there did exist subtle variations in dial configuration. The hours, minutes, and running seconds hands could be had in gold, while the chronograph hands were heat blued. Other examples featured uniformly heat-blued hands. The day and month wheels, be they in French or English, could be had in a blued shade (with white printing) to match the blued hands, or they could be white wheels with black printing. Regardless, the date wheel – in between 4 and 5 o’clock owing to it being an El Primero calibre – was always white with black printing.

The Zenith El Primero calibre 410 – the version of the self-winding, integrated column wheel, lateral clutch chronograph calibre 3019 PHF with triple calendar and moonphase complications – lay beneath the closed caseback. It beat at a high rate of 36,000 vibrations per hour and offered 50 hours of reserve from a single barrel. The calibre was produced till 2000, which is a detail relevant to the limited second series of the Reference 1 that we will discuss shortly. Hidden from view in the Reference 1, it wore an entirely industrial finish with no engravings and such to customise the appearance at all.

Its mechanics stands one example of the Reference 1 singular. Watch number 28, created in 1986, featured an example of Dr George Daniels’ Co-Axial escapement. Daniels famously tested the theory of the Co-Axial escapement by retrofitting it into several serially produced movements from brands ranging from Patek Philippe to Rolex.

Exactly 15 years after the first series closed, Urban Jürgensen & Sønner created a 15-piece series of the Reference 1 – this time in platinum. While the watch featured the same calibre 410, Baumberger no longer had his stock of ébauche movements to dig into. Zenith had also ceased production of the Calibre 410 in 2000.

Voutilainen, who by then had been working with Urban Jürgensen for almost five years, says, “[Baumberger] couldn’t buy just the movement, so he was buying the watches. He took the movements and he was getting rid of the rest [of the watch].”

Consequently, the movements fitted to this series of the Reference 1 included both the calibre 410 and the 410Z – the latter being the only variant produced after 2000.

Perhaps the most novel in this series were the ones where the silver guilloché dials were painted black with silver printing and brushed silver chapters. The hours and minutes hands were crafted from white gold, and we have seen at least one example in which the apertures of the Breguet hands were filled with tritium. The day, date and month wheels on these black dial examples were also colour matched, with white printing. This series also featured the more conventional silvered dials with heat-blued hours, minutes and seconds hands.

Thanks to this second series, the Reference 1 remained on the brand’s price list from 2003. In gold, it was priced at CHF 58,320, while the asking price for the platinum case was CHF 88,800.

The Reference 2 was first seen in 1986. It was born in a post-quartz-crisis era where several established houses were fending off the new technology by creating slim self-winding watches with perpetual calendar complications.

Urban Jürgensen & Sønner’s answer to this was the Reference 2. It offered significant refinement in terms of design and mechanics and would become the archetype for much of the subsequent releases from the brand. For instance, details such as the observatoire hands, closely linked to Urban Jürgensen’s identity, were introduced with the Reference 2.

Just as the date and moonphase lay across from each other, similarly the day and month windows – straddling the hours chapter and the central portion of the dial – added to the overall symmetry of the dial. However, they did cut into the 3 and 9 o’clock markers.

The dials were crafted from solid silver and were finished in the metal’s natural shade. However, we have seen some examples where the dial had aged to a golden hue. It should be noted the serial numbers – in references that display them on the dial – were three-digit and referred to the number produced in that particular metal.

The snapped-on caseback was always closed in this generation of watches. On the inside the brand mark, precious metal hallmarks and the case number were engraved. This inside portion was coated in a material – presumably to keep it from tarnishing – that gave off a rainbow hue.

More recently, Voutilainen has been obliging clients who request exhibition casebacks for their Reference 2s. As a result, there now exists a small number with this additional detail.

While most dials for the Reference 2 were produced uniformly, there were a few variations within the series. For instance, we have seen two examples, one yellow-gold and one pink-gold prototype that weren't numbered, where in place of the serial number on the dial is the word “Proto”. We have had the chance to examine the movement on the yellow-gold Proto. While not fully decorated, it featured the yellow-gold rotor with industrial-looking circular Côtes de Genève. The bridges also featured Geneva striping but the edges of the bridges weren’t finished. The serial number 000-000 was engraved on the barrel bridge.

Another example, number 000, also featured a rose-gold case.

With the Reference 2, Urban Jürgensen finally came upon an aesthetic formula they were happy to keep. It was suitably classical, and in the Frédéric Piquet calibre 71 the brand had found a mechanical basis on which to build. Consequently, the Reference 3 inherited much of its predecessor’s aesthetics, while adding a power-reserve indicator to the mix.

Crott explains the reason for this. “Peter is coming from precision timekeeping – from chronometres, marine chronometres and deck watches,” he says. “In a precision timekeeper in the old days there was an up-down indicator, because timekeeping is optimal in a certain section of the mainspring – so if you’re a maniac for precision, you want to keep the mainspring wound to within this range [so that] timekeeping is linear. So, to Peter, this complication made sense in the pursuit of precision timekeeping.”

Before we get into the mechanics of the power-reserve indication, it is worth reiterating that the case remained unchanged both in dimensions and details from the Reference 2. The Reference 3 was 38mm across and stood 9mm tall, made again mostly in yellow and rose gold, with a comparably smaller number in platinum.

According to Crott, the brand had lofty production targets, and the plan was to create 300 examples of the reference. He added, “Peter didn't like to keep records, you know. But when I was in charge of the company, I found his hand-written records and notes. Altogether, maybe 100 watches [were produced].”

Crott says while the same records indicate 10 examples were created in platinum, he believes more examples exist in this metal. Indeed, we have found 12 examples cased in platinum. Of note, and symptomatic of production at Urban Jürgensen & Sønner in this era, we have seen two No. 8 dials fitted to two different platinum cases. It would be perfectly reasonable to find other such discrepancies in numbering.

The dial also remained the same in layout and decoration, with the same two patterns of clous de Paris and basketweave guilloché done by hand, and observatoire hands. The register at 12 o’clock, home to the moonphase display, was given further function in the Reference 3. This is where the fan-style, up-down power-reserve indicator was located.

Baumberger, intent on retaining the symmetry of the dial, would not consider placing the power reserve anywhere but in the moonphase subsidiary register. Crott says, “Peter wanted to keep the movement the same as Reference 2, so the thickness is still 2.4mm, but in the Reference 3 it contained an additional 36 parts for the power-reserve indicator.”

This goes some way to explaining why this seemingly pedestrian complication was achieved at such effort and cost that it put a real strain on the brand.

On the Frédéric Piguet calibre 71, fitted with the same Lemania-developed perpetual calendar module, Pratt designed a power-reserve mechanism with the help of a fellow watchmaker at the brand, Jens Bloch.

Based on blueprints from 1991, the initial design featured a cone coupled with the mainspring. The cone was linked to a follower tool that moved the indicator hand for the display.

That design went through several rounds of development. The final and considerably more complex mechanism was the result of Pratt and Bloch’s joint effort and was patented by the brand. At its heart lay a differential, 1mm thick and 4.2mm in diameter, with the top toothed layer in contact with the winding mechanism. This differential wheel could only turn in one direction. The lower wheel of the differential was linked to the power-reserve train. This arrangement was slim so it wouldn’t add to the movement’s overall thickness, and also provided a more direct reading of the mainspring’s reserve. Pratt tinkered with the design over the years, with the last of the iterations – which, in his words, featured “finer clutch teeth” – coming in 2001. In fact, Crott thinks that when early examples of the reference came in to the brand for service, the power reserve mechanism was swapped out for the more modern example.

Soprana thinks this innovation is emblematic of Pratt’s ability with and approach to micromechanics. He says, “If we are talking about Derek’s work for Urban Jürgensen, we have to talk about the conical power reserve. It was the smallest conical power reserve that was ever done. There are several technically interesting details in these watches but [using] the conical power reserve instead of a standard power reserve with gearings … was quite a challenge. At the time no one did this in a wristwatch. Now it’s become very sexy, so everyone is doing it.”

Even though mechanically innovative, it came at a cost to the brand. Crott says, “Peter was astonished by the problems [that arose in the process] to make this seemingly simple complication. It cost [him] a lot of money and it took much longer to bring it to market.”

However, the fact that Urban Jürgensen pursued it, even though it possibly wasn’t fiscally prudent, goes to the heart of how both Baumberger and Pratt thought of watchmaking and their intention to restore the Urban Jürgensen name to its former glory.

Still offered in 2003, it was priced at CHF 122,880 in gold (yellow or rose) and CHF 136,320 in platinum. While by all accounts the Reference 3 was not produced beyond 2013, the brand kept it on its catalogue till as late as 2017. However, prices had significantly softened by then – examples in gold were listed at CHF 75,000 while those in platinum retailed for CHF 89,900.

While it is hard to get an accurate number of pieces created of the three references that preceded it, the Reference 4 is altogether more mysterious. Even though two examples have surfaced (No. 10 and No. 70), there could be more to the story. Adding to the mystique around the reference, it was left out of the brand’s historic price list that we have had the opportunity to review.

However, before we get into this, it is worth laying out the aesthetic and mechanical details of the reference. The case from the References 2 and 3 was retained for the Reference 4. The only addition was a cylinder-shaped pusher close to the top right lug. This advanced the secondary time zone indication in one-hour increments.

The dial was essentially the same too, both in layout and hand decoration. However, in place of the power-reserve indicator, the moonphase sector was ringed by a secondary 24-hour chapter. The complication was plied by a hand similar to the date indicator, complete with the crescent counterweight.

This detail, along with the fact that both registers at 12 and 6 now had full chapters, lent the dial an even greater symmetry.

There was continuity on the movement side as well. The Frédéric Piguet calibre 71, fitted with the same Lemania-developed perpetual calendar module and upgraded with a 21k gold winding rotor, remained the engine under the closed caseback. Little is known about the module for the secondary time zone. However, that this reference managed to retain the slim proportions of the previous ones, and that it was never produced in series, points to what was a mechanically complex way to the secondary time-zone indication. It might have thrown up complications and costs similar to the power-reserve indicator in the Reference 3.

However, another story exists about the Reference 4, says Crott. “All examples of the Reference 4 [in yellow gold] – 50 pieces – were bought by an American investor who gave them to his friends as presents,” he adds. “They were all supposed to have been produced in yellow gold, but I feel like I have seen one in platinum. Peter didn’t really want to disclose the name of the collector. He said he was a famous man, so the identity remains secret.”

The Reference 5 was the first attempt at creating a more classically sized watch, that in the modern context would be attractive to wearers of both sexes. However, it remained firmly within the aesthetic universe of Urban Jürgensen & Sønner, pared back to its essence. It was also priced more competitively and the brand likely viewed this as the entry point into its universe.

The case was sized down in all aspects. It measured 35mm across and stood just 7mm tall. It had the same soft stepped, two-part case. However, for the first time, the crown was partially recessed into the midcase. This was a result of a dimpled aperture cut out of the flank of the case all the way to the caseback. This, together with the smaller and knurled crown, helped ergonomics when interacting with the crown. The horn-style teardrop lugs remained, keeping the overall length compact. The lugs stood 20mm apart.

The snapback caseback was simple and closed, finished with rounded satination and without any engravings.

The theme of paring back continued on the silver dial. While the multi-register dials of previous references presented a canvas for multiple patterns of guilloché, the time-only Reference 5 called for a decidedly simpler adornment. Crafted from a solid silver base like the others, the outer reaches wore clous de Paris arranged in a circular fashion. Each aspect of the dial was separated from the next with sauté piqué rims. The chapter of printed black minute plots and Roman hours were paired with gold hands. In watches with yellow- and rose-gold cases, these were matched to the case metal; platinum-cased Reference 5s were paired with gold hands as well. The hour hand is of the observatoire variety that was the brand’s signature and finely hand finished.

The time display was also reduced to just hours and minutes. The brand mark, that notably does without the serial number, was suitably simple and was the first reference since the Reference 1 to not have this number on the dial.

Another detail that is the hallmark of Urban Jürgensen & Sønner of this generation was a self-winding calibre. This was also the case with the Reference 5. Despite its slim profile, it was fitted with the brand’s trusted slim Frédéric Piguet calibre 71 with a solid-gold rotor, barleycorn engraving and the brand mark.

The rarest examples of the Reference 5 have to be the platinum-cased watches paired with what the brand described as a “massive” platinum bracelet. This was unusual because in this configuration the teardrop lugs were replaced by the five-link bracelet that was integrated to the case. The bracelet was made up of three brick-like layers, with two double-beaded links in between.

According to the price list from 2003, the brand offered gold-cased examples for CHF 20,880, while platinum cases went for CHF 26,730. There was a manifold premium on the platinum case with matching bracelet – it was offered for CHF 107,890.

Perhaps most removed from the aesthetic that came before them – as well as most of what would come after it – are the References 6 and 7. While both were born from a desire to expand the brand’s vernacular to reach a wider audience, the Reference 6 retained some of the dial language of past watches hosted in a wholly new tonneau case. It was first seen in the mid-1990s and remained on the catalogues until at least 2003. By 2013, when the brand was under new ownership, it was no longer on offer.

Despite the new form, the case retained its pebble-like quality, with smoothed and rounded edges. However, unlike the unibody case of previous references, the Reference 6 had a three-part construction. The tonneau bezel, widest at 3 and 9 o’clock, tapered gradually. Gone were the teardrop lugs. Instead, they flowed from the midcase in an organic way. The lugs had a slight facet as they joined the curved form of the midcase. The caseback, simple and unadorned, was secured with four screws, one in each corner.

The differences continued on the dial as well. At its most restrained, it featured a silver dial with the engine turning at the centre, surrounded by chapters of black printed Roman hours and minute plots. The guilloché was of a clous de Paris pattern. Examples with subsidiary seconds featured a basketweave pattern within. Interestingly, this register mirrored the tonneau form of the case. The hours and minutes hands were faceted and dauphine-style – yet another departure from the brand’s established visual language. It was the first since the Reference 2 to not feature the observatoire-style hours hand.

In keeping with the spirit of experimentation, the Reference 6 was also created with a variety of stone dials, including lapis lazuli, jade, onyx, and mother-of-pearl. In an already rare reference, these stone dials are even harder to find. We have seen a two-tone lapis lazuli dial with a quarter of faceted gold applied indices. Notably, this particular example also came with a silver dial with engine-turning.

The Reference 6 is also distinguished by the fact that it is the only watch in this era to feature a manually wound calibre. Owing to the limited visibility of this reference, and the limited scholarship as a result of this, not much was known about the provenance of the movement inside. However, we have had the chance to closely examine an example. The Reference 6 featured the Frédéric Piguet calibre 8.10 or 8.16 (a variation of the calibre 8.10 with subsidiary seconds). The calibre measured 18.4mm across and stood 2mm tall. It featured a single barrel that offered 48 hours of reserve. It had a movement frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour.

The example we examined was nicely decorated with perlage on the baseplate and Geneva striping on the bridges. The edges were decorated with anglage. The brand mark, place of origin, jewel count (22) and the number of positions the movement was adjusted to (five) were engraved in gold on the main bridge. The rhodium coating on the bridges was of a darker shade than the brand employed in the past.

Interestingly, the watch we studied came with two dials – a silver dial adorned with guilloché and subsidiary seconds, and a second dial with a lapis lazuli rim around the edges. The latter did not feature subsidiary seconds. Since the brand employed two variations of the calibre – 8.10 and 8.16 – for watches without and with subsidiary seconds, the two dials on this example each came with their own movement.

By all accounts, the Reference 6’s output was fractional even in the context of Urban Jürgensen & Sønner’s limited production. This is corroborated by Crott and Hans Ryser, a long-time friend of Baumberger’s who would eventually rise through the ranks to become chief operating officer for the brand in the 2010s. Crott says, “The sales director at the brand told me that he sold only about one or two examples. Commercially it was a flop.”

Ryser adds, “I don’t know much about it, except that I have only seen one sample. I never sold one, but Peter told me he had sold a few pieces. [I had] never seen the movement either.”

As we noted earlier, the Reference 6 remained on the catalogue till at least 2003, when it was offered for CHF 34,500 for gold cases. Platinum examples retailed for CHF 40,320.

Crott, who credits Baumberger’s refined and classical tastes for Urban Jürgensen & Sønner’s aesthetic, says, “I think the [References] 6 and 7 are a period where Peter lost his feeling for the top of the top.” While harsh, it seems to align generally with the reception the Reference 6 received.

As stated previously, both references 6 and 7 are outliers – not just in aesthetics, but in the numbers in which they were made. While the preceding reference was still rooted in traditional forms, the Reference 7 was entirely of its own world.

Termed “dia plago”, the nickname sounded like it had Greek roots but was entirely conjured up to reference the irregular form of the case. In this reference, form itself was a complication. “It’s a little bit like a Dali painting,” says Crott.

The case appeared as if its original rounded form had been melted and warped by a volcano, resulting in an irregular yet organic form. On closer inspection however, there was order to the design – the dimpled detail at 12 was mirrored at 6 o’clock; the former housed the gold knurled and domed crown. Similarly, the ear-shaped details at 3 and 9 o’clock mirrored each other’s form.

Structurally the case was similar to the monocoque examples the brand had produced earlier. Underpinning the irregular dial-side appearance was an exhibition caseback held in place by six gold screws.

The integrated bracelet here was an equal part of the architecture. Each link had a unique, fluid form that integrated perfectly with the one before and after – they were crafted from a single metal, with the second and third ones on either side embedded with diamonds. On the underside, the links had a hollowed-out aperture through which each one was screwed to the next.

The black dial had a subtle repeating layered texture of the sort found on natural stones that had formed layer by layer over millennia. The brand mark was printed on an arc along the top. The dial was devoid of furniture, save for the markers at 3, 6 and 9 – these had irregular forms, reinforcing the aesthetic of the case and bracelet. The time display was pared back with simple gold hours and minutes indicators only.

It is worth considering the era of gendered watches this was created in. Watches aimed at a female clientele tended to have interesting forms and were often bejewelled. As Urban Jürgensen & Sønner’s first reference aimed exclusively at this same demographic, it followed some of this formula.

Where it differed was in the movement itself. There was no quartz movement to be found here. In fact, the Reference 7 featured the same Frédéric Piquet calibre 71 as many before it had.

It turns out the watch was only part of the offering. In the interest of separating fact from lore, we have independently corroborated this detail from two sources. Crott says the Reference 7 “was ordered by a German client and collector, who was in the jewellery business. Five pieces were made [and they were] extremely expensive. This person apparently owned an island in the South Seas and when you bought the watch, you flew to this island to pick it up. You stayed there for three or four days and the price included everything.”

Ryser confirms this was part of the experience of buying the Reference 7. He adds, “Peter presented the watch at the Basel Fair in the late 1990s in a large aquarium with real piranha that he had rented from a zoo. The piranha had to be sedated to be moved, otherwise they would attack each other.” Crott says it brought to mind the New York City storefront displays Rolex had famously employed for their Oyster case watches in the first half of the 20th century.

Neither Crott nor Ryser is sure the brand managed to sell any of the five pieces. None have appeared on the market, either.

To most, this is the quintessential Urban Jürgensen & Sønner watch. Created in a number of configurations of metal and dial types, it was the first reference that wasn’t limited. While it is hard to know exactly how many were crafted, its production should be considered within the context of the 700 or so watches that were made in total in the era from 1982 to 2010, when the brand was under Baumberger’s direction.

Despite appearances, which were squarely within the Urban Jürgensen & Sønner universe, the Reference 8 marked several firsts for the brand. Produced in the same range of precious metals – yellow and rose gold, as well as platinum – there was also a series of 50 examples created in stainless steel with military-inspired dials. According to Voutilainen, the latter was created for a single client.

While all the watches in the series featured silver dials with engine-turning and printed indices, several examples of the Reference 8 were made with applied hour markers. The stainless-steel examples, with dials painted black, included Arabic hours that were filled with luminous material. Both of these styles were new to the Urban Jürgensen & Sønner vernacular.

Similarly, while the 37mm case marked a return to several details in the brand’s vernacular, namely the two-part case and teardrop lugs, this was the first time the brand offered the option of an exhibition caseback at a small premium.

The Reference 8 was initially fitted with the Frédéric Piguet calibre 1150, which beat at 21,600 vibrations per hour and, through its twin barrels, offered 100 hours of reserve. The movement was 25.6mm across and stood 3.25mm tall, with a full-sized winding rotor. Later, the brand transitioned to the related calibre 1160 that beat at 28,800 vibrations per hour and offered 72 hours of reserve.

Both movements possessed a trait where when the seconds hand was at 12 and the crown in the winding position was turned in a counterclockwise fashion, it stopped the seconds hand. The friction in the driving cannon pinion was greater than the force of the mainspring driving the gear train forward. The wearer could then pull out the crown and, while turning it counterclockwise, precisely set it to a reference time.

Irrespective of whether the movement was visible or hidden from view, it was finely finished with bridges adorned with Geneva striping, while the mainspring barrels were solarised. The 21k gold rotor, a mainstay for the brand in this era, was adorned with barleycorn engraving and featured the brand logo and precious metal hallmark.

Until this point, the brand had employed precious metals for the hands, but in the Reference 8 they were often a combination of gold and stainless steel. Creating these bi-metal variations was a more involved method – the stainless-steel hand, usually heat-blued, was set with a gold insert in the aperture of the observatoire-style hour hand as well as at the bases of both hours and minutes indicators. The base of the seconds indicator was also similarly adorned with gold. It reportedly required up to 50 steps and a day of labour to create a set of these hands.

However, there is some variation to be found in the combination of hands. We have seen examples with fully blued hands, just as there exist examples with blued hours hands with a gold insert paired with a gold seconds indicator. Then there were the more unusual examples with white gold inserts and caps at the base of the hands.

Most removed from this classical aesthetic was the military- or aviator-style dials. Paired with the luminous Arabic hour markers, the stainless-steel hands were also filled with luminous material. Stems of both hours and minutes hands were filled with luminous material, as was the arrow tip on top of the observatoire aperture of the hour hand. There was some variation on the application of luminous material in the observatoire aperture. They could be had with the rim of the aperture – which has three sectors – filled with luminous material. Alternatively, this aperture could be had with the three sectors hollowed out, while the inner portion of the aperture was filled with luminous material.

Built upon a solid-silver base, variations featured beautiful guilloché patterns achieved by hand. Each chapter was separated by traditional sauté piqué rims. The central expanse of the dial featured a horizontal barleycorn pattern, while the subsidiary seconds register held within it a basketweave pattern.

The printed chapters were laid out on rims with circular satination – the minutes and subsidiary seconds chapters were plots. In its most recognisable form, the Reference 8 featured a Roman hours chapter, interrupted only by the subsidiary seconds register at 6. All printing, including the arched brand mark and the place of origin at the centre of the dial, was of a dark blue shade to match the heat-blued hands.

However, a smaller number of the Reference 8 were made with applied hour markers straddling the minutes and hours chapters. The markers were faceted and crafted from the precious metal to match the hue of the case – we have seen platinum-cased examples with white-gold hour markers, while yellow-gold cases typically featured yellow-gold markers. While marginally removed from the prevailing aesthetic of this era of Urban Jürgensen & Sønner, the faceted hour markers added an element to the dial that toyed with light and added to the visual interest.

Another point of variation was the inclusion or lack of a date window. This was offered as an option on the catalogue with no price difference between those with and without the complication. The date window was accommodated within the sunken subsidiary seconds register at 6 o’clock. The date wheel in this standard configuration was white with black numerals.

We mention this because the brand produced a 50-piece stainless-steel iteration of the Reference 8 with an aviator-style black dial. In these, the date wheel could be colour-matched to the black dial. We have also seen examples of these aviator dials with higher-contrast white date wheels.

The dial in these examples was crafted in much the same way – a solid-silver base with barleycorn and basketweave engine-turning. These patterns were then coated in black paint with silver printed minutes and seconds chapters. The Arabic hours were also printed in silver and filled with luminous material – both were firsts for the brand. As we have noted before, the stainless-steel hands were also filled with luminous material.

The Reference 8 is the archetype of the simple, three-handed Urban Jürgensen & Sønner and was priced as an entry point into the brand’s catalogue. In the 2003 catalogue examples in gold were offered for CHF 23,660 with closed casebacks, while exhibition casebacks were offered at CHF 25,200. Platinum-cased Reference 8s were offered for CHF 33,120, while exhibition casebacks in this metal retailed for CHF 34,320.

It helps to think of the Reference 8 as a watch designed to bring a new generation of enthusiasts to the brand. The Big 8 was another move in a similar direction. While it was released after the period we are considering in this guide, the fact that it was an upsized iteration of the Reference 8 makes it important to address.

Overall, the Big 8 retained the details of the Reference 8, even though every element was proportionally sized up to meet the 40mm. The case stood at 10.5mm, versus the 8.5mm of the Reference 8. The case was made in all the same metals as the Reference 8. However, the Big 8 is most recognisable in stainless steel. Arguably the most significant difference between this and the Reference 8 was the inclusion of a screwed-back exhibition caseback.

In its standard guise, the silver dial was finished with the same style of engine-turning, and the heat-blued stainless-steel hands featured the gold inserts seen in the Reference 8. It too could be had with the military-inspired dial with luminous numerals and hands. The optional date was available in the Big 8 as well.

However, there were notable examples of the Big 8 produced in limited series. The first was the 2020 Big 8 London Edition, made in collaboration with A Collected Man in a series of 10 pieces. It featured the silver dial adorned with clous de Paris and basketweave patterns of engine-turning, and painted in British racing green. This iteration retailed for £13,500.

The second was the 20-piece Japan Edition watch with an eggshell grenage dial and applied Breguet Arabic numerals. This finish was achieved by brushing the dial with acids and powdered metals, finally coating it with mercury. This created a lightly textured yet smooth finish.

According to the brand’s price list from 2017, the Big 8 retailed for CHF 13,200 in stainless-steel, CHF 23,900 in gold and CHF 27,900 in platinum.

The Reference 9 is a marriage of the Reference 2 aesthetic with the layout of pocket watches such as the No. 3002 and No. 3028. Crott says, “The idea was that it would have the dial of a pocket watch with a typical perpetual calendar layout. I think there was a client who wanted this and so Peter said, ‘OK, I’ll make around 10-15 examples,’ somewhere around this number.”

It was first revealed at Baselworld in the late 1990s. The watch had much in common with the Reference 2, from case proportions (38mm) to the calibre underpinning it. While there is every indication that only a small number of the reference were produced, initially there was some conversation that there would be a series of 300 examples, with a 100 each in yellow gold, rose gold and platinum. So far, just six have surfaced on the market – No. 001 in yellow gold, No. 001 in platinum, No. 004 in platinum, No. 003 in rose gold, and No. 008 in rose gold.

To start off, the moonphase indication remained at 12, while the register at 6 was home to the date indication. However, when compared with the dial of the Reference 2, it is apparent that these registers were proportionally diminished to accommodate the additional registers at 3 and 9 o’clock. This is most apparent in the register at 6 – while in the Reference 2 this hour marker was absent, in the Reference 9 it was partially visible in the same way that it peeked from behind the registers at 3 and 9 o’clock. Consequently, this layout lent the dial more symmetry.

The chapters with the printed minutes and Roman hours were laid out on brushed rings, with similar chapters for the day, month, and date registers. The centre of the silver dial was adorned with horizontal barleycorn engine-turning, while the registers wore a basketweave pattern. Rose-gold observatoire hands were paired with cases of the same metal, while we have seen examples with yellow-gold and platinum cases with yellow-gold hands. The registers were plied by dauphine hands.

The registers were printed in blue, so while the subsidiary register layout had classical references, the overall appearance was fresh and modern.

While the Reference 9 was imagined as the successor to the Reference 2, it was produced for just three years. However, it remained on the catalogues until as late as 2017. It was originally offered in gold for CHF 106,800 and in platinum for CHF 119,000 in 2003, with list prices significantly softening by 2017. Then in gold it was retailing for CHF 75,000, while the platinum had a price tag of CHF 89,900.

The reference coincided with a period where independent watchmaking was marked by avant-garde designs, and deeply personal visions of watchmaking were proliferating fast. In this world, the Reference 9 was perhaps a bit too classical and a bit too expensive. Whether these factors had anything to do with the limited number that were sold is hard to deduce. Crott notes that when he sold ownership of the company, four examples remained unsold. Ryser says he only ever sold one example with a platinum case.

The Reference 10 was in many ways a sign of things to come. It mined from the classical basis of the brand and was aesthetically analogous to the Reference 2. However, as a reference conceived in the early 2000s, it was not immune to the shifting preferences for larger case sizes. Its proportions would indicate the future direction of the brand beyond the Baumberger years.

In its details, the Reference 10’s case was much like the ones on the references 2, 3 and 9 – it was two-part, with the flowing, stepped form meeting a rounded flank. The teardrop lugs were retained, as was the cutout detail on the right flank of the case, which accommodated the signed and knurled crown. The caseback, while also of the snapped-on variety as seen in the previous reference noted above, was exhibition-style. Hallmarks adorned the caseback detailing the brand mark and precious metal the case was crafted from.

Almost nothing gave away that the case was indeed sized up to 40mm. Every detail we noted above had been proportionately sized up to make this difference in dimension barely perceptible.

The familiar theme continued on the dial as well. The complications – moonphase, month, date and day – are exactly where you would find them on the Reference 2. This is because it is more than likely that the Reference 10 employed the same Lemania-developed perpetual calendar module as the Reference 2 and 9. However, owing to the larger case size and consequentially wider dial, the overall dial appearance in the Reference 10 was marginally different.

While the registers at 12 and 6 o’clock entirely obscured the printed hour markers in the Reference 2, in the Reference 10 they were partially visible. Similarly, more of the 3 and 9 o’clock markers were visible in the Reference 10 despite the windows displaying the month and day indications.

Beyond this, the engine-turning on the solid-silver dial was done in the same two patterns – horizontal barleycorn on the central portion, with the two registers at 12 and 6 o’clock featuring a basketweave pattern. The only difference was that the register at 6 was also home to the running subsidiary seconds – a feature of the Frédéric Piguet calibre 1160. As a result, the seconds hand and the date indicator were co-axially mounted. The seconds hand corresponded to an inner chapter with plots at five second intervals and printed dash-style markers for the intervening seconds.

The Reference 10 also featured the bi-metal variety of the observatoire hands – the stems were heat-blued, while the round aperture on the hour hand had a gold insert. As before, the bases were also topped with gold. For visual distinction, the date indicator was crafted from gold while the running seconds was heat-blued stainless steel.

As we noted earlier, the Reference 10 was underpinned by the calibre 1160. First employed in the Reference 8, its twin barrels offered 72 hours of reserve. The movement beat at 28,800 vibrations per hour. It was wound by the full-sized gold rotor with barleycorn engraving and the precious metal and brand marks.

In terms of production, what we do know is that for the first time a watch was serially produced in white gold, in addition to the yellow and rose gold and platinum that were the brand’s mainstay. In fact, this was the first instance of the brand offering white gold since the special-order series of the Reference 2. According to a catalogue from 2017 the brand, then under new ownership, was still offering the Reference 10 in all its metals – gold examples were listed for CHF 76,000 while platinum-cased versions were priced at CHF 91,200.

Ryser says, “While the Reference 10 was unlimited, production remained small – in total, about 20-30 pieces. [During my time] I have sold five pieces. In my view, the Reference 2 is one of the most perfect perpetual calendar watches ever made. The Reference 10 is equally perfect in that it retains much of the charm of the original, as designed by Baumberger.”

According to Crott, even fewer still were produced. He says, “When I sold the company [in 2014], we had five pieces in stock, produced in rose and white gold. According to the sales manager 15 pieces were made [but I actually think] even fewer were created.”

Crott of course sold Urban Jürgensen & Sønner to a Danish investor group led by ex-Nokia executive Søren Petersen. Petersen too is of a similar view. He says, "In my period I never had more than 1 or 2 in stock of Reference 10; [according to] the last stock list when [we] sold to the Rosenfields, there was only one in stock – in platinum. Based on my knowledge – also from the fact that very few blank cases were in stock – I am certain that less than 10 were ever made. We also never received any for service, or requests for extract from archives."

Of these, a very small number have appeared publicly. This includes No. 007 in rose gold, No. 009 in rose gold, and No. 008 in white metal. We have seen another white-metal unnumbered example as well.

The Reference 10 is best viewed as a bridge between the worlds of References 2 and 3 and what came after the Reference 10. It was perhaps the last reference that issued from Baumberger’s classical vision for the brand. This would also be the last of the Lemania-developed perpetual calendar and moonphase complication, and its pairing with a self-winding ébauche from Frédéric Piguet. However, the larger 40mm case employed in the Reference 10 would continue to be employed by the brand’s new management over the next few years.

The reference still employed this era’s signature engine-turned dials, although Pratt – the watchmaker who helped create the aesthetic – was less and less involved in day-to-day operations, mostly as a result of his ill health. Voutilainen increasingly played a more essential role at this time.

While many of the 10 references Baumberger shepherded had truncated runs, the Reference 10’s serial production faced many obstacles, including issues of demand owing to a global financial crisis starting in 2008. The brand was perhaps also increasingly preoccupied with developing its proprietary calibre with a detent escapement.

Baumberger was interested in the Cla92 – a manually wound minute-repeater tourbillon ébauche first created as the name indicates in 1992, as well as the Cla88, the fixed escapement version and predecessor to the Cla92. Claret says, “The tourbillon ran at 18,000 vibrations per hour, with a single barrel, an anchor-type strike governor, and a tout ou rien mechanism. This was the movement we sold Peter.”

Claret adds, “We customised it for each client brand, but unfortunately Peter did not want to incur the costs for this type of personalisation. I would have loved to design a customisation inspired in every detail by Urban Jürgensen pocket watches. But Peter did not have enough clients for such a product, which is why he bought only a few movements from me in existing configurations.”

Despite this, Urban Jürgensen & Sønner did tinker with the ébauches in terms of aesthetics, mechanics, and complication. There exists for instance a unique example with a monopusher chronograph module. They were paired with different styles of dials as well.

In its most classical form, the calibre’s architecture mirrored its inspiration from the 19th-century Louis-Elysée Piguet minute-repeater ébauches inside watches No. 3021, No. 3024, and No. 3019, cased and finished by Pratt in the early 1980s. This was evident in the form of the bridges, especially the finger-style ones anchoring the wheels of the going train.

One of the first examples was a series of three Minute Repeater Tourbillon watches created in 2004. These were cased in platinum and measured 40mm across. The cases were analogous to those employed in the Reference 10, save for the well-integrated minute-repeater slider on the left flank. While the silver dials still employed horizontal barleycorn engine-turning, the brand and Copenhagen mark were done in a new sans-serif style. The subsidiary seconds register at 9 was open worked. The movement, seen through display caseback, showed a closed bridge version of the Claret ébauche with a one-minute tourbillon, designated UJS-Cla92.

There exist examples of the Minute Repeater Tourbillon with the option of an open-work dial, first showcased at Baselworld in 2009. The open layout showed off the baseplate, gears, keyless works, and much of the architecture of the calibre UJS-Cla92, including the hammers.

However, a Minute Repeater we handled in the past, powered by the Cla88 bears much in common with the architecture of the movements in the pocket watches we noted earlier. However, according to watchmaker John McGonigle, who worked at Christophe Claret at the time, the ébauche’s bridges were inspired by movements by 19th century watchmaker Jämes C. Pellaton. McGonigle also confirmed that Baumberger had indeed procured two examples of the Cla88 ébauche.

The first example featuring this calibre was seen in 2006 and the second one retailed in 2012, a couple of years after Baumberger’s passing. Cased in platinum and measuring 40mm across, it featured a silver dial that was much more classical. As a counter to the subsidiary seconds register at 9 was a register with the words “repetition minutes”, referencing its complication. While the movement was obscured from view by a screwed-down closed caseback, the calibre was still finely finished. As noted below, in this watch it bore closest resemblance to the vintage pocket-watch ébauche by F. Piguet.

One of the better documented iterations was the unique piece from 2014, during Crott’s ownership of the brand. The reference 14 TRM E PT 1/1 features the Claret minute-repeater ébauche with a one-minute tourbillon and a regulator dial layout. The Tourbillon Minute Repeater Regulator was fitted to a platinum case measuring a larger 42.5mm across, with an eggshell-coloured enamel dial by master artists Jean and Lucy Genbrugge (best known for the Vacheron Constantin Mercator dials).

One of the most elusive of these was the Minute Repeater Chronograph. Likely based on the same Claret minute-repeater ébauche, the brand completed the watch in 2005. This unique example was cased in 40mm of platinum. The minute repeater slider on the left flank was balanced by the crown at 3 and the flat chronograph monopusher between 1 and 2 o’clock. The manually wound calibre was displayed through the exhibition caseback.

Crott says that in addition to the Tourbillon Minute Repeater Regulator, the brand also created two more examples based on the Claret ébauche calibres. He says, "Under the guidance of Bernhard Zwinz we reinterpreted a second one as a perpetual calendar with a case that was adapted by [Jean-Pierre] Hagmann. After I left [Urban Jürgensen & Sønner], Zwinz reinterpreted a third one with perpetual calendar and leap year indication. These three are the most complicated UJS wristwatches ever made."

He added, “In one day the Swatch Group bought up both those companies F. Piguet and Lemania. Peter knew that the Swatch Group [could] change their mind in one day and decide not to sell their movements any more. They were doing this with other companies with their ETA moments. He understood he had a big problem and that’s why he was obliged to pursue his only option, which was to make his own movement. He knew [Jean-Francois] Mojon, who at that time was working at IWC, and trusted him with the project.”

Baumberger became Mojon’s first client at the specialist movement concern that would become Chronode.

Crott added, “I will not say I am the guiding force behind the [P4 and P8] calibres, but I did tell Peter in the 1990s that collectors’ preference was for premium brands to have their manufacture calibres.”

The idea was to create a calibre that could host a suite of complications from calendar to power-reserve indications and be deployed as a manually wound or self-winding movement. In its simplest form, with a Swiss lever escapement, it would be the P4 calibre. However, Baumberger’s ambition and his classical predilections made him reach for something that had so far seemed unobtainable – a wristwatch calibre with a pivoted detent escapement. This would be the P8.

Voutilainen says, “Peter liked the detent escapement because of his pocket watches. He wasn’t really aware of the difficulties [of having it in a wristwatch], and he didn’t care about that sort of thing either. He just had this obsession that we must make something special. He was thinking this detent escapement is special and it will be different. From a practical sense, it’s not that easy to do and it created a lot of development work and challenges.”

The development phase, shrouded in secrecy, lasted between 2003 and 2005, with Mojon working in concert with both Pratt and Voutilainen. The latter duo tested and re-tested prototypes and shared their learnings with Mojon.

Both the P8 and P4 versions beat at 21,600 vibrations per hour and both movements had hacking seconds. The P8’s pivoted detent avoided much of the sliding friction that characterises the interaction between the teeth on the escape wheel and the jewels of the pallet fork in a Swiss lever arrangement. In fact, the detent escapement design halved the number of interactions between the detent staff and the escape wheel; as a result, the seconds hand advanced three times a second, while in the Swiss lever P4 it advanced six times in the same period. However, the design that eliminated sliding friction also made the detent staff more susceptible to the vagaries of gravity and shock. To mitigate this, the escapement in the P8 was built with a safety roller to prevent the escapement from galloping away and hindering stable balance amplitude.

Voutilainen says, “There were quite a few [variants] – we made date systems, automatic systems, power reserve. There were quite a few prototypes. We were testing them and reporting back to Chronode. They were changing things, trying new parts and we [were] testing them again. It was a collaboration.”

The plan to incorporate different complications and winding systems was built into the design of the calibre. It was most evident in the shape of the bridges, especially along the periphery, where there was room to accommodate a winding rotor in the future. This was a detail found only in the earliest examples of the calibre P4 and P8; the bridges were later redesigned during Crott’s ownership of the brand, as collectors thought it made the movement look unfinished.

Despite the challenge, the team at Chronode and Urban Jürgensen & Sønner managed to achieve a result and Voutilainen counts it as one of his proudest moments from his initial time with the brand. He says, “When we were prototyping the P8 calibre we made the first 10 examples … and all 10 passed the chronometer test at once. So that was a big challenge given it was a new movement, new escapement. That was a big thing.”

The P8 prototypes were subjected to and passed Chronofiable durability testing, which monitored resistance to shocks, temperature fluctuations, and sudden acceleration, such as in a fall. It was also certified by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC). According to Crott, the prototypes’ timing performance was up to 40% better than watches from most other brands that had these tests. In 2009, Baumberger and Chronode were awarded a global patent for their pivoted detent escapement design.

Baumberger first teased a prototype featuring the P8 calibre at Baselworld in 2009. The plan was for an official release the following year. However, this plan would not be realised. Crott, in his capacity as chief operations officer, advised Baumberger that the brand was not ready for the launch. A few weeks later Baumberger passed away unexpectedly. Crott, who took over as CEO, brought the P8 to market in the Reference 11C in 2011. As Crott was in the middle of selling the brand in 2014, the P8-powered Reference 11C with central seconds won the men’s watch prize at the GPHG.

It is understood that 40 examples of the calibre P8 went on to be produced, with about 25 of them cased in rose gold, platinum and stainless steel. In contrast, just 24 prototypes of the calibre P4 were ever created, making it even rarer than the P8.

Says Crott, "On Kari's recommendation, I tried to recruit watchmakers with experience with detent escapements. I engaged Richard Daners, the famous watchmaker of Gübelin as well as two other renowned watchmakers Marion Müller and Bernhard Zwinz. Aside from other developments, we changed the shape of the escape wheel and [created] a shorter detent. This resulted in two prototypes during my time – detent version 2 watch with movement number 105 in a rose gold case and detent version 3 with number 129 in a platinum case."

He added, "The most delicate part of the escapement was the stop pallet in ruby. We could not find a supplier anymore for this tiny piece. So I was lucky to find a solution in heavy industry – an alloy of bronze and aluminium with an extremely low friction factor which Müller fitted in my personal detent watch N°116 with enamel dial. I have worn the watch since then and it runs perfectly."

There is much to study and appreciate in the wristwatches made in this era of Urban Jürgensen & Sønner. It is certainly a story of a proto-independent by metrics such as an emphasis on hand-craft, small production and ambition to create a proprietary calibre with a historically minded innovation at its heart. All these factors coalesced to create an aesthetic that is by and large both of the era and immediately recognisable.

That the historic name was shaped by the hands of such a large ensemble of larger-than-life characters, each of whom left a distinct mark on the watches, makes the references produced in this period all the more compelling to modern collectors. In an act of fateful circularity, one of them continues to guide the Urban Jürgensen story even today, riffing on pieces produced in the era we have discussed in this collectors’ guide.