Zach Brass
A few years ago, Urban Jürgensen came to my radar with one sporty and modern watch. Historically speaking, the brand has long had an aesthetic that describes as Breguet’s Danish twist. The Urban Jurgensen One was a new entry into the popular high-end steel integrated bracelet watch segment at peak height. Despite the attention and niche appeal, continuing the brand as is clearly not enough. Brands with primarily high-end dressy pieces in their catalogues have a buzz behind them to succeed, and need a constant stream of interest and intrigue, thinking about the journey of Cartier and FP.
So, when news broke that the brand had been bought by the Rosenfields in 2021, well-known watchmaker Kari Vouteilanen joined the army to work as co-CEO. We all wanted to see what the next chapter was for the historic brand, first established in 1773. However, it turns out that this week, it will only be four years later that everything was finally revealed. I’ve seen three debut novelties before, so this is my last question. What is the location of the city of Jurgensen in the watch market?
New City Jurgensen Clock
Let’s start by talking a bit about the first three watch designs of the revived brand and how each one is different.
UJ-1: Anniversary Dash
The first of the three new city Jurgensen models was to rethink Derek Pratt’s oval pocket watch, which he created along with for the brand. The new UJ-1 accomplishes previously immeasurable tasks to fit the movement of the oval tourbillon into the watch, again increasing it even further in seconds of d’égalité and deadbeat.
The UJ-1 is an 18k rose gold case or platinum 950 case, with a diameter of 39.5mm and a thickness of 12.2mm. Whether gray or silver, it is very elaborately hand-applied with linear particles d’orgeguilloché for the main dial and Clous de Paris 45° Guilloché for the auxiliary dial of small seconds. The rose gold plated in-house UJ-1 caliber with a one-minute flying tour bilon and a constant force mechanism has a very classic beat rate of 18,000 VPH and a 47-hour power reserve.
UJ-2: Three-handed watch with a natural escape with double wheels
Available in a platinum or rose gold case, 39mm diameter and 10.9mm thickness, the UJ-2 is the simplest of the three debut pieces, but there’s nothing easy about achieving such a high quality watch. Each example is said to take 565 hours to complete. Its decorated dial displays the power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock position, at the center hour and minute, and at the center small minutes.
The movement of that UJ-2 company “featurs the natural escape of double wheels, inspired by the design concept of Jurgensen’s urban leader Abraham Louis Breguet in the 18th century, and today, is characterized by the natural escape of double wheels completed by Cali. According to the brand, the system improves the efficiency of the caliber by 30% compared to the typical Swiss lever escapement. However, this has an efficiency and a classic 18,000 VPH, but has a power reserve of just 52 hours. However, it should be noted that this is closer to the 18th century movement produced in this century: a real-time capsule on the wrist.
UJ-3: A permanent calendar with instantaneous lunar phase
Finally, and certainly not of the three. The UJ-3 was developed in collaboration with Kari and Master Watchmaker/Engineer Andreas Strehler. With a diameter of 39mm and thickness of 13.9mm, the UJ-3 integrates the natural escape of the city’s Jurgensen double wheels found in the UJ-2, with the signs of the accurate moon face of the Streller, which has been said to be accurate for 14,000 years. The UJ-3 marks first time when a continuous, permanent calendar has the natural escape of double wheels for the first time. Like the UJ-1 and UJ-2, you can find exquisite handcrafts throughout the watch, from the engine-turned-case buckling.
For fans of classic watchmaking, these designs are not surprising, and certainly stimulate desire and desire among traditionalists. But discovering prices in just a second may invoke the fact that the movement is not the solid gold that you’ll find on your FP journey. Again, I argue that the finish of the movement is higher, softer, and on solid gold surfaces and edges is not possible. Also, the innovation in watches is interesting to note that it brings things backwards. This is great in a romantic sense, but not so much in areas like caliber stamina where there is no longer a power reserve that lasts longer than within two days.
Who will Jurgensen really compete?
Answer: The latest list of growth lists of watch brands that truly cater to the wealthy mega collectors of the world. Set at UJ-2’s CHF 105,000, Urban Jürgensen’s new entry point is the 3 prices of the CHF 368,000, and the CHF 368,000, which is a serious high-end watchmaking business. With the UJ-3 Anniversary Watch, Tourbillon watches are limited to 75 total, with 25 per configuration. Assuming they are all selling, they are likely to be very likely, and in this range alone they will earn revenues of the brand CHF 27,600,000. The question is how long it takes to complete a 75-piece run.
The UJ-2 and UJ-3 are not limited editions, but annual production will be private. That being said, if the UJ-2 takes 565 hours to complete, you can only make about 15 of them each year. It assumes that the watchmaker is working non-stop with zero sleep. Perhaps the UJ-3 will take even longer to complete.
For comparison, last year’s Morgan Stanley report found that the FP Journe sold around 1,800 watches, which attracted the CHF 98,000,000. FP Journe claims it does not exceed 1,000 mechanical watches per year (except the Quartz Elegante Line), so we cannot truly trust this approximation. But it only shows how aggressively high-end the rebooted city of Jurgensen’s approach is. Urban Jürgensen has played in the tier beyond Patek Philippe and beyond FP Journe, and instead has faced head-to-head with Rexhep Rexhepi/Akrivia, Philippe Dufour, Greubel Forsey, Roger W. Smith and Biver Watches.
These brands only have 1% of collectors to afford, and command even less prices in terms of who actually gets assigned. All their products are natural investments and if you go to auction, they are already guaranteed to sell at multiples at a higher price tag. This draws in the wider crowd. Perhaps there is no interest in the watchmaking behind a piece beyond creating incredible investment opportunities.
What the city’s renewal of Jurgensen suggests is a clear trend that has been strengthened over the past decade. If a brand that produces small amounts of watches with higher priced tags can establish a cult high-end collector, then the table seems to have a great opportunity. FP Journe is by no means independent, but as it grew, it gave others the confidence to take on an independent brand with a focus on quality rather than massive quantities.
Even the larger conglomerate group of watches has clearly revealed attempts to compete in this promising segment of watchmaking in the revival of Daniel Ross at LVMH. Contrary to what conglomerates like LVMH would expect, all revived Ross brands focus on high-quality watchmaking, with limited production numbers.
I also wondered whether Urban Jürgensen’s biggest competitor was a brand named after Kari Voutilainen, ironically. The aesthetics aren’t necessarily the same, but both brands perform at similar levels of watchmaking, and Voutilainen certainly finds inspiration from greats like Breguet and Jürgensen in his work. Both play in similar price ranges and have similarly low production, so it will be interesting to see if they will adjust the type of watches produced by the Voutilainen brand and the price they request over the next few years.
Final Thoughts
It is very interesting to see such high-end, low-volume watchmaking become increasingly saturated and perhaps almost too saturated within the watch market. More and more, we see investors and watchmakers trying to photograph routes like Hermes. Prioritize craftsmanship and create strategic, natural rarity blends to develop wealthy collectors who eat small amounts of products at top dollar. But is there a chance that this level of brand exists before there are more watches than buyers?
It seems at this point it’s still far from oversaturated, given the mysterious cue of Philip Dufour’s simplicity, Roger W. Smith series watches, and a healthy list of collectors, are depressed about not being able to get the latest Bernellon or Acrivia.
As merely a person in terms of exploitation, I have mixed feelings about this, but I recognize that my perceived negativity is superficial and positive. It kills me, but incredible watches like Jurgensen in these new cities are absolute bullying I am never myself, and the ongoing investment in this level of watch brand and such high-end pass proves that there is not only a demand for such a noble class, but also a critical need to ensure that the artisans who can make them. And this is great news.
In recent years, watchmaking has become more automated (in a figurative and literal sense), and we have confirmed that we are at risk of extinction of A to Z watches. This is why it’s reassuring to see companies like LVMH actively seek to be the source of such schooling and cultivation.
It is clear that we cannot lose such a master watch maker, and while we cannot die not only romantic romantic, but rather it will cause financial problems with so many independent powerhouse survivors, where a pool of highly trained and skilled watch makers is now available. At the very least, we all can find comfort in that the cultivation of our masterwatch makers is robust and truly financially motivated, and ultimately financially motivated to move the needle.
