URBAN JÜRGENSEN ‘THE ALFRED’ – IN TUNE WITH THE TIMES

Urban Jürgensen watches reflect classic design, restrained elegance, and quiet confidence. Their beauty is the result of a long-lasting passion for uncompromising artisanship. Each piece is crafted with the belief that perfection is seldom the product of haste and that only an unwavering commitment to excellence can inspire emotion in those who will wear them.

Named in tribute to Jacques Alfred Jürgensen, the last watchmaker of the Jurgensen family, the new Alfred model distils the best of the brand’s century-old tradition and simultaneously ads a touch of modernity to its collections.

The iconic case with teardrop shape lugs is fashioned out of stainless steel and opts for a modern 42 mm diameter. Each lug is individually forged, meticulously hand-finished and soldered to the watch case in a way which makes the soldering lines invisible to the naked eye. Its finely polished convex bezel frames a domed sapphire crystal. The recessed, fluted crown is engraved with the Urban Jürgensen logo.

Its ‘Grenage’ dial is a manifestation of elaborate craftsmanship. ‘Grenage’ is a traditional, time-consuming technique that aims at obtaining a silvery, frosted surface with remarkable depth and granularity. This rare finishing is patiently honed by hand from a single piece of solid silver. The Urban Jürgensen numerals and other inscriptions on the dial are engraved and the recesses are filled with lacquer. The dial is then brushed to remove the excess of material and to smooth its surface using powders, salts, and oil which makes each dial unique.

The understated elegance of the dial is paired with distinctive hands. Entirely handcrafted, a single set requires some 50 manufacturing steps and over a day of work; the surfaces are patiently finished, the steel arms are thermally blued, the eye of the hour hand is mirror-polished.

These hands are advanced precisely by the Urban Jürgensen Caliber P4 with manual winding. Displaying small seconds at 6 o’clock, this twin barrel caliber runs at 21’600 vibrations per hour with a 72h autonomy. Finished to the ambitious Urban Jurgensen standards, it can be admired through the exhibition case-back. The P4 caliber is decorated with Geneva stripes radiating from the balance wheel and perlage. The full balance bridge is openwork and the contours of the bridges are underscored with superb manual chamfering. Jewel sinks and recesses are finely polished and the screws are thermally blued.

̒The Alfred̓ is worn on a brown leather strap finished off with contrast white stitch is carefully sewn by hand. Made with the finest calf leather, it has a very natural and soft feel and its color tends to change as the strap ages.

̒The Alfred̓ is true to the brand’s legacy in creating classics but with a modern twist. Authentic, original and crafted with exacting attention to details, it is simply in tune with the times.

MEET THE MAKERS

̒The Alfred̓ is available for sale directly from Urban Jürgensen.

Buyers will have the opportunity to collect their watches directly from the company’s new atelier in Bienne, Switzerland, at a quarterly rendezvous hosted by the company’s CEO, Soren Jenry Petersen, who will personally hand over the finished watches and introduce the buyers to the craftsmen who have spent months working on them.It will be an opportunity for the company to explain its unique “grenage” dial finish, the intricacy of its hour and minute hands, which are assembled and finished by hand, as well as our in-houseP4 manually wound mechanical movement.

JACQUES ALFRED JURGENSEN (1842-1912)

The Urban Jürgensen tradition goes as far back as 1745 when Jürgen Jürgensen was born in Copenhagen. Jürgen Jürgensen founded a horological dynasty that would have a significant influence on watchmaking in Denmark and Switzerland over decades.

Jacques Alfred Jürgensen is the second member of the fourth generation of Jürgensen watchmakers and the second generation in Switzerland. Born in Le Locle in 1842 as the youngest son of Jules Jürgensen, he was trained as a watchmaker, and he was integrated to the daily affairs of the family company at the age of 19. Known for working on chronographs and other complications of the highest quality, his watches were regularly distinguished at watchmaking exhibitions. He even set up his own company that was located under the same roof as the Jules Jürgensen Copenhagen company in Le Locle, producing watches under his own name or unsigned to third parties including to Tiffany & Co New York.

We have the faith and love in our art’

– Jacques Alfred Jürgensen 

̒The Alfred̓ is priced *€14,300 + VAT

To inquire about ‘The Alfred’ visit: www.alfred.watch or email: [email protected]

*Price correct at time of press release 17.10.17.