A 250-Year-Old, Underrated Royal Watchmaker Returns
Urban Jürgensen is back, and better than ever. The 250-year-old Scandinavian independent watch brand, once reserved for deep-cut vintage collectors who say “if you know, you know,” without irony, has returned from a decade-long sabbatical.
A storied master of horological craft has been resurrected, and it’s here to engineer the next chapter in high watchmaking.
Highsnobiety had a front-row seat in Los Angeles, where Urban Jürgensen’s new creative team and CEOs unveiled the Danish company’s freshly revised vision.
“To me, Urban Jürgensen is about handmade watchmaking at the highest level, but done with a sense of joy, playfulness, and inclusivity,” says co-CEO Alex Rosenfield at his Southern California Brentwood home.
“I’ve always loved Urban Jürgensen. My father started collecting UJ in the ’90s, and some of my favorite watches growing up were the ones he wore. The brand has always had this incredible sense of classicism and elegance that still feels modern.”
Alongside Kari Voutilainen (arguably one of the greatest living watchmakers, known for collaborations with Louis Vuitton and his own award-winning brand), Rosenfield introduced three new models to an audience of stars, artists, and editors.
Constance royalty Leighton Meester, who played the iconic Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl, was in attendance. As were creatives like James Turrell and Kyle Kuzma, both of whom expressed to me how thoroughly blown away they were by the simple complexity of the UJ-1 — a 250th-anniversary tourbillon costing around $412,000, with only 75 pieces made.
Also on display was the UJ-2, a clean three-hander that’ll set you back around $117,600, and the UJ-3, a perpetual calendar with moonphase ($188,000).
Each watch is united by a razor-sharp Danish design language, centuries of legacy, and Voutilainen’s obsessive craftsmanship, from shimmering hand-cut guilloché dials to minimalist layouts and hand-applied numerals.
The designs are minimal, but deceptively so. Flip one over and you’ll see why collectors are obsessed. Exhibition casebacks reveal movements worthy of a horological wing in the Louvre (if such a thing existed), and even if you need a few reads of the user manual to grasp the details, you don’t need to be an expert to feel the magic.
Signature elements like teardrop lugs, observatory hands, and guilloché dials remain, but now shimmer with new energy. These are far from archival reissues. Rather, they’re reinterpretations, executed with the reverence of a fashion house reviving its codes for a new era. Just like haute couture requires hand-stitching and centuries-old techniques, UJ’s watches feature hand-cut dials, antique finishing, and almost supernatural levels of precision.
The UJ-1 shrinks down Derek Pratt’s legendary pocket watch into a tourbillon wristwatch, complete with a constant-force remontoir. The UJ-3 is for the space-curious, featuring a moonphase accurate for 14,000 years. And the UJ-2? A sleek, refined daily wearer with the same horological backbone.
You’d be forgiven for never having heard of Urban Jürgensen, but among collectors, it’s got a cult following. Founded over 250 years ago, this was the brand that made watches for Danish royalty (literally, the watchmaker of the kings), collaborated with horological legends like Derek Pratt, and quietly built some of the most beautifully finished timepieces in history.
Though brought into the modern day, Urban Jürgensen’s quiet watchmaking mastery has not been lost. It is the steadfast focus of its rebrand, played out under the motto Time Well Spent.
Even if you don’t have six figures to drop on a tourbillon, UJ wants you to appreciate what this collection represents: timeless design.
“Whether you’re deep into watches, just getting started, or simply love beautifully made things, we want you to feel welcome,” Rosefield explains to me.
It might not be as universally known as Patek or Rolex, but that’s kind of the point. UJ was always for the ones who really knew. Now, after years of near-misses and whispered reverence, it’s welcoming a new generation into its craft-obsessed world.
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