Urban Jürgensen - The Alfred

Named in tribute to Jacques Alfred Jürgensen, the last watchmaker of the Jurgensen family, the new Alfred model created by the haute horlogerie brand combines the excellence of watchmaking craftsmanship respectful of centuries-old traditions with a nice contemporary touch.

The Alfred maintains the iconic case with teardrop shape lugs that makes each Urban Jürgensen watch immediately recognizable. 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. Other details that add beauty to this case are the finely polished convex bezel framing a domed sapphire crystal and the recessed, fluted crown engraved with the Urban Jürgensen logo.

The modern touch comes from the choice of the material, not a precious metal but a more dynamic stainless steel, and a larger diameter of 42 mm.

The steel of the case is beautifully matched to a precious “grenage” dial, 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 calibre runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour with 72 hours of power reserve. Finished to the demanding Urban Jürgensen standards, it can be admired through the exhibition case-back.

The P4 calibre 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 by hand-made chamfering. Jewel sinks and recesses are finely polished and the screws are thermally blued.

The Alfred̓ is worn on a brown calf leather strap with contrasting white stitches carefully sewn by hand.

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.

As Urban Jürgensen describes it, the Alfred is a classic watch with a modern twist, perfectly in tunes with the times.

The Urban Jürgensen Alfred has a price, before local taxes, of Euro 14,300 / Swiss Frans 15,200 which sounds very appealing considering the exceptional level of finishing and overall quality. urbanjurgensen.com