samwan
2414
Urban Jurgensen Ref 1140 RG
Although headquartered in Biel/Bienne in Switzerland, Urban Jurgensen is mainly seen as a Danish brand because of its founders two centuries ago. The brand name was derived from the father-and-son combination of Jurgen and Urban Jurgensen. Ownership subsequently changed hands a few times since 1983 but the brand has retained its traditional culture of fine watchmaking.
As part of the 1745 series, the reference 1140 in rose gold has a chocolate brown dial and is a limited production of just 20 pieces. It features a sculpted 3-piece case, tear-drop lugs and Voutilainen-style hour hands - which more or less explains its pejorative nick name - "poor men's Observatoire" - though not an entirely fair view in my opinion.
Take a look at the finishing - this particular reference is characterized by solid rose gold Arabic numerals (that I really like) and an engine-turned guilloche dial on solid silver (which requires several hundred operations and 2 to 3 days of hand craftsmanship). The manual-winding watch is housed in a 40 mm case and run on an in-house P4 caliber. The movement also incorporates a twin-barrel and a stop seconds function while the dial is equipped with a circular brushed chapter ring.
Following the design's generally good reception, Urban Jurgensen rolled out a less-pricey steel model paired with an attractive champagne dial, this time limited to 50 pieces.
Feel free to check out the pictures and tell me how you like it...
More posts:
Urban Jurgensen Ref 1140 RG
Although headquartered in Biel/Bienne in Switzerland, Urban Jurgensen is mainly seen as a Danish brand because of its founders two centuries ago. The brand name was derived from the father-and-son combination of Jurgen and Urban Jurgensen. Ownership subse...
I love it . Love that dial color and case combo
That movement and case design are just gorgeous.
Thanks for posting Sam!
I love everything about it apart from the size which is why I do not have a UJ in my collection unfortunately.
Yes, it is an elegant design
and the tapering Cotes de Geneve on the movement is classy....
I like it a lot!
The only 'negative' is that it ruins similar hands of other brands eg Breguet for me, as the UJ work is at a completely different level. All the best, Alex
The hands are in fact reminiscent of
18th and 19th century marine chronometers made by Urban Jurgensen...
they are spectacular, if not easily the best in the industry. The craftsmanship and detail is unseen. Thanks for sharing this beauty!
I also like the white gold, salmon dial version. Probably the best one. All the best, Alex
Sublime
This is a silent kinda beauty. It speaks volumes without the need of mass market branding.
A beautiful watch
And please keep in mind Kari worked at UJS for many years before starting his own atelier, so if anything the inspiration for these observatoire hands started with UJS, not with Kari.
They are very brave to throw some inward angles into the movement...
...something not even the 'big boys' usually do. Like Sham, I'd prefer 38mm even though I have a relatively large wrist...
Beautiful, balanced, elegant and composed
What comes to my mind when I see it. The execution is just flawless, on a very high level. The movement, gorgeous. The only thing I don‘t like (on any watch) is the use of more than one guilloche pattern on the dial - but that’s just me. Thanks for sharin...
Ultimate beauty
In my view, this watch outshines even Kari’s master pieces and that is because I like the hands on the UJ more than the arrow shaped hands on KV. In particular, this version in rose gold with chocolate dial is sensational. Gentlemen, just note the contras...
