In the XVIII century Urban Jürgensen’s pocket watches and precision timekeepers, created for marine navigation and astronomy, achieved international fame and recognition. The authority of the watchmaker was so high that King Frederik VI of Denmark appointed him as Royal Purveyor to the court, and the Danish Admiralty awarded him the title of royal master of marine clocks, so he started supplying the royal court with watches and the Danish Admiralty with chronometers.

Reviving the brand in 1981, Peter Baumberger, a trained watchmaker, and passionate collector, aimed for exceptionally high standards in watchmaking and quality. But his main goal was to create his own in-house caliber. 

The renewed brand began working on its first in-house movement in 2003 with the cooperation of master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, responsible for the production and finishing of the caliber, and Jean-Francois Mojon, responsible for the development of the movement. And only after the death of Peter Baumberger in 2009, the efforts of these masters finally paid off - Urban Jürgensen presented the P8 Chronometer movement – the first wristwatch caliber to use a detent escapement. The movement of this watch is 40% more accurate than typical COSC-certified chronometers. In addition, it boasts a power reserve of 88 hours thanks to its double mainspring barrels.

In 2014 the Urban Jürgensen 1142C CS chronometer, featuring the patented detent escapement, won the Men’s Watch prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genêve.

Urban Jürgensen produces no more than a few hundred watches per year and focuses mainly on classic time-only pieces, and high complications like perpetual calendars and minute repeaters. Since its establishment, Urban Jürgensen has been striving for maximum quality in the art of horology, constantly perfecting its calibers to achieve the highest level of precision. 

Urban Jürgensen has a team of artisans to craft cases, hands, and dials in-house entirely by hand. The brand combines modern works of micro-engineering with centuries-old craftsmanship, which is the reason why the brand’s timepieces are so amazing, both technically and visually.

Today, under the leadership of CEO Kari Voutilainen, a storied watchmaker in his own right, and the stewardship of investors who are all longtime collectors of independent horology, Urban Jürgensen is poised to create the best watches in its nearly two-and-a-half centuries of continuous operation.

Voutilainen has a unique relationship with Urban Jürgensen, having played a formative role in the development of brand's wristwatch movements and collections, along with greats like Peter Baumberger and Derek Pratt. He brings this deep passion and knowledge back to the company, along with all of the things he’s learned as a leader in contemporary independent watchmaking.