Urban Jurgensen Reference 1

Early Urban Jürgensen can easily go unnoticed, but really shouldn't. This, I suspect, because the brand has one of the most convoluted and difficult-to-follow histories of any. Here’s what’s relevant to this, their 90s Reference 1. The storied Danish pocket watch brand was acquired by a Peter Baumberger, an enterprising Swiss watch lover & retailer who put his full soul into reviving the brand. For this, he brought on board Derek Pratt. Pratt’s legacy is only just beginning to be appreciated properly: it’s massive. This is the Reference 1, a name surprisingly refreshing amongst twenty-digit AP refs, one of the more lovely perpetual calendars to have been made in the 90s that, really, isn’t discussed enough. And the dial is Pratt’s work. The watch itself has the feeling of two friends fueled by obsession and passion. 

Reference 1 production began in 1982, before the brand launched officially in 85. Over 4 years, 186 examples were made in these early years. 15 were made in platinum far later in 2001. Their dials were painstakingly made by Pratt with two distinct guilloché sections, and brushed chapter rings with dimpled divisions. The fine observatoire hands are another very tasteful touch. It is not difficult to see what attracted Kari Voutilainen, who is leading this brand today, to this work. The 39mm case is classic, with a slightly VC-looking bezel volume with soldered, classic teardrop lugs.

The Reference 1 is a triple (or complete, with moonphase) calendar chronograph, but not a perpetual calendar. It is based on Zenith’s 3019, which was the only quality automatic chronograph in town at that point in time. The thinness of Zenith’s chronograph and the smartly designed calendar works allowed the case to now feel that tall, despite quite a lot going on. It should be noted this is one of just two examples with a dark blue discs. 

The Reference 1 here and Reference 2, a QP, were the precursor to the duo’s eventual development of in-house calibres and the first detent escapement wristwatch guided under Pratt. It is a watch which leans very heavily into both tradition and 1990s, or neo-vintage, design cues. More importantly though, you can tell that everyone involved here really wanted to create something beautiful, characterful, and enduring. While the brand has been through many periods of dormancy, after this explosion of creativity, Urban Jürgensen has been back on track. We have Pratt and Baumberger to thank, and this is one of the watches that best encapsulates their aspirations.

An example with blue discs in Italian is appearing at Phillips Hong Kong. The photography used for this find was taken from the last time a blue disc Italian calendar example appeared on the market, where A Collected Man captured some excellent frames of it. It is hammering as watch only later this month.