Big 8, Steel

The Big 8 updated and reinterpreted Derek Pratt and Peter Baumberger’s Reference 8 in bolder proportions. Produced from 2017 until 2020 during the ‘transitional period’ of Urban Jürgensen, this period emphasized moving toward in-house calibre development, low production numbers, and preserving the level of handcraft that founded it.  The Big 8 was a unique hommage to the Baumberger Pratt era watches, bringing 40mm proportions to their 37mm Ref. 8 design and resulting in an elegant dress watch with modern proportions. The Big 8 was the last Urban Jürgensen to utilize a Frédéric Piguet caliber, the ébauche provider for all Pratt era watches save the Ref. 1, as modern market preferences have driven in-house calibre utilization.

Following the death of Derek Pratt and Peter Baumberger in 2009 and 2010 respectively, a close friend of Baumberger Dr. Helmut Crott served as steward of the brand. Ultimately it was sold to a group of Danish investors led by Soren Peterson in 2014, whose tenure lasted just 6 years before it was acquired by the Rosenfield family in 2021. During this transitional period, the watches produced focussed primarily on modernization of the brand, emphasizing in-house caliber development along with modern proportions. However, the Big 8, released in 2017 was a unique reinterpretation of the Pratt Baumberger watches. With in-house calibre development driving up the cost of their watches, Urban Jürgensen now under Peterson, leveraged the previously commonplace ébauche philosophy to offer a simple and accessible entry point to the brand while remaining uncompromising on hand finishing. 

The Big 8 was released in 2017 in yellow or rose gold, platinum, and this steel. It is Pratt and Baumberger’s 37mm Ref. 8 scaled to 40mm. The watch maintains all key features of the Ref. 8, its uncomplicated design emphasizing the masterfully executed solid silver guilloché dial. It features printed circular minute plots and Roman numerals along with contrasting guilloché patterns between dial and subdial. The guilloché terminates in dimpled brushed tracks for both hours and minutes. This classic aesthetic ties in beautifully with its stepped case and observatoire handset to create a timeless vintage feel which nods to the brand’s origins in pocket watch manufacture. Urban Jürgensen ceased production of the Big 8 in 2020, and while production numbers have never been released, estimates place total brand production across all references during this period at less than 300 per year. 

The Big 8, here in steel, shows evidence of hand craft from all angles. Sitting above the hand turned dial are bi-metal observatoire hands, each take a full day’s labor to manufacture. The gold ring is machined independently, then delicately pressed into a frame on the heat blued steel hour hand. The result is a beautiful contrast and a unique take on the traditional hand shape. Its stepped case with brand signature teardrop lugs was hand polished prior to assembly, creating a mirror finish that emphasizes the case geometry. While the Big 8 retains the FP1160 ebauché used within the Reference 8, its Geneva striping, anglage, and barleycorn guilloché 21k gold rotor are now visible through a display caseback. 

While not produced during the Baumberger Pratt era of Urban Jürgensen, the Big 8 feels as if it is an in-period case size option of the Reference 8. All the attention to detail and hand craftsmanship present in the initial model remain. The 40mm proportions offer a delicate balance between classic aesthetics and modern case size preferences, while remaining an enjoyably thin 10.5mm. It is a testament to what can be accomplished with the specialization afforded by ebauché usage. The Big 8 is evidence of a philosophy that seems forgotten by the major manufacturers of today; oftentimes the best path forward is one with immense respect for the past.

This Big 8 presents in excellent overall condition. The steel case shows light hairline scratches on bezel and caseback with no major marks. The guilloché dial is in excellent condition, as are the bi-metal hands. The automatic calibre FP1160 is running well within spec. on our timing equipment.

The watch comes with its full set.

This example is modelled on an average-sized 7-inch wrist.