The Swiss/Danish independent brand launched during Baselworld 2019 their first luxury sports watch – the Urban Jürgensen One. For some a departure from the brand language, for others an expected move, the One is a modern interpretation of what Urban Jürgensen stands for – exceptional timepieces with no shortcuts.
Hands-on Urban Jürgensen One
I am a big fan of the brand. I have to sadly admit that I have not thought about it for too long time. What draws me, from the very beginning to it, is the traditional and clean look. But knowing that behind this simple look hides an impressive amount of work from highly skilled and dedicated people. I knew that my good opinion was well-founded when master Kari Voutilainen told me that Urban Jürgensen is one of his favourite brands.
Urban Jürgensen One is the first sports watch of the brand. The three-hands watch was launched with three dial colour variations: Soft White, Charcoal Grey and Urban Blue. There is available a GMT model but only in Urban Blue scheme. A first impression can be made viewing the wrist-roll video below with the blue GMT and the three-hands white dial.
Note: some of the pictures present a yellowish spot. I didn't notice during the session that the Baselworld booth's light spots were affecting the pictures. Please make abstraction of it.
Steel case, integrated bracelet.
Urban Jürgensen timepieces stand out and One makes no exception. Manufactured from medical grade 1.4441 steel, the One’s case has a lower level of nickel content – so better for your skin. At the same time, the metal presents increased resistance to corrosion and other chemical factors. That means a good looking piece for generations to wear.
The case comes with a predominant brushed finish. As one might expect from the independent brand, the lugs are soldered. A technique very well mastered by the Urban Jürgensen people. The top is covered by a generously sized bezel. The polished piece hosts a slightly raised domed sapphire crystal.
The interhorn space accommodates the integrated bracelet. Made from the same medical alloy, the bracelet’s brushed links and oval polished elements are intertwined nicely. The bracelet is very good looking. It comes with a butterfly safety folding clasp.
The case fits an elegant crown. This is decorated with the Urban Jürgensen logo. The watch is easy to set and wind. A very pleasant experience.
The blue GMT version of Urban Jürgensen One presents, on the left side of the case, the pushers for the GMT function. The rounded pushers have the body brushed and the face highly polished. Nice integration of the overall design.
The classic three hands pieces are predominated by the brushed finish.
Three colours, two dials
As mentioned earlier, the One comes with three dial colours: Soft White, Charcoal Grey and Urban Blue with the GMT exclusively in blue. The dials are manufactured with the brand’s exceptional quality and attention to detail. As expected, the brand’s specific grenage is not missing. The technique is used on the outer register of the dial, where the facetted baton-style hour markers are hand applied.
The dial is decorated in the centre with a slightly recessed guilloché pattern in grain d’orge style. The Urban Jürgensen One GMT version presents at 6 o’clock a sub-dial with the 24 hours home time indication. All timepieces present proudly the name of the brand at the top of the dial.
The dials are exceptionally executed. Besides the beautiful decoration, the dials are adorned with multi-facetted baton hours indexes with luminescent Super-LumiNova insert.
But if there is something that shines (pun intended) on the dials of the Urban Jürgensen One Collection, those are the hands. Urban Jürgensen has some of the most remarkable and beautiful hands in the industry.
The meticulous hand made hands are a fine addition to this gorgeous dial. The hour and minute hands has been adorned with Super-LumiNova for a complete sporty look and, of course, for greater legibility. The hands are polished or thermally blued, to fit the colours schematic perfectly.
The minutes’ hand and the seconds’ were bent at the end. Exceptional attention to detail was given to the hands’ central canons. A hand polishing can be observed on the sinks of the central second and 24h indication hands.
All variants present a date window at 3 o’clock. The date disk is white with black printed numerals. The colours scheme choice always creates debates and it is a matter of personal taste. I would still prefer a colour scheme according to the dial’s colour theme.
Urban Jürgensen P5 movement
For its first sports watch, the brand uses the P5 calibre. The movement is the self-winding version of the in-house P4 calibre. The P5 calibre has an interesting architecture doubled by exceptional finishes. The movements is realised together with Chronode.
The P5’s 72 hours of power reserve is achieved using a twin-barrel design and a relatively low 3Hz Swiss lever escapement.
The main visible decoration is the sun-rayed Geneva waves centred on the balance wheel. The balance wheel is fixed using a traversing bridge secured by double screws.
The self-winding is assured by a skeletonised rotor weight fixed with ball bearing. The rotor was decorated with gold inlaid Urban Jürgensen logo shield and an extra 22 ct. solid gold weight.
Some added elements serve as decoration and information: engraved and lacquered text, metal plate with the piece’s number, blued screws, bevelled and polished bridge edges, polished sinks and so on. The screw-fixed case-back bears the 120m water resistance engraving.
A gentleman’s sports watch
Urban Jürgensen One is a very interesting and attractive addition to the brand’s offering. The watches bear the usual marks of the brand’s attention to details. Excellent executed finishes, lovely details, a modern feel with a touch of traditionalism. When the One was launched at Baselworld 2019, the world was just beginning the experiment the new wave of integrated bracelet designs.
More than a year later, Urban Jürgensen One remains as one of the most attractive full steel pieces. While many of the new watches with integrated bracelets are an interesting and lovely interpretation of their brand’s view, the One Collection is one of the very few that transpire the traditionalism in watchmaking.
Urban Jürgensen One is a niche companion for discerned gentlemen. The One is dedicated to the connoisseurs with an understanding of traditional watchmaking, to the collectors that know to appreciate something like the welded lugs and the exceptional manufacturing process of the dial and hands.
On a simple view of things, the Urban Jürgensen One is a comfortable companion. The attractive dial will give a certain inner pleasure with any time read. The GMT version is my favourite. Maybe that explains the increased number of pictures in detriment of the three hands models.
Urban Jürgensen One Specifications and Price
Movement
- Urban Jürgensen Automatic P5 movement
- GMT, 4 hands with sweep seconds, date window at 3 and 24 hours Home Time subdial at 6. Adjustable by +/- pushers at 10 and 8 for the central hour hand, including date change.
- Swiss Lever Escapement
- Adjusted to temperature, isochronism in five positions
- Stop-seconds
- Open worked rotor with gold inlayed UJ Shield and 22 ct. solid gold oscillating weight.
- Traversing Balance Bridge secured by double screws
- Twin barrels
- Autonomy 72 hours
- Frequency 21.600 V/h – 3 Hz
- Thirty-four (34) jewels
- Diameter 32 mm
- Thickness 6,1 mm for 3-hands, and 6,6 mm for the GMT
Dial
- Urban Blue
- Grenage textured chapter ring
- Facetted mirror-polished hour markers inlaid with
- Super-LumiNova in blue/green
- Maritime wave style grains d´orge guilloche centre
- Dials executed as one-piece solid dials
Hands
- Open worked and hand finished in mirror-polished steel
- Diamond polished eye on the hour hand
- Hand riveted centre canons in diamond polished steel
- Inlaid with Super-LumiNova in blue/green
Case
- Medical Grade 1.4441 steel, 7 piece case with satin-brushed and mirror-polished surfaces.
- Individually soldered lugs
- Screw down crown with embossed relief Urban Jürgensen logo
- Domed front sapphire crystal in the mirror-polished bezel.
- Open screwed on back with flat sapphire crystal
- Case diameter 41 mm / height 12,1 mm at bezel / 13.8 mm at the center of the domed crystal.
- Water-resistant to 120 meters
- GMT model has two pushers at 10 / 8 for forward/backward adjustment of central hour hand local time.
Bracelet
- Tapered Integrated semi-flexible bracelet in Medical Grade 1.4441 steel
- Satin brushed links with mirror polished pointed oval duo-shape interlinks
- Fully customizable size ability with the option of fitted end links
- Butterfly double synchro – secured folding clasp
Price
- Reference 5541 GMT – RRP CHF 33,500 + VAT
- Reference 5241 – RRP CHF 24,500 + VA
Urban Jürgensen One Gallery
