Urban Jürgensen - The Geneva Watch Auction: XVII Geneva Saturday, May 13, 2023 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: Urban Jürgensen
    Year: 1990
    Movement No: 120
    Case No: No. 046; 4'378
    Model Name: Reference 2
    Material: Platinum
    Calibre: Automatic, cal. FP 71, 35 jewels
    Clasp/Buckle: Platinum Urban Jurgensen deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 38mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement, and clasp signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by Urban Jürgensen Extract from the Archives confirming the present watch was manufactured on December 17th, 1990 and subsequently sold in February of 1992, and service invoiced from May 2021.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The wristwatches produced during the rebirth of Urban Jürgensen as a brand in the 1980s and 1990s epitomize the marriage of old and new in a way that breathed fresh life into contemporary watchmaking. New owner Peter Baumberger, with his partner, the much-heralded English watchmaker Derek Pratt, set out to rebuild the brand still committed to the original tenets of technical excellence, traditional aesthetics, and handmade master craftsmanship. Aesthetically, it can be considered a pinnacle of elegance: the satin outer track with Roman numerals and simple minute divisions frame the clean guilloché center. Subtle aesthetic details, at first glance easily missed, work behind the scenes to achieve the final effect: the windows do not feature simply sloped sides, but rather are recessed inside the dial.

    An ultra-slim, Fredric Piguet-based automatic perpetual calendar movement is beautifully finished with a 21 karat gold winding rotor. Featuring a perfectly proportioned 38mm platinum case with classic teardrop lugs, the present Reference 2 is one of only 50 examples known to have been manufactured in platinum. Having achieved a warm patina to the dial, the case is in remarkable condition, and bears a crisp brushed finish to the caseback, as well as two visible hallmarks between the lugs.

    The watch was purchased in Hamburg, Germany by the consignor from a collector of Urban Jürgensen who had collected a number of new-old-stock pieces. He has worn it infrequently since, and now enjoying his yellow gold Reference 2 more, has entrusted Phillips with the sale in hopes it will find a most deserving owner.

123

A refined and well-preserved platinum perpetual calendar wristwatch with moonphases and Extract from the Archives

1990
38mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement, and clasp signed

Estimate
CHF25,000 - 50,000 
€26,000-52,000
$28,600-57,100

Sold for CHF76,200

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East

+41 79 637 17 24
AGhotbi@phillips.com

Tiffany To
Head of Sale, Geneva

+41 79 460 55 88
TiffanyTo@phillips.com

The Geneva Watch Auction: XVII

Geneva Auction 13 - 14 May 2023