This year at the Baselworld, Urban Jürgensen unveiled its new Jules Collection with two members -reference 2240 and 2340. Here we will review the Reference 2340 because this watch is among 23 timepieces competing in the men’s category at the GPHG 2016.
The design of this exceptional wristwatch is classical, but with some contemporary elements, such as modern tapered lugs and new glass that shields the dial, which makes this newcomer a modern and updated version of Urban Jürgensen watches.
Urban Jürgensen Reference 2340 is housed in a round 3-piece case measuring 40mm in diameter. The 18-karat white gold case is built from a convex middle case and individually soldered “Corne de Vache” lugs. The case incorporates a convex bezel and it is protected with domed sapphire crystal and from the rear there is a screw back with a flat sapphire crystal. The water resistance is assured down to 30 meters (approximately 100 feet).
The Reference 2340 features a hand lacquered engraved dial, meaning that the number and indices are not printed, but rather engraved and inlaid with lacquer manually. After the lacquering, it is hardened and polished off by the use of increasingly fine diamond paper. The dial grenage layer is then built by hand, treating and brushing a secret mix of silver powder, salt and other ingredients on to the blank dial surface. Considering the fact that the dial is completely hand-made, each dial is quite unique, and fittingly every timepiece has its own character. The stunning dial is created as a one-piece solid silver, measuring 32.50mm in diameter and 0.50mm in thickness.
The upper part of the dial is reserved for moon disc which have been handcrafted from a solid steel disc in which recesses for the stars have been hand punched into the steel. The star cavities are filled with pure gold powder which is melted into place to form a solid gold inlay. The disc is thermally blued to the specific brand blue color. The last but not the least, two solid gold moon discs with mirror polished surfaces are press-fitted into the corresponding holes in the disc to complete the dual image of two sets of moons with stars. The moon disk takes more than 20 different operations to create. The final result is a unique tiny wonder of classic workmanship which can be hardly found in wristwatches nowadays.
Also, a power reserve sweeps across the moon-phase display and thus indicates when it is time to wound the timepiece. Conversely, a small seconds counter is placed at the 6 o’clock position, while a date window is set at the 3 o’clock position. The hands are also manually made. They are polished to a perfect mirror gloss, and thermally blued afterwards.
The manually winding movement oscillates at the frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz) and it can store enough energy to keep the watch ticking for no less than 60 hours.
Urban Jürgensen Reference 2340 is teamed up with a comfortable alligator leather strap, fitted with a classic C-buckle in Platinum which is stamped with Urban Jürgensen’s logo. The retail price is 43,100 Swiss francs which is approximately $43,800.
