Jules Jürgensen - Solid 14k Gold - Bark Textured Dial - The Crown of the Danish Court - Circa 1970

Copenhagen in the early 1800s was a harbor city, its water crowded with masts, its ships gone a year at a time to Iceland and to the Danish islands in the Caribbean. The king kept a watchmaker to his court, and the appointment carried the right to put a crown on the work. Urban Jürgensen held it, and he had learned the trade in the Swiss mountains and in Paris, in Breguet's workshop.

His father had started the Copenhagen bench in partnership with Isaac Larpent, and watches were coming off it from 1781. His son Jules Frederik was born in Le Locle, in the mountains along Switzerland's border with France, and opened a factory there in 1835. He signed the watches it made Jules Jürgensen, Copenhagen, though not one of them was made in Denmark.

The watch here over a century later, by which time the name had crossed the Atlantic. The inside of the caseback reads Jules Jürgensen Corp, New York and La Chaux de Fonds. The bark texture on the dial and bezel dates it to about 1970, and without a factory record it cannot be pinned closer.

The dial is a rich gold color, cut in fine vertical ribbing that runs the whole face that sparkles in the sun. Twelve applied gold batons stand on the surface, each inlaid along its length with black. The date sits in a square window at three, the signature and the year 1740 are printed under twelve, and Automatic sits above six.

The movement winds itself, carries seventeen jewels, and is Swiss. Its rotor is engraved with the companies name. 

The case is solid 14k gold, marked J.J. 14K GOLD on the back, with a wide textured bezel and a domed acrylic crystal over the dial. Fine scratches run across the gold from years of wear, and the crystal has picked up some surface marks but displays the dial beautifully. It comes on a burgundy crocodile grain strap, worn at the edges where it meets the lugs, which you may want to replace. The watch runs, and its service history is unknown.

Terms: Please review all photos carefully as they are a part of the listing. This is a vintage timepiece. Accuracy, power reserve, and water resistance are not guaranteed. Vintage watches may require periodic service. Performance can vary with wear, temperature, and position.

All sales final.