Jules Jurgensen Day-Date, 1970s

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

The history of watchmaking under the Jurgensen name goes all the way back to the 1700s to the family's progenitor, Jorgen Jurgensen, a runaway farm boy who became the apprentice to (and later, the business partner of) a heralded watchmaker in Locle, Switzerland. Jorgen's son, Urban, followed in his father's footsteps, studying below some of the best watchmakers of the era in Switzerland, Paris and London. By the time Jules was born in 1808, the family name was enmeshed with clock and watchmaking. Jules furthered the prestige by designing and achieving patents that became benchmarks of style and function for pocket watches, so much so that they were incorporated into many American pocket watches right through to the late 1800s. The Jurgensen name continued to resonate throughout Europe well into the mid-1900s, despite having been sold to an American company in the late 1930s. By 1960, the brand had lost much of it's production capabilities and were using more Swiss contract parts to produce their timepieces. But what the brand never lost sight of was building unique and interesting timepieces capable of stirring all walks of enthusiasts. This particular piece, likely from the 1970s, caught our eye immediately. Most overt is the incredible octagonal case with wide chamfered bevels and hidden lugs, but the matte dial is really the star of the show. The dial, sporting the storied Jules Jurgensen name, bears eleven fat hour markers with blue cloisonné inlays - a truly delightful flourish. With the inclusion of a day-date function at 3:00 with quickset functionality, this one is a head-turner that is sure to be a pleasure to wear on the regular.