Founded in 1773, Urban Jürgensen has always been one of those under-the-radar names that serious watch people tend to know about. With roots in Copenhagen, tied to the Danish Royal Court, and built on a mix of Danish design and Swiss mechanics, the brand prides itself on an approach that focuses more on craft than flash. Now, the watchmaker is stepping into the celebrity spotlight with Timothée Chalamet joining as a minority partner and Creative Advisor. It’s his first real move into the business side of anything, but he also came to the brand as a collector first, which makes this feel more like an organic partnership than a typical celebrity marketing play.
“A couple of years ago, a film director I admire deeply piqued my interest in artisanal watchmaking — not the flashy kind, but the kind that demands years of discipline, patience, and ultimately, mastery. I started to see it as a sibling to filmmaking — a precise expression, just on a different scale. One lives on an IMAX screen, the other within 48 by 40 by 10 millimeters, but both have the ability to hold entire worlds within them. When Andy and Alex Rosenfield introduced me to Urban Jürgensen, what drew me in was how clearly the focus was on the watches themselves — on craft, on process, on getting it right. It also felt like something different than the typical arrangement — more of a creative collaboration than a traditional endorsement. I’m excited to be involved and to continue exploring this world alongside them.” - Timothée Chalamet
Since returning to family ownership under the Rosenfields in 2025, Urban Jürgensen has been focused on keeping things small and intentional, less about pursuing volume, more about refining the art they already do well. That means relying on traditional techniques, working closely with industry names like Finnish watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, and slowly building out a new generation of watches that are true to the brand’s history. The move back to its roots has already been getting some positive attention at events like the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. If anything, Timothée Chalamet’s involvement just adds another piece to the puzzle, or movement, more about someone genuinely interested in where independent watchmaking is headed next.
Source: Urban Jürgensen/Photo by Aidan Zamiri
