Online Catalogue
24 June 2026 - Basel Watch Auction
Provenance
Swiss owner
Founded in Copenhagen in 1773, Jules Jürgensen became one of the most respected names in nineteenth-century horology. Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the firm supplied distinguished clients across Europe and America with precision watches of exceptional quality, frequently commissioning movements from the finest Swiss workshops and housing them in elegant precious-metal cases.
The present watch is representative of the refined aesthetic for which the firm became renowned. Free from unnecessary ornament, its restrained white enamel dial and substantial gold hunting case place emphasis upon proportion, legibility and mechanical excellence. Beneath this understated exterior lies one of the most prestigious complications of traditional watchmaking: the minute repeater.
Minute repeating watches occupy a special position within the history of horology. Requiring a highly sophisticated mechanism capable of acoustically indicating the time through a sequence of hammers and gongs, such watches represented the pinnacle of portable mechanical engineering during the nineteenth century. Their production demanded exceptional skill and they were consequently reserved for discerning and affluent clientele.
The present example further benefits from its large-format gold case and well-preserved enamel dial, characteristics increasingly sought after by collectors of complicated pocket watches. Combining practical elegance with mechanical sophistication, it embodies the traditions of fine Swiss watchmaking retailed under one of Scandinavia's most celebrated horological names.
The present watch is representative of the refined aesthetic for which the firm became renowned. Free from unnecessary ornament, its restrained white enamel dial and substantial gold hunting case place emphasis upon proportion, legibility and mechanical excellence. Beneath this understated exterior lies one of the most prestigious complications of traditional watchmaking: the minute repeater.
Minute repeating watches occupy a special position within the history of horology. Requiring a highly sophisticated mechanism capable of acoustically indicating the time through a sequence of hammers and gongs, such watches represented the pinnacle of portable mechanical engineering during the nineteenth century. Their production demanded exceptional skill and they were consequently reserved for discerning and affluent clientele.
The present example further benefits from its large-format gold case and well-preserved enamel dial, characteristics increasingly sought after by collectors of complicated pocket watches. Combining practical elegance with mechanical sophistication, it embodies the traditions of fine Swiss watchmaking retailed under one of Scandinavia's most celebrated horological names.
Online Catalogue 24 June 2026 - Basel Watch Auction Lot 473
Jules Jürgensen, Copenhagen
No. 14160, circa 1890
A 18k gold minute repeating hunting-cased pocket watch
Case: round hinged, hunting case type with polished exterior and engraved monogram to the back cover, the band fitted with a slide activating the minute repeating mechanism, striking the hours, quarters and minutes on demand
Dial: white enamel dial with Roman numerals, outer minute track and subsidiary seconds at 6, blued-steel spade hands, signed
Movement: nickel finished movement of high quality, jewelled throughout and signed Jules Jürgensen, Copenhagen, with compensated balance and precision regulator, two hammers repeating on a gong, signed and numbered
Dimensions: 54 mm
Weight: 146,7 g
CHF 5'000 – 10'000
Sold forCHF 9'527
Provenance
Swiss owner
Founded in Copenhagen in 1773, Jules Jürgensen became one of the most respected names in nineteenth-century horology. Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the firm supplied distinguished clients across Europe and America with precision watches of exceptional quality, frequently commissioning movements from the finest Swiss workshops and housing them in elegant precious-metal cases.
The present watch is representative of the refined aesthetic for which the firm became renowned. Free from unnecessary ornament, its restrained white enamel dial and substantial gold hunting case place emphasis upon proportion, legibility and mechanical excellence. Beneath this understated exterior lies one of the most prestigious complications of traditional watchmaking: the minute repeater.
Minute repeating watches occupy a special position within the history of horology. Requiring a highly sophisticated mechanism capable of acoustically indicating the time through a sequence of hammers and gongs, such watches represented the pinnacle of portable mechanical engineering during the nineteenth century. Their production demanded exceptional skill and they were consequently reserved for discerning and affluent clientele.
The present example further benefits from its large-format gold case and well-preserved enamel dial, characteristics increasingly sought after by collectors of complicated pocket watches. Combining practical elegance with mechanical sophistication, it embodies the traditions of fine Swiss watchmaking retailed under one of Scandinavia's most celebrated horological names.
The present watch is representative of the refined aesthetic for which the firm became renowned. Free from unnecessary ornament, its restrained white enamel dial and substantial gold hunting case place emphasis upon proportion, legibility and mechanical excellence. Beneath this understated exterior lies one of the most prestigious complications of traditional watchmaking: the minute repeater.
Minute repeating watches occupy a special position within the history of horology. Requiring a highly sophisticated mechanism capable of acoustically indicating the time through a sequence of hammers and gongs, such watches represented the pinnacle of portable mechanical engineering during the nineteenth century. Their production demanded exceptional skill and they were consequently reserved for discerning and affluent clientele.
The present example further benefits from its large-format gold case and well-preserved enamel dial, characteristics increasingly sought after by collectors of complicated pocket watches. Combining practical elegance with mechanical sophistication, it embodies the traditions of fine Swiss watchmaking retailed under one of Scandinavia's most celebrated horological names.