Danish 18K gold hunting cased lever pocket watch Circa 1849

Gold full hunter by Jules Jürgensen 
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A Danish 18 carat gold hunting cased lever pocket watch, circa 1849. Bridge movement, lever escapement, screw compensation balance. White enamel dial with Roman hours, outer minute divisions and subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock. Plain case, case maker’s mark AGJ. Dial signed, case numbered, cuvette and movement signed and numbered.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Weight: 125 g
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Signed: Jules Jürgensen Copenhagen
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Jules Frédéric Jürgensen (1808-1877), the son of Urban Jürgensen and a very eminent watchmaker himself. Jules was born in Le Locle but as a child moved with his parents to Denmark. In 1830, after the death of his father, the company was taken over by Jules and his brother Louis Urban. In 1833, Jules returned to Le Locle and built up a successful business. Jürgensen, who was watchmaker to the King of Denmark, was made a Knight of the Légion d’Honneur and Knight of the Royal Order of Dannebrog. Between 1870 and 1876 he was a member of the commission of surveillance of the Geneva School of Horology, along with Ekegren, Potter and others. He further was a member of many commissions in Switzerland judging horological contests. He stamped most of his watches on the pillar plate under the dial ‘Jules Jürgensen of Copenhagen’. After his death, the business was continued by his brother and in 1886 it was sold to an employee, H. Kiens, whose sons Jules 1837-1894 and Jacques Alfred 1842-1912 continued the business, as did the House of Heuer afterwards. Jürgensen invented his bow-setting mechanism in 1867. He wanted to prevent any accidental changing of the watch setting. In his design, the cover had to be opened in order to turn the bow far enough to engage the setting pin. In some of his watches, he did not want the back cover, which was not spring-loaded, to be opened by the owner. Therefore, for his open faced watches, he used a special case whose front was designed with a bezel utilizing a lifting mechanism like that in a hunting case. The setting could be done safely, by first opening the front by pushing on the stem, turning the bow until it touched the crystal, and then setting the watch.