Danish gold tourbillon chronometer pocket watch Circa 1861

Gold watch with pivoted detent escapement
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A rare and large Danish/Swiss 18 carat yellow gold hunting cased key wound pocket watch with a one minute tourbillon, circa 1861. White enamel dial, radial Roman hour numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds and blued steel spade hands. Glazed nickel movement, ébauche and tourbillon bridge by Charles Berg, three parallel bridges, 19 jewels, Grether 3 type tourbillon with pivoted detent escapement, Guillaume balance, blued steel Phillips balance spring with an amplitude safety device, gold going train including the stationary third wheel. Dial, case and movement signed.
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Diameter: 57 mm
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Thickness: 18 mm
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Signed: Jules Jurgensen Copenhagen
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This watch is illustrated in The Jürgensen Dynasty by John Knudsen and in Le Tourbillon by Reinhard Meis. According to the Jürgensen Dynasty and the remaining archives, only six tourbillons were made by the firm.
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Jules Frédéric Jürgensen was born in 1808 and died in 1877. He was the son of Urban Jürgensen and a very eminent watchmaker himself. Jules was born in Le Locle, Switzerland but as a child, he moved to Denmark with his parents. In 1830, Jules and his brother Louis Urban took over the company after their father’s death. In 1833, Jules returned to Le Locle and built 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 was also a member of many commissions in Switzerland that judged horological contests. He stamped most of his watches on the pillar plate under the dial ‘Jules Jürgensen of Copenhagen’.

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 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 watches with an open face, he used a special case in which the 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. 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.