Guggenheim's Rosenfield Revives Danish Brand Selling Watches From $160,000

Urban Jurgensen, a Scandinavian watch brand with a history dating back more than 250 years, is now being revived, thanks to a partnership between an American-based finance family and independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen.

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LOS ANGELES - Urban Jurgensen, a Scandinavian watch brand with a history dating back more than 250 years, is now being revived, thanks to a partnership between an American-based finance family and independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen.

Its first three watches were officially launched in Los Angeles on June 5 - the result of 314 years of research and development. The timepieces range in price from about US$125,000 (S$160,000) to more than US$400,000 and are marketed under the slogan, "Time well spent".

"We are bringing expert Swiss watchmaking and exquisite craftsmanship together with the Scandinavian heritage of the brand, so people can appreciate it all in a modern way," says Mr Alex Rosenfield, who co-owns the brand with his father, Mr Andy Rosenfield, and Mr Voutilainen.

The younger Mr Rosenfield's background is in fashion and beauty marketing, and his father is a philanthropist and the president of the financial services firm Guggenheim Partners.

The three timepieces represent the revival of a brand that traces its roots to 1773, when Danish watchmaker Jorgen Jurgensen started creating his own pocket watches - far away from the watchmaking heartlands of Switzerland and France.

Later, his son Urban took over the helm. A master of mechanics and crafts, Urban built some of the finest pocket watches of the time. The company was handed down from generation to generation until the early 1900s, when it was sold and, in the ensuing years under several different owners, its popularity declined.