Jules Jürgensen
Product brand
UnclaimedJules Jürgensen is a historic watchmaking name with Danish roots and a Swiss branch that later became associated with American ownership and Virgin Islands assembly.
Last updated August 25, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
Jules Jürgensen is a historic watch brand whose lineage is connected to the Danish watchmaking firm that became Urban Jürgensen & Sønner. The broader family history reaches back to 1740, when Danish watchmaker Jürgen Jürgensen entered a partnership with Isaac Larpent under the name Larpent & Jürgensen. After Jürgen’s death in 1811, his son Urban continued the business. When Urban died in 1830, the Copenhagen operation proceeded as Urban Jürgensen & Sønner, while one of his sons, Jules Frederik Jürgensen, moved to Switzerland and established the branch that carried the Jules Jürgensen name. The brand therefore occupied a distinctive position between Danish horological heritage and Swiss watch production. Swiss authorities regarded the operation as a branch of the Copenhagen company rather than as an entirely separate watchmaking tradition. During the early twentieth century, the business became integrated into a broader industrial and commercial network. In 1919, Ed. Heuer & Co. acquired the Swiss operation and undertook regulation and assembly for Jules Jürgensen watches. The watches used ébauches, or partially finished movement blanks, supplied by LeCoultre and Victorin Piguet, suppliers whose movements were also used by high-end maisons such as Patek Philippe. This arrangement placed the Jules Jürgensen name within the supply and assembly practices of period Swiss mechanical watchmaking. Ownership changed several times after the interwar period. A United States company acquired Jules Jürgensen in 1936, although production continued in Switzerland for several more decades. Documentation indicates that by 1957 watches bearing the name were being made by other manufacturers, showing a shift away from a single vertically integrated production operation. The company changed hands again in 1965, when it was purchased by Victor Hoff, and in 1968, when Downe Communications Inc. acquired it. The quartz crisis brought another decisive change. In 1974, Mort Clayman, a United States watch distributor and owner of Rhapsody watches, purchased the company. Under Clayman, Jules Jürgensen watches were assembled at Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. The operation used Japanese mechanical and quartz movements, although some watches continued to incorporate Swiss parts. Virgin Islands assembly allowed the watches to qualify as American-made for tariff purposes, and it marked the end of the brand’s earlier era of Swiss Made production. Rhapsody later ceased operations while continuing, according to the company’s own statements, to honor warranties. After Mort Clayman died in January 2010, his survivors closed the company. In 2011, Dr. Helmut Crott, who owned Urban Jürgensen & Sønner, acquired the Jules Jürgensen rights from the Clayman family. The subsequent commercial status of the brand is not clearly documented in the supplied sources. The name nevertheless retains historical significance as a link between eighteenth-century Danish watchmaking, nineteenth-century Swiss expansion, twentieth-century contract production, and the changing economics of mechanical and quartz watches. In 2025, a Jules Jürgensen pocket watch formerly owned by Titanic passenger Isidor Straus achieved a record auction result for the name, demonstrating continuing collector interest in historically documented examples.
History
The documented lineage of Jules Jürgensen begins with the Danish watchmaking enterprise established in 1740 by Jürgen Jürgensen and Isaac Larpent as Larpent & Jürgensen. Jürgen’s son Urban assumed control after his father’s death in 1811. Following Urban’s death in 1830, the Copenhagen business continued under the name Urban Jürgensen & Sønner. Urban’s son Jules Frederik Jürgensen relocated to Switzerland and founded a branch that became associated with the Jules Jürgensen name. The Swiss authorities considered the Swiss company a branch of the Copenhagen firm, preserving a formal connection between the two operations. The Swiss business later became part of the modern watch industry’s network of specialized assembly and movement suppliers. In 1919, Ed. Heuer & Co. acquired the operation and regulated and assembled Jules Jürgensen watches using ébauches supplied by LeCoultre and Victorin Piguet. These suppliers also provided movements or movement components to other prestigious watchmakers, including Patek Philippe. In 1936, the Jules Jürgensen business was sold to a company based in the United States. Watches continued to be produced in Switzerland until at least 1957, although records from that period indicate that other manufacturers were making watches sold under the Jürgensen name. This suggests that the brand had moved from direct production toward a more distributed manufacturing model. The ownership history continued to evolve during the 1960s. Victor Hoff acquired the company in 1965, and Downe Communications Inc. bought it in 1968. In 1974, amid the quartz crisis and the wider restructuring of the traditional watch industry, American distributor Mort Clayman purchased Jules Jürgensen. Clayman also owned Rhapsody watches. Clayman’s ownership ended the brand’s earlier Swiss Made phase. Jules Jürgensen watches were assembled at Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, using Japanese mechanical and quartz movements. Some watches still used Swiss parts, but the manufacturing model was no longer equivalent to the earlier Swiss production. Assembly in the Virgin Islands was intended to support American-made classification and reduce import-tariff exposure. Rhapsody subsequently stopped operating, although it reportedly continued to honor warranties. Mort Clayman died in January 2010, and his survivors closed the company. In 2011, Dr. Helmut Crott, the owner of Urban Jürgensen & Sønner, acquired the Jules Jürgensen rights from the Clayman family. The supplied reference material does not establish whether the brand returned to active commercial production after that transaction. Its documented history, however, makes it an important example of how a traditional watch name could move from family-linked Danish origins to Swiss branch production, outsourced manufacturing, American ownership, and later rights consolidation.
- 2025
Isidor Straus pocket watch sells at auction
[1]An 18-carat gold Jules Jürgensen pocket watch formerly owned by Titanic passenger Isidor Straus sells for £1.78 million.
- 2011
The Jules Jürgensen rights are acquired by Dr. Helmut Crott
[1]Dr. Helmut Crott, owner of Urban Jürgensen & Sønner, acquires the brand rights from the Clayman family after the closure of the previous operation.
- 1974
Mort Clayman purchases Jules Jürgensen
[1]American distributor Mort Clayman acquires the brand during the quartz crisis and later oversees Virgin Islands assembly using Japanese mechanical and quartz movements.
- 1968
Downe Communications acquires the company
[1]Downe Communications Inc. purchases Jules Jürgensen from the preceding ownership.
- 1965
Victor Hoff acquires the company
[1]Victor Hoff becomes the owner of Jules Jürgensen.
- 1957
Production becomes more distributed
[1]Documentation indicates that watches bearing the Jules Jürgensen name were being made by other manufacturers rather than solely by the earlier Swiss operation.
- 1936
The company is sold to a United States company
[1]Ownership passes to a U.S.-based company, while Swiss production continues for a further period.
- 1919
Ed. Heuer & Co. acquires the Swiss operation
[1]Ed. Heuer & Co. purchases the Swiss Jules Jürgensen operation and handles regulation and assembly using ébauches from LeCoultre and Victorin Piguet.
- 1830
The Copenhagen business continues as Urban Jürgensen & Sønner
[1]Following Urban Jürgensen’s death, the Danish operation continues under the name Urban Jürgensen & Sønner, while Jules Frederik Jürgensen establishes a Swiss branch.
- 1811
Urban Jürgensen assumes control
[1]After Jürgen Jürgensen’s death, his son Urban takes over the family watchmaking business.
Products and positioning
Historic horology and heritage watchmaking, with a brand identity rooted in Danish craftsmanship and a long production history involving Swiss manufacture, outsourced movements, and later American-oriented assembly.
Mechanical watches
Swiss-made mechanical watches
The brand’s historically significant Swiss production included mechanical watches regulated and assembled through the Swiss operation, including watches using ébauches supplied by LeCoultre and Victorin Piguet. These pieces belong to the period in which Jules Jürgensen was connected to established Swiss manufacturing and specialist movement suppliers.
Pocket watches
Jules Jürgensen pocket watches
Pocket watches are among the surviving historical products associated with the name. Their collector importance can be enhanced by provenance, precious-metal cases, and links to notable owners. A gold pocket watch formerly owned by Isidor Straus achieved a notable auction result in 2025.
Mechanical and quartz watches · 1974
Virgin Islands mechanical and quartz watches
During Mort Clayman’s ownership after 1974, watches were assembled at Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. The production used Japanese mechanical and quartz movements, with some Swiss parts retained. This phase represented a major departure from the brand’s earlier Swiss Made manufacturing identity.
Brand decisions
2011
Acquisition of the Jules Jürgensen rightsM&ABackground
After Mort Clayman’s death and the subsequent closure of the company by his survivors, ownership of the brand rights required resolution.
Action taken
Dr. Helmut Crott, owner of Urban Jürgensen & Sønner, acquired the Jules Jürgensen rights from the Clayman family.
Aftermath
The transaction reconnected the brand rights with the broader Urban Jürgensen lineage, although the supplied sources do not establish the extent of subsequent commercial operations.
1974
Shift to United States Virgin Islands assemblyStrategyBackground
Mort Clayman acquired Jules Jürgensen during the quartz crisis, when traditional watch companies faced strong competitive and structural pressure from quartz products and lower-cost manufacturing.
Action taken
The brand moved away from its earlier Swiss Made production model and assembled watches at Saint Croix using Japanese mechanical and quartz movements, while retaining some Swiss components.
Aftermath
The change marked the end of the brand’s earlier Swiss Made era and supported American-made classification intended to avoid import tariffs.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/jules-jürgensen · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled