Urban Jürgensen Big 8 “London Edition” for A Collected Man

There’s no denying the beauty and elegance of the watches produced by Urban Jürgensen, with the superb execution of their guilloché dials, the soldered teardrop lugs and the ultra-detailed hands. One of our favourite models here at MONOCHROME has always been the Big 8, which in steel is also the brand’s entry-level offer. Thin, classic and beautifully manufactured, this watch today receives the British touch of high-end retailer and watch curator A Collected Man, with the Urban Jürgensen Big 8 “London Edition”.

The steel Big 8 might be the most accessible watch in Urban Jürgensen’s collection, it is nevertheless a fascinating, ultra-detailed watch that impresses by its execution. The dial and the hands are simply stunning and the case, even though extremely classic in its shape, is full of charm and details. This creates a desirable high-end watch that remains (relatively speaking) fairly priced. However, with its tone-on-tone colour scheme, with a steel case/silver dial combination, it could appear a bit too austere. Well, not anymore since it has received a touch of British elegance with the new “London Edition” for A Collected Man.

Founded by Silas Walton in 2014 and based in London, A Collected Man has gained respect among the collecting community with a fine selection of rare pre-owned timepieces and as a retailer of some exclusive brands, including Urban Jürgensen. To seal this partnership, these two are presenting a custom-made version of the Big 8 that adds a touch of typically British colour, as well as updating the display.

The base for the watch remains identical to the classic Big 8 we reviewed here. The case is made of polished stainless steel and measures 40mm in diameter. It features the brand’s distinctive teardrop lugs, forged separately from the case, heat-treated, hand-polished and individually soldered into place. The stepped bezel is also retained, as well as the slightly recessed crown.

The main update for this Big 8 “London Edition” concerns the dial, which has been crafted specifically for A Collected Man. Still very classic in its layout, the retailer has added a twist as it is executed in British racing green, which takes its name from the green international motor racing colour of the United Kingdom. The dial retains its hand-guilloché pattern, applied on a solid silver plate that requires up to 700 operations and two full days of hand craftsmanship to complete. The green colour is obtained by PVD treatment.

Also new to this watch is the Clou de Paris pattern for the centre of the dial, combined with a panier pattern for the small seconds sub-dial. In contrast to the dark green portions, the dial retains the circular brushed chapter ring with a pearled outer-minute track. As you can see, the date has been removed from the dial. The Roman numerals have been slightly updated for the occasion too, a curved, slightly more contemporary design – and the remaining parts of the VI also removed. Finally, the signature hand-made “Observatoire” hands, thermally blued and mirror polished, with a diamond-finished gold eye, are still in place.

Regarding the movement, the Urban Jürgensen Big 8 “London Edition” relies on the well-known calibre FP 1160 (Frederique Piguet base), a thin automatic movement with central rotor and twin-barrel. The movement is nicely finished with Geneva stripes, polished bevels and a solid 21k gold rotor, with guilloché pattern.

The Urban Jürgensen Big 8 “London Edition” is worn on a custom-made, casual-looking brown Nubuck strap with a stainless steel tang buckle.

A Charity Watch

A Collected Man will be donating all profits from the sale of these 10 pieces to the COVID-Zero fund created by the Wellcome Trust, in their efforts to combat COVID-19 – to fund testing, treatment and vaccine development.

Price and Availability

The Urban Jürgensen Big 8 “London Edition” is a limited edition of 10 pieces, numbered on the caseback. It is priced at GBP 13,500 (incl. EU-wide 20% VAT) or about EUR 15,500 at the time of publishing. It is only available via the web-shop of A Collected Man here.