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avid Golay bought Jules Jürgensen from the Jürgensen family in 1916, but his tenure was short-lived. When the United States entered the First World War in April 1917 there was a shortage of luxury watches in the US, but Golay found it difficult to sell his timepieces.
The geopolitical climate was a factor, but his watch designs – both the reserve stock and his contemporary output – were outdated.
As a result he decided to sell Jules Jürgensen to a limited partnership comprising Ed. Heuer & Co in Bienne and Freund’s Rose Watch Co in New York, the latter being Jules Jürgensen’s sole agent in the United States.
Under this new ownership, Heuer rolled out collections featuring slim and fashionable designs, fitted with high-quality movements from Le Coultre & Co SA. Jules Jürgensen watches continued to be produced in Bienne, Switzerland until 1953, when the company moved to La Chaux de Fonds. It remained there until 1974, then relocated to the United States Virgin Islands, where Swiss movements were transported in parts, and assembled on-site for the American market.
The agents in the United States as well as the ownership of Jules Jürgensen underwent several changes over the years.
In 2012, Helmut Crott, owner of Urban Jürgensen & Sonner, bought back Jules Jürgensen. The two brothers, Louis Urban and Jules, who had split the company back in 1835 – Urban Jürgensen & Sonner in Copenhagen and Jules Jürgensen in Switzerland – were reunited under one roof.
Urban Jürgensen in Copenhagen had changed hands multiple times after being sold by the Jürgensen family. The Kiens family, colleagues of the Jürgensens, bought the company in 1886. They sold the firm to E. Bjerring in 1932. The next owner, Mr Randrup Jensen, acquired the Urban Jürgensen company in 1946. Nine years later, it was Mr Jensen’s colleague who took the reins.
The last major change occurred in 1977, when Gerhard Sheufens took over the company. Throughout these transitions, the firm remained in Copenhagen, selling old stock produced by the Jürgensen family, and servicing vintage watches.
