Timothée Chalamet surprises in New York with a luxury watch for connoisseurs

Text by Ana Franco.

Timothée Chalamet has been unfaithful to Cartier. The French-American actor, unrecognisable lately with his shaved head (a requirement of the script for “Dune 3”), is the face of the French jeweller, but this week he dropped by the New York premiere of “Marty Supreme”, the sports comedy-drama in which he stars, wearing a watch from another brand. A watch that has nothing to do with the fine, sometimes tiny Cartier pieces he has worn until now.

The reason we raised our eyebrows is the UJ-2, a model costing 105,000 Swiss francs (€112,755 at the current exchange rate) from the independent Danish brand Urban Jürgensen, which, as a niche company, also distances itself from Cartier‘s more “popular” watchmaking. Both, however, are long-standing: the Danish brand was founded in 1773, making it one of the oldest and most historic watchmakers in the industry.

We hadn’t heard anything about Urban Jürgensen for a long time. It was in decline, but it has just been relaunched, and Chalamet will surely help to make it known to the general public, beyond the circles of connoisseurs of fine watchmaking. The company produces on a small scale and in a very traditional way in Switzerland. In the case of its UJ-2, it is made entirely by hand and, like the rest of the brand’s instruments, requires around 565 hours of work by a master watchmaker, according to the company.

The watch worn by Chalamet, measuring 39 mm in diameter and featuring a hand-wound mechanical movement, is made of platinum, with a silver dial adorned with guilloché engraving and blued hands. It displays the hours and minutes (off-centre) and a small seconds dial at 5 o’clock. At 12 o’clock, it shows a fractional power reserve. Chalamet pairs it with an orange rubber strap that often stands out in his outfits. Without a doubt, it is a striking piece in his collection.