On Thursday evening, Urban Jürgensen—the storied horological house founded in Denmark in 1773—marked its historic relaunch with a one-night-only fête inside the cavernous Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport. The occasion? The debut of its first new timepiece collection in over a decade. The crowd? A polished cross-section of tastemakers and talents, all gathered to Skål and Fejre (toast and celebrate) the brand’s next chapter.
Guests entered through a dramatic façade inspired by an Urban Jürgensen watch dial. Inside, the décor paid tribute to the intricate mechanics of a timepiece—a visual metaphor for the brand’s enduring precision and quiet evolution. Among those in attendance: Rashida Jones, Leighton Meester, James Turrell, Kyle Kuzma, Ego Nwodim, Benjamin St-Juste, Scout Willis, Cole Walliser, Nick Fouquet, and Greg Chait.
The hangar’s industrial sprawl had been reimagined by event maestro David Stark as an immersive supper club—a tribute to horology’s balance of poetry and precision. Guests were greeted with Nordic-inspired cocktails and a barber lounge outfitted in Bode. Dinner was announced not by chime but by roving waiters tapping miniature xylophones. “I feel like I’m going to win an award tonight,” Rashida Jones said as she took her seat. “It’s so elegant—the scale of everything is so dramatic and beautiful.”
The collection—featuring the UJ-1 Anniversary Watch, the UJ-2 with a double-wheel natural escapement, and the UJ-3 perpetual calendar with instantaneous moon phase—was unveiled alongside Time Well Spent, a new portrait series by fashion photography icon (and the brand’s newly appointed Director of Photography) Ellen von Unwerth, who also documented the evening. “Have I ever been photographed by Ellen before? Until five minutes ago, I’d have said no,” Jones quipped. “Now I have—and that’s a bucket-list situation.”
Nwodim, fresh from her breakout role on The Traitors, was equally enchanted. “I got to meet Dylan Efron tonight—I’m such a fan. Loved him in The Traitors,” she said.
Dinner was served around a sweeping circular arrangement—its shape echoing a watch face—with crimson lacquer tables set with Royal Copenhagen china. At the center, a jazz band played as guests dined on lobster salad, Danish rye sourdough with Bordier butter, and Loup de Mer. Taking his seat, White Lotus actor Nicholas Duvernay reflected: “For a while, I didn’t wear watches because I didn’t understand them. Now, I’m finally coming into my manhood—and understanding what it means to wear a good analog watch. It separates the boys from the men.”
Nwodim echoed the sentiment. “I’m trying not to use my phone as my alarm clock or my watch. It’s time to get back to basics. A wristwatch is timeless and classic,” she said, before slipping into character: “What would Miss Eggy say? ‘You don’t know what time it is with all these watches in the world? The hell—get yourself an Urban Jürgensen!’”
Later, guests moved outdoors for dessert and dancing. A live performance by British singer-songwriter Sienna Spiro, followed by a DJ set from Them Jeans, kept the crowd on their feet well into the night.
But beyond the food and music, the evening was a celebration of presence, permanence, and the moments that define us. As the brand’s new credo puts it: “We believe the way you keep time inspires the way you spend it.” And on Thursday night, every second was exquisitely spent.
#Leighton #Meester #Rashida #Jones #Ego #Nwodim #Step #Timeless #Celebration #Urban #Jürgensen
