Timothée Chalamet Acquires Stake in Urban Jürgensen and Becomes Creative Advisor

Until recently, the 30-year-old actor was known for turning down all requests for brand partnerships. But his passion for independent watchmaking and his relationship with the American Rosenfield family, owners of the Urban Jürgensen (UJ) brand since June 2025, have seen him set aside his principles.

The announcement comes at a time when the brand, founded in 1773, is seeking to consolidate its revival. The maison, relaunched in 2025 under the impetus of the Rosenfield family and with master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen at the heart of its new watchmaking offering, presented a highly acclaimed collection last year centred on the UJ-1, UJ-2 and UJ-3 models. This relaunch quickly gained recognition among collectors and within the industry. In November 2025, Urban Jürgensen won the Men’s Watch Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for the UJ-2 with its natural double-wheel escapement.

Founded in Copenhagen by the Jürgensen family, the brand served as the official watchmaker to the Danish Royal Court and the Danish Navy. Renowned for its unique blend of Danish design and Swiss engineering, the company, now based in Biel in a restored villa, is entering a new era. Timothée Chalamet, alongside a small number of strategic external investors – who themselves hold a limited stake in the company – will bring exactly what the brand needed: a glamorous, youthful aura, embodied by a Hollywood actor enjoying a meteoric film career marked by both arthouse films and massive blockbusters.

For Urban Jürgensen and the Rosenfield family, owners of the brand, this is not simply an ambassadorial contract. The press release emphasises, on the contrary, a relationship that has developed organically, stemming from Chalamet’s personal interest in artisanal watchmaking and his growing affinity with the world of independent watchmakers. Alex Rosenfield, CEO of the house, emphasises: ‘(…) There is a certain magic in wearing an artisanal watch that embodies the spirit of its creator and the genius of the craftsmen who worked on it. Timothée felt this magic when he tried on a UJ watch for the first time, and we hope that more people can experience this. We are delighted to welcome Timothée to the UJ family.”

Timothée Chalamet, for his part, says he has found in artisanal watchmaking an echo of his own profession as an actor: a craft of precision, discipline and mastery “capable of containing entire worlds on a completely different scale: one fills an entire IMAX screen, the other measures just 48×40×10 millimetres, yet both have the capacity to encompass entire worlds. When Andy and Alex Rosenfield introduced me to Urban Jürgensen, what struck me was the clear emphasis placed on the watches themselves — on the craftsmanship, the process, the pursuit of perfection. It also struck me as different from a conventional deal — more of a creative collaboration than a simple traditional partnership. I’m delighted to be involved and to continue exploring this world alongside them.”

The arrival of Timothée Chalamet gives this ambition a much broader scope. At 30, the actor has become one of the most prominent figures of his generation. After being nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor for A Complete Unknown at the 2025 ceremony, he also won the 2026 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy for Marty Supreme.

For Urban Jürgensen, the appeal therefore goes beyond mere celebrity status. Chalamet brings to the brand a rare ability to bridge contemporary culture, a passion for craftsmanship, and creative credibility.

This strategy also signals a shift in the choices of influencers within the high-end watchmaking sector, where the logic of being deeply involved in the creative process may potentially take precedence over that of simply being a campaign face.