In the highly accurate detent escapement, the balance wheel swings undisturbed during most of its cycle, except the brief impulse period, which is only given once per cycle. It runs virtually without friction and the escape wheel teeth do not require oiling.
The greatest downfall of the detent escapement was the fact that it was very sensitive to shocks and as such this escapement was found rarely in pocket watches and none in wristwatch format - until a genius dream team at Urban Jurgensen composed of Derek Pratt, Kari Voutilainen, and Jean-François Mojon set out to create the world’s first wristwatch movement with detent escapement. Pratt provided the initial tests, Mojon constructed the movement, and Voutilainen finished, regulated, and assembled the first series prototypes, of which this is one.
The resulting groundbreaking movement, the P8, was introduced at the Basel Fair in 2011, featured two barrels in series providing an impressive power reserve of up to 88 hours. The profile of the escape wheel teeth has also been optimized in order to reduce friction even more.
To introduce this unprecedented movement, Urban Jurgensen auctioned the present prototype example in 2011, which was purchased by the current consignor. Importantly, this watch is also the very first wristwatch ever manufactured in-house by Urban Jürgensen. Of the 40 prototype movements, 25 were cased in different metals, each with a different dial. Thus, the present combination of platinum case and black dial is unique, and comes accompanied by all its original accessories.
