At long last, heritage watchmaker Urban Jürgensen took the time to raise a glass.

After years of quietly crafting a new chapter, kicked off in 2021 with co-chief executive officers Alex Rosenfield and multiple award-winning master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen at the helm, Urban Jürgensen unveiled its first three watches for the relaunch — and threw a lavish dinner party on Thursday night in Santa Monica for the occasion, completely transforming The Barker Hangar.

“It’s so gorgeous,” Rashida Jones said of the space, which had been reimagined to evoke the interior of a watch. At the entrance, winding ramps led up to a raised platform where cocktail hour was held. From there, guests descended into a burgundy-hued grand and circular room with long, curved tables for dinner. “To me, there’s something fluid and makes for better flow of space when there’s no corners.”

The actor and filmmaker was among the celebrities wearing the new timepieces, courtesy of the brand. Headquartered in Biel, Switzerland, and dating back to 1773 in Copenhagen, Urban Jürgensen introduced its first new collection in more than a decade: the UJ-1 Anniversary Watch, the UJ-2 with double-wheel natural escapement, and the UJ-3 perpetual calendar with instantaneous moon phase indication. Which did Jones decide on?

“You know what?” she said, revealing the blue-faced UJ-3 on her wrist. “I don’t want to take it off because I’m nervous, but I want to show you. Its machinations are so beautiful,” she continued, while simultaneously — and carefully — unbuckling the strap to reveal the exhibition caseback. “I’m not gonna lose it. I’m not gonna lose it,” she repeated with a smile. “Look at this. Look at this! Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s so elegant. I don’t have a lot of terminology around timepieces, but I viscerally like them, the way they feel.”

The sentiment speaks to what Urban Jürgensen has long understood, that the value of a timepiece lies as much in emotion as in engineering.

“I love the idea of something classic and traditional, and in times when things are moving extremely quickly into the future, there’s something really nice about celebrating longevity and tradition,” Jones went on. “This is a watch brand that’s older than our country. It’s good to remember the importance of history.”

The party brought out a mix of watch collectors, fashion designers, models and other Hollywood names, including Leighton Meester, Nicholas Duvernay, Ego Nwodim, Jimmy Iovine, David Katzenberg, Dylan Efron, Nick Fouquet, Greg Chait, Rocky Barnes, Jasmine Daniels and Jordun Love.

Urban Jürgensen invited everyone to “Skäl and Fejre,” meaning cheers and celebrate, and kept the party going with a performance by U.K. singer-songwriter Sienna Spiro. Photographer Ellen von Unwerth, who shot the brand’s new portrait series “Time Well Spent,” wandered through the crowd capturing snaps.

“I have a great pleasure, with friends, guests, to welcome here in this wonderful place and to celebrate with us with our 250 years-plus anniversary and relaunch the brand and celebrate the new watches,” Voutilainen told guests “We hope to continue this path for the future, what our past generations have been doing with this brand.

“At Urban Jürgensen, we believe that the way you keep time inspires how you spend it, and we’re very grateful that you’ve spent time with us tonight,” added Rosenfield. “Thank you for being here.”