A ravishing addition to Andersen Genève’s irresistible range of world time watches, this new collaboration offers a beautiful fusion of the signature details seen in some of the brand’s finest timepieces over the years and Asprey’s storied heritage
There’s something eternally romantic about world timers — the promise of limitless adventure, the excitement of discovering a home away from home and chance encounters with heart-warming strangers. While there’s no dearth of ultra sophisticated world timers that can map every little detail – right from daylight savings to moon phases, ocean tides and celestial changes – there’s nothing quite elegant as those adorned with cloisonné enamel dials or guilloché patterns in the center.
Louis Cottier, one of the 20th century’s most significant watchmakers, patented the world time complication and made a series of splendid cloisonné enamel dials for Patek Philippe between 1930s and 1950s. Today, there are only a handful of ateliers capable of such aesthetic perfection and one of them is Andersen Genève. “The 1950s was the golden era of watchmaking and Louis Cottier was making the world time watches for Patek Philippe, Rolex and Vacheron Constantin. Our world time watches with the trademark ‘broken’ lugs and dual crowns are Svend Andersen’s tribute to that era and to Cottier,” says Pierre-Alexandre Aeschlimann, owner of Andersen Genève. “We are extremely pleased to present our latest piece – the Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde”, which offers a beautiful fusion of our design aesthetics with Asprey’s storied heritage,” he says.
A ravishing addition to Andersen Genève’s irresistible range of world time watches, the “Heures du Monde” brings together the signature details seen in some of their finest timepieces over the years – the triangular lugs, the 21k Blue Gold dial and the “A” shaped hands. Crafted out of 5N red-gold, the 39mm watch is decorated with a bespoke hand guilloché pattern (inspired by Asprey's barley motif), which notches up the quintessential appeal of Andersen Genève’s highly curated watches.
There are two crowns, one at three o’clock for its usual function and the other at nine o’clock for the 24-hour ring and world-time mechanism.The world time display features a 24 hour-ring in silver and a navy blue to indicate day or night respectively. The city disc is printed with the names of 23 cities and an enlarged hollowed “A” for Andersen representing Geneva. Needless to say, the caseback of this watch is equally enticing as its dial – the Vintage A. Schild base movement is decorated with Côtes de Genève and Perlage, and the showstopper is the Blue Gold rotor adorned with hand guilloché to complement the dial.
Asprey And Luxury Watches
Limited to 24 pieces, this watch marks an extraordinary collaboration, which is in tune with the trend for double-signed watches. One of the most revered luxury houses from London, Asprey’s association with watches and clocks dates back to the 19th century when the store commissioned special pieces for its rich and famous clients, like the Sultan of Oman. Right from the famed Rolex “Khanjar” to the Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 and Ref. 565, some of the most coveted examples of Asprey-signed watches have been breaking records at auctions recently. At Phillips’ Royal Oak 50th sale this year, an example of the 25654PT with a copper-brown dial signed by Asprey sold for USD 1,036,511 – a world record for any perpetual calendar Royal Oak sold at auction.
Svend Andersen: The Legend
Today, the world time complication is seen as the heart and soul of the brand Andersen Genève but if you dig deeper, you will discover the fascinating story of the original founder, Svend Andersen, who started his own worksop in 1980 after having worked with Patek Philippe’s high-end "Atelier des Grandes Complications. During his tenure at Patek Philippe, he worked with Louis Cottier and was smitten by the world time complication.
However, Andersen’s most intriguing creation was the “Clock in a bottle” which he created using a set of extra long tools created by himself. This was the piece that got him noticed by the big-wigs at Patek Philippe. Over the years, this legendary watchmaker has worked on several complicated watches such as the annual calendar, perpetual calendar, and jumping hour calendars. In 1985, he co-founded the AHCI – Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants in support of outstanding independent watchmakers like F.P. Journe, Kari Voutilainen, Konstantin Chaykin, George Daniel. The community spirit at Andersen Genève is going strong even today. “ We make not more than 20 watches annually and they are done in collaboration with different artists. Our atelier in Geneva has just four watchmakers and we have Svend coming in once every week. We don’t aim to make 500 watches every year, it’s a very exclusive brand that supports artisans outside the atelier as well,” says Aeschlimann.
Andersen Genève And The Art Of Customization
In the current scenario where it’s impossible to have access to well-made and beautifully crafted watches from top tier brands, Andersen Genève has been offering highly customized timepieces to select collectors world over. Right from the world’s thinnest world timer “Mundus” to the GPHG nominee Celestial Voyager and the much loved Tempus Terrae, there is a range of watches that the discerning can pick and choose for customization. While the case construction remains the same in all variations, the artisanal decorations on the dial can be customized as per a client’s wish. “If you commissioned a unique piece with Vacheron Constantin or Patek Philippe, it could cost over USD 1 million US. However, we can do a bespoke piece under USD 100,000. We don't make watches for ourselves, we make them for our collectors. We don't have any distributors or shops to please, we are a connoisseur’s brand,” says Aeschlimann.
According to Tim Liu, a Taiwan based collector, the flexibility of customization with Andersen Geneve is much better than most independent brands. “I owned a Montre à Tact with a special miniature painting dial and a Worldtime Celestial Voyager with a special map is on the way. Their delivery time is quite reasonable as well. You know nowadays the usual waiting time for an independent watchmaking brand can be over four years,” he says.
Roni Madhvani, an astute collector of vintage watches from Patek Philippe and Cartier is particularly impressed with the world timers from Andersen Geneve. “I was fortunate to see and hold the watches first hand and indeed found them to be lovely and beautiful. I love the case itself and the fact that one has the option to make a choice on the map, the angle and region of the world, which makes it rather special in my humble opinion,” he says. “One doesn’t have to run through hoops to get the watch, something that really irks me with age! Over time, one’s collecting journey becomes more discerning and a brand like this fulfills the desire for a certain degree of exclusivity to express individualism, which is simply not possible with larger brands these days,” he says.
Specifications
ANDERSEN Genève x ASPREY “Heures du Monde”
Movement: High quality automatic movement upgraded by ANDERSEN Genève with time zones complication module developed and assembled in the Atelier with 40 hours power reserve, 3Hz (21’600A/h) and 21 jewels
Case: 39.8 mm x 9.9 mm 5N red gold case with soldered lugs
Dial: Multi-part, with one rotating ring displaying 24 hours’ time zones
with day/night coloration in dark blue and silvery white metal
Center disc: 18.3mm in 21k “BlueGold” 21ct hand guilloché
World time zone scale on a silvery white metal disc with dark blue city names
Hands: Brushed "A" Andersen shaped in 5N red gold
Rotor: "BlueGold" 21ct hand guilloché
Water Resistance: 30m
Strap: Hand-stitched Nubuk strap
Limited to 24 pieces
Price: £ 55,000
For more details, visit ANDERSEN Genève.