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Introducing the Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde”

by Cheryl Chia . Aug 25, 2022

News

Introducing the Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde”

The Low Down

The legendary British luxury retailer, Asprey is a salient name in two disparate sectors of watchmaking. The first being vintage which includes double-signed watches such as the Patek Philippe ref. 2499 and Audemars Piguet 25654PT, both of which have set records at auctions for the references, along with the Khanjar watches from the likes of Patek Philippe and Rolex commissioned by the Sultan of Oman. The second is independent watchmaking, having given watchmakers such as F.P. Journe and Roger Dubuis a kickstart early in their careers. Today, it revives the tradition of double-signed watches with a limited-edition dual-crown world timer by Andersen Genève.

Best known as a pioneering independent watchmaker who co-founded the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI), Svend Andersen has been specializing in bespoke watches since he established Andersen Genève in 1979. Now in his fourth decade of business, Andersen is well known for mastering dial-side complications such as the jumping hours, the monumental secular perpetual calendar, as well as the Louis Cottier world time system. Having spent nearly a decade working in the Grand Complications workshop of Patek Philippe in the 1970s, Andersen developed an expertise in Cottier’s scenic and elegant solution to displaying the world’s time and went on to produce his first world time watches in 1989. Since then, they have been part of the catalogue in a variety of forms.

Svend Andersen

Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde”

As with many of his watches, the Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde” was conceived to be a slim watch with a case diameter of 39.8 mm wide and a height of just 9.9 mm. The high point of the timepiece is its fully polished red gold case with a wide concave bezel and distinctive yet elegant flared lugs, drawn from past models such as the landmark secular perpetual calendar and Orbita Lunae. The lugs are mirror-polished and then soldered to the case middle. Its angular lines provide a pleasing contrast to the concentric, circular lines of the world time display. The crown at three o’clock retains its usual function while the crown at nine o’clock adjusts the 24-hour ring and world-time mechanism. The latter crown is much thinner and is set nearly flush against the caseband, enabling the watch to retain a traditional form.

Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde”

Andersen Genève Perpetuel Secular Calendar

Andersen Genève Orbita Lunae 2002

The central dial is made of BlueGold, a proprietary 21k gold alloy derived by mixing 24k gold with iron, followed by thermal treatment in a kiln to create a radiant blue finish. Further, the dial is decorated with Asprey’s signature barley motif, which is engine-turned the old-fashioned way with a hand-operated lathe. The guilloche pattern was historically applied on hardware and other beautiful objects sold by Asprey but this is the first time it has been realized on a watch dial. Sitting above the dial is a pair of contrasting red gold hands in the shape of an “A” for Andersen. Notably, while Andersen’s most recent watches are devoid of clear branding, this watch proudly bears both the names Andersen Genève and Asprey on the dial.

Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde”

The world time display features a 24 hour-ring demarcated in silver and a navy blue to indicate day or night respectively. Around it is the city disc printed with the names of 23 cities and an enlarged hollowed “A” for Andersen representing Geneva. The proportions of the discs and the tracking of the typeface work to create a clean and remarkably legible dial despite the nature of the display.

Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde”

When it comes to movements, Andersen’s small-scale production focuses mainly on perfecting the complication’s mechanism while relying on industrially produced, high-quality ebauches as the base, which enables him to keep prices within the realm of reason. His ingenious Perpetual Secular Calendar, for instance, was built on a humble ETA movement while the Jump Hour relied on a Frédéric Piguet base caliber.

Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde”

The Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde” utilizes a A. Schild 1876 ébauche which has been reworked, decorated and topped with the watchmaker’s own world-time module. It is wound by a BlueGold oscillating weight adorned with the same unique, engine-turned barley guilloche pattern to match the dial while the rest of the movement is enhanced by an assortment of decorative techniques such as perlage on the base plate, striping and polished bevels on the bridges, solarization on the winding and ratchet wheel as well as the distinctive large screws that have black-polished, rounded heads. Most notably, the ring over the movement spacer is made of black jade with the names of the watchmaker and retailer in 5N powder.

IMHO

The Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde” is a somewhat restrained, elegant yet thoroughly luxurious execution of a world time watch. The combination of a BlueGold engine-turned dial and a warm red gold case offers a vivid contrast while the distinctive case lugs and unique guilloche motif distance it from all other world time watches produced by Andersen Genève.

Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde”

Bearing a grand name in British luxury retail comes with an expected premium, but as a double-signed watch by a talented, pioneering independent watchmaker and a historic retailer, with a beautiful mechanism and artisanal flourishes, it represents much of what got many of us into watches and all things that make watch collecting far more than an exercise in self-indulgence.

Tech Specs

Andersen Genève x Asprey “Heures du Monde”

Movement: Reworked A. Schild 1876 with a world time module developed by Andersen Genève; 40-hour power reserve; 3Hz (21,600 vph)
Functions: Hours and minutes; world time
Case: 39.8mm x 9.9mm 5N red gold
Dial: Rotating ring displaying 24 hours with day/night scale in dark blue and silvery white metal; world time zone scale on a silvery-white metal disc with dark blue city names; guilloche central disc in 21k BlueGold
Strap: Hand-stitched Nubuck strap
Limited Edition: 24 pieces
Price and availability: £55,000; only available at Asprey House in Mayfair, London and Asprey.com

The Low Down

IMHO

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