Showing posts with label ANDERSEN Genève. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ANDERSEN Genève. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

ANDERSEN Geneve – WORLDTIME Communication 45 Platinum Edition

ANDERSEN Genève – WORLDTIME Communication 45 Pt950 Platinum 38mm Edition 2026

 A WORLD IN PLATINUM
ANDERSEN GENÈVE LAUNCHES THE COMMUNICATION 45 IN PLATINUM

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

The acclaimed worldtimer returns in an exquisite new guise, in three series of 15 timepieces each

When ANDERSEN Genève launched the Communication 45 in 2025 — marking 45 years since the brand's founding — it was greeted with wide acclaim: praised by collectors and press alike for its innovative dial work, intoxicating style and sublime craftsmanship.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

 2025 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication 45" 
Yellow gold case (map of EUROPE)

Now, for 2026, the watch returns in a new and equally compelling form:
a platinum case housing a deep blue BlueGold dial, with a world map inlaid in white gold.

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

2026 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication 45" Pt950 case
Limited Edition of 45 Timepieces

In 1990, Svend Andersen’s first series-produced wristwatch, the Communication, was the first classical, Louis Cottier-style worldtimer to appear on the haute horlogerie market for a generation.

In 2025, the anniversary of this icon was marked with the unveiling of the Communication 45, a new worldtimer made in yellow gold that was celebrating the first Communication watch made in 1990.

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

2025 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication 45" 
Yellow gold case (map of EUROPE)

For 2026 the Communication 45 appears for the first time in platinum, celebrating again the Communication from 1990 made in platinum.

Like its predecessor, the Communication 45 Platinum Edition is produced in three distinct 15-piece series, each centred on a dial map depicting one of three regions: Europe, Asia, or the Americas.

1980 - 2025/2026

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

 2026 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication 45"
next to
1990 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication"

DESIGN FOR THE WORLD CITIZEN

Every element of the Communication 45 has been developed for clarity, balance and refinement. The case, made by hand in ANDERSEN Genève ’s dedicated case workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds, measures 38mm, with curving, beautifully formed ‘teardrop’ lugs presenting a twist on those used in the Communication series of 1990.

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

 2025 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication 45"
next to
1990 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication"

A city-setting crown at 9 o’clock features a special “Communication 45” logo (a globe with the number 45), while the winding and time-setting crown at 3 o’clock is capped with a polished “A” logo, an ANDERSEN Genève emblem. Inside, the watch uses a slim, vintage automatic calibre that is completely reworked and deftly hand-finished by the ANDERSEN Genève team, paired with the brand’s in-house, ultra-thin worldtime module.

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

2025 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication 45" 
Yellow gold case (map of EUROPE)
next to
2026 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication 45" 
Platinum case (map of AMERICAS) 

THE TIME TRAVELLER’S ATELIER: 
35 YEARS OF ANDERSEN GENÈVE WORLDTIMERS

The worldtimer, showing 24 time zones simultaneously, has been a defining focus of ANDERSEN Genève’s work for 35 years. Founder Svend Andersen, now 83, first encountered the worldtime system, as developed in the 1930s by Louis Cottier, and adopted by Patek Philippe among others , while restoring watches in Lucerne in the 1960s; and thereafter during his decade in the Grand Complications workshop of Patek Philippe in the 1970s.

Enchanted by this complication, in the late 1980s he developed his own ultra-thin worldtime module – just 0.9mm thick – at the behest of Italian collectors. This module became the basis for his first worldtimer, the Communication 24, launched in 1990 on a souscription (subscription) basis. Twenty-four watches were to be made, with global map dials in blue and gold, and gold cases – with eye-catching hinged lugs – by the late case-making genius, Jean-Pierre Hagmann. Within two weeks of the subscription offer being announced in a single German magazine, 18 collectors had paid a deposit to secure one of the watches; six more would soon follow.

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

 1991 ANDERSEN Genève "Chronograph"
1992 ANDERSEN Genève "Christophorus Columbus"
2004 ANDERSEN Genève "1884" 
  

This was followed, also in 1990, by ANDERSEN Genève’s first serially-produced timepiece, known simply as the Communication – almost identical to the subscription model, and with a case once again made by JP Hagmann – but this time with tear-drop style lugs. With its classical proportions, city ring bezel and notable lugs, it took clear inspiration from the early Cottier-made worldtimers of Patek Philippe, which had long-since ceased production. (It would be another decade before Patek Philippe returned to the worldtime format).

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

2015 ANDERSEN Genève "Tempus Terrae" 

Since then, ANDERSEN Genève has continued to refine and reinterpret the worldtime complication, developing a succession of limited series with classical city-ring layouts and detailed decorative work. These include the Christophorus Columbus (1992), ultra-thin Mundus (1994), the 1884 (2004), the Tempus Terrae (2015), the Heures du Monde in collaboration with Asprey (2022) and the Celestial Voyager enamel series in collaboration with BCHH (from 2021-2024).

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO   

Today, ANDERSEN Genève remains one of the few independent makers with deep experience in worldtime design, decoration, and mechanical development, still using Svend’s complication module that has been refined over the years.

The Communication 45 draws together many of the ideas that have shaped this legacy: elegant construction, precision mechanics, exceptional artistry and highly limited production.

THE CRAFTS OF ANDERSEN GENÈVE: TRADITIONAL CASE-MAKING

One of its most distinctive elements is the shape of the lugs, which combine the teardrop style used by Jean-Pierre Hagmann for the series-made Communication of 1990 with a more sculptural, curvaceous silhouette — viewed in profile, they take on an elegant cornes de vache (cow-horn) form. Multiple prototypes were required to perfect the complex, precisely balanced contours and the flawless mirror finish.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

Jean-Pierre Hagmann

ANDERSEN Genève was able to draw on the deep expertise of Marco Poluzzi, who has been making watch cases by hand for over 50 years, working with many of the great names of Swiss watchmaking. In 2022, his workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds – a trove of antique machinery and tooling ­– was acquired by ANDERSEN Genève, becoming the brand’s second production site besides its original Geneva Atelier. Just as Svend has done with ANDERSEN Genève’s watchmakers in Geneva, Marco is now training a new generation of boîtiers (case-makers) in La Chaux-de-Fonds to carry forward this complex and delicate traditional craft.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

Macro Poluzzi
in the La Chaux-de-Fonds Atelier

Making a platinum case requires even greater skill and patience than a gold case. As with last year’s yellow gold model, the voluptuous lugs are made and polished individually, before being soldered to the case with absolute precision. 

The dials and the rotor of the movement is in 21ct BlueGold, worked with ANDERSEN Genève's historic wave-form tapisserie-guilloché pattern using an authentic 19th-century machine and a Belle Époque template discovered by Svend Andersen over 30 years ago.  

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

 21ct BlueGold tapisserie hand guilloché rotors & dials
with "cognac" & "light blue" coulours

‘GENEVA WAVES’ OF A DIFFERENT KIND

The wave-like texture of the BlueGold dial, another hallmark of ANDERSEN Genève, is made by a traditional tapisserie-guilloché process using a ‘tapisserie’ pattern that’s over a century old.

The pattern is applied prior to the bluing process, using a tapisserie-guilloché machine that traces an antique template disc to replicate its design, in miniaturised form, onto the 21ct gold dial blank. The template, originally created for pocket watch decoration during the Belle Époque era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was discovered by Svend Andersen over 30 years ago in the workshop of master guilloché engraver, Mr. Mayor, and it has been a recurring feature of ANDERSEN Genève watches since then. The engraving is executed using authentic 19th-century tapisserie-guilloché machine, preserving the depth and texture of the original motif.

LANDS OF GOLD

Finally, the map motif is achieved via a new procedure developed specifically for this watch. First, the surface layer of the landmass is removed with great precision to a depth of 0.2mm; this void is then infilled with a liquid lacquer of unalloyed gold – similar in principle to traditional shell-gold inlay. Once cured and polished, the result is a smooth, even inlay of pure gold, that lies slightly recessed amid the waveform ‘sea’ that surrounds it. 

This work was developed through lengthy experimentation and research over several months, in collaboration with three outstanding suppliers in Switzerland.

A WORLD OF DETAILS

The city ring of the Communication 45 is circular-brushed and overlaid with cream lacquer. On top of this, a new, bespoke font for the city names was developed to aid perfect legibility; the 24-hour ring features alternating day and night sectors in cream and dark brown.

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

 2025 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication 45" 
Yellow gold case (map of EUROPE)
 

The gold, sword-shaped hands are open-worked and brushed, and the strap is made of dark brown crocodile with a yellow gold pin buckle. A domed sapphire crystal with double-sided internal anti-reflective coating completes the construction.

Each case is individually hand-engraved with its edition number and fitted with two crowns, one on either side, in the manner of Louis Cottier’s original worldtime design: one for city selection (at 9 o’clock) and one for winding and time-setting (at 3 o’clock). The city-setting crown is engraved with the “C45 Anniversary” logo (the number 45 set within a globe); and the time-setting crown carries the brand’s “A with screwhead” logo. 

Each watch is individually numbered “X/15” according to its regional edition, which is engraved by hand on the back bezel.

MOVEMENT FROM THE GOLDEN AGE

The movement inside the Communication 45 is a vintage automatic calibre specially selected by ANDERSEN Genève for its slimness and stability. Such calibres have been used in several of the brand’s worldtimer models, including the Celestial Voyager, the Heures du Monde made in collaboration with Asprey, and earlier Tempus Terrae editions. 

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

 ANDERSEN Genève "Tempus Terrae  " Hunter case back disclosing the movement and the rotor made of 21ct BlueGold Tapisserie guilloché motive

This is combined with the latest version of ANDERSEN Genève’s in-house worldtime module, based on that originally designed by Svend in the 1980s and continually refined for ultimate precision, efficiency and ease of operation.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

 2025 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication 45" 
Yellow gold case (map of EUROPE)
 case back disclosing the movement and the rotor made of 21ct  ‘Cognac’ Tapisserie guilloché motive

Each movement is decorated at an outstanding level. Bridges and plates are gently frosted rather than striped, giving a matte texture reminiscent of early 20th-century finishing styles, and forming a high contrast with chamfered and polished bevels, all of which is carried out by hand. Screws are mirror polished, and the teeth of the wheels are finished to precise tolerances to enhance both function and appearance.

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

2026 ANDERSEN Genève "Communication 45" Pt950 case back
Limited Edition of 45 Timepieces 

The rotor, in matching BlueGold ‘Cognac’, carries the same ‘tapisserie’ guilloché as the dial. On the underside of the balance bridge, the brand’s “A” logo is engraved, with its centre a polished and heat-blued screw head – a quiet detail reserved for those familiar with the brand’s history.

 MILESTONES IN TIME

Key Dates in ANDERSEN Genève’s Worldtimer Journey

•           1942 – Svend Andersen is born in Padborg, Denmark
•           1969–79 – Works at Patek Philippe; restores original Louis Cottier-made worldtimers
•           1979 – Founds ANDERSEN Genève as an independent maker of bespoke timepieces
•           1990 – Launches Communication 24, with 24 pieces by subscription; followed by a series-made edition simply called Communication
•           1991 – Chronograph, followed by a series-made edition requested by Italian collectors, called OM21 (Oro Mundi)
•           1992 – Christophorus Columbus – worldtimer showing map of Columbus’s 1492 voyage
•           1994 – Mundus, sets record for the world’s thinnest worldtimer of only 4.2mm (still holding in 2025)
•           2004 – 1884, celebrating 120 years of global time zones
•           2005 – Voyage World Time (Shellman collaboration)
•           2015 – Tempus Terrae, celebrating 25 years of worldtimer by ANDERSEN Genève
•           2022 – Heures du Monde (Asprey collaboration)
•           2021–2024 – Celestial Voyager enamel editions with BCHH
•           2025 – Launch of Communication 45
•           2025 – Launch of Rattrapante Mondiale the first ever split-seconds chronograph worldtimer
•           2026 – Launch of Communication 45 with a platinum case
 

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

2005 ANDERSEN Genève - Voyage World-timer Edition of 50 pieces   
(Shellman collaboration) made in 2005

ANDERSEN Genève has also made several special worldtimer series on request, as well as bespoke commissions for unique pieces. These have on occasion seen the worldtimer paired with other complications including minute repeaters, chronographs, perpetual calendars, retrograde displays and alarm functions. 

ANDERSEN Genève has also made several special worldtimer series on request, as well as bespoke commissions for unique pieces. These have on occasion seen the worldtimer paired with other complications including minute repeaters, chronographs, perpetual calendars, retrograde displays and alarm functions.

WATCHMAKING’S GLOBAL CITIZEN
Q&A WITH
SVEND ANDERSEN
SVEND QUOTES ON WORLDTIMERS

What was your first experience of the Worldtime complication?

I moved from Denmark to Switzerland in 1963, and because I could speak good English, I got a job at Gübelin [the Swiss high-end watch retailer] in Lucerne. There, I had the chance to repair some of the original worldtime watches, with Louis Cottier’s mechanism. That was my first real encounter with the complication, and it stayed with me.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

In the 1970s, you were part of the three-man team in Patek Philippe’s Grand Complications workshop, alongside Roger Dubuis and Max Berney. Did you encounter many worldtimers there?

Absolutely. Louis Cottier had died in 1966 and Patek Philippe stopped making worldtimers after that. But we would repair them, and once someone came to me with trays of parts from the old Cottier worldtime watches from the 1950s. They asked, “Can we make watches from these?” I looked at them carefully and said, ‘I think we can save three movements from this.’ The parts went to another workshop, they made three gold cases, and that was that. But it taught me something important: how special this concept was, how beautiful, and how rare."

You went solo in 1979, and spent the 1980s making first pocket-watch cases and then one-off bespoke watches. What led you eventually back to the worldtime?


Some Italian collectors were asking me for something more interesting than just hours, minutes and seconds. I remembered those old Cottier watches, and I thought, why not a Worldtime? So I began developing my own version. I designed a completely new module, much thinner than what was around at the time. Mine was just 0.9 millimetres, everything included. There weren’t many others around, and those that were used modules that were thicker, like the one from Lemania, and that made the whole watch too bulky. For me, slimness and elegance are very important, especially for a worldtimer.

The Communication started off as a subscription edition of 24 watches. What was the response from collectors like, and how did you get the word out?

When I developed the prototype version, in 1989, I presented it to a German journalist. He published an article, and within two weeks we had 18 subscriptions – out of a planned edition of 24. The other six came soon after. The subscription model meant that people paid 50 percent in advance, and that gave me the funds to buy gold for the cases and to begin production. We actually made 25 cases – the 25th, which had no lugs at all, I kept. It’s my wife’s watch to this day.

From there, you made the series-produced Communication, as well as a handful of special versions with different dial designs. Why do you think there was such a market for it?

Well of course I was very happy about that. It was very pleasing that so many good people, really committed collectors who loved watches, wanted it. Patek Philippe wasn’t making Worldtimers at that time, so in a way, there was a gap in the market. Ebel and a few other brands were doing them, but not really refined. I was going back to what Cottier had invented.

The different dials were made according to the different requests from my retail partners. For example, a cream colour dial with gold map was requested by Yoshi Isogai of the Shellman Boutique in Tokyo. He sold dozens of such Communication with white dials to high end Japanese collectors. There was also a black dial version which was requested by Mr Fagnola of the Fagnola boutique in Turin, for one of his long time Italian clients.

----------------------- 
ABOUT ANDERSEN GENÈVE

Founded in 1980 by master watchmaker Svend Andersen, ANDERSEN Genève has become one of the most exclusive Ateliers in Swiss watchmaking. A founding member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) – an organization co-instigated by Svend – it is one of the few brands to specialise in bespoke haute horlogerie, working one-on-one with collectors around the world. It is known for its imaginative complications, refined worldtime watches and artistic craftsmanship, bringing a deeply artisanal approach to every creation.

 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

 Svend Andersen
in the Geneva Atelier

Since 2015, ANDERSEN Genève has been owned and directed by Pierre-Alexandre Aeschlimann, working in close collaboration with Svend Andersen (83 years old), Marco Poluzzi (83 years old), and a small, in-house team of talented watchmakers.

Operating from its original workshop overlooking the Rhône in the historic Saint Gervais area of Geneva – once home to the city’s famed cabinotiers watchmakers – and since 2022 with a second Atelier for case-making in La Chaux-de-Fonds, ANDERSEN Genève creates around 50 watches per year, each one a rare and lasting work of art. In fact, fewer than 1,400 timepieces have been manufactured since 1980.

------------------------------
TECHNICAL DATA

Collection:  WORLDTIME 

Model: WORLDTIME Communication 45 Platinum Pt950 Edition

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

Case
Material: Platinum (Pt 950)
Pt 950 case with soldered lugs 
Diameter: 38.00
Thickness: 8.97 (without glasses)
2x sapphire glasses with double sided anti-reflect coating 
Water Resistant:  30m
Dial
Dial in 21ct BlueGold “tapisserie-guilloché” light blue colour
Map on the dial infilled with a liquid lacquer of unalloyed gold
Movement
Automatic Movement with frosted finishing, mirror polished screws
40 hours power reserve, 21600 vph
Rotor in 21ct BlueGold “tapisserie-guilloché” lighte blue colour
Worldtime complication module developed and assembled in the Atelier
Strap
Hand stitched suede strap with platinum pin buckle
 
🔰Limited Edition: 45 timepieces
  • 15 with map of Asia
  • 15 with map of Europe
  • 15 with map of Americas

🔴 Price: CHF 184,000💰

----------------------------
Press Contact
Zeina Dakak, Founder & Director at ZDLUX&Co.
E: zeina@zdluxco.com | M: +44 7788 161 438
--------------------------------
ANDERSEN Genève SA
36 Quai du Seujet CH-1201 Genève
bureau@andersen-geneve.ch
-----------------------------------------
 ===============================
www.instagram.com - AndersenGeneve 
---------------------------------------------------- 
www.Andersen-Geneve.ch

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

ANDERSEN Geneve – WORLDTIME Split-Seconds Chronograph Platinum Edition

ANDERSEN Genève – WORLDTIME Split-Seconds Chronograph "The Rattrapante Mondiale" 38.8mm Platinum Edition 2025

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

SPLIT-SECONDS WORLDTIME

ANDERSEN Genève presents the world’s first ever Split-Seconds Worldtimer – an exquisitely-executed, first-time fusion of two of watchmaking’s most sophisticated complications: the ‘rattrapante’ (or split-seconds) chronograph and the worldtimer.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

Housed in a 38.8mm case of 950 platinum, the watch combines a vintage Venus 179 split-seconds chronograph movement – a famous calibre used historically by brands including Breitling, Record, Excelsior Park and Ulysse Nardin – with ANDERSEN Genève’s brand new ultra-thin, finely engineered worldtime module.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

The pairing of these two complications is unprecedented. The concept was devised by founder Svend Andersen and Pierre-Alexandre Aeschlimann in 2017, and has been prototyped and refined over the last two years with the help of in house watchmakers. Innovative design choices, exceptional horological skill and immaculate haute-horlogerie hand-finishing techniques make this among the most accomplished and sophisticated watches to emerge from the brand’s Geneva and La Chaux-de-Fonds Ateliers.

CLARITY, ARTISTRY, COMPLEXITY

The case, crafted using traditional techniques and without the use of CNC machines, is made from 950 platinum, with a slim, three-part construction and soft curved lugs. Measuring 38.8mm across and 11.95mm in height, it is expertly hand-polished to a mirror-finish in ANDERSEN Genève ’s traditional case-making Atelier in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

  Unusually, in a quirky detail that reflects requests from collectors while echoing certain unique pieces made by ANDERSEN Genève in the past, the chronograph pushers and crown are positioned on the left side of the case. While not intended specifically for left-handed wear, this arrangement allows the chronograph to be operated with the thumb, and provides a point of difference from standard layouts. A second crown, recessed into the case contours on the right flank, is used to adjust the city disc.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

At the heart of the display is a central dial for the chronograph display, with subdials at 3 and 9 o’clock, showing a 30-minute chronograph counter and running seconds respectively. Surrounding this are the elements for the worldtime function – a rotating 24-hours ring, and an adjustable city disc in sapphire to denote the 24 time zones.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

For ANDERSEN Genève ’s team of watchmakers it was essential to prioritise readability without compromising the discreet, classical proportions of the watch. To achieve this, the Split-Seconds Worldtime introduces an innovative variation on the classical worldtime layout. 

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

Rather than the usual arrangement of a 24-hour ring encircled by a peripheral city ring, the two are combined, with the 24-hour ring seemingly integrated between the outer and inner tiers of the city disc. In reality, the city names are printed on the underside of a sapphire disc, just 0.5mm thick, which sits directly above the 24-hour ring. This construction allows both elements to remain clearly legible while functioning independently, without adding unwanted bulk to the watch.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  
 
To this distinctive layout, a suite of subtle yet beautifully executed artisanal techniques has been applied to enhance legibility and visual richness.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

The central chronograph dial is made from solid white gold, vertically brushed, and adorned with classical hour markers, minute tracks, and chronograph scales—all hand-applied in blue grand feu enamel, a process requiring exceptional precision and control.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO

The 24-hour ring, crafted from silvered brass, is divided into day and night sections using delicate texture rather than colour: the nighttime half is black-polished with contrasting matte numerals, while the daylight half is satin-finished. These surface textures create delightful changes in appearance as light hits the dial from different angles.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO

 
The steel hands for the chronograph indications are hand-blued by ANDERSEN Genève ’s watchmakers, while the sword-shaped hands of the time display are in mirror polished white gold.

TWO COMPLICATIONS EXPERTLY COMBINED

At the heart of the watch is a vintage Venus 179 calibre – a hand-wound column-wheel chronograph movement of exceptional beauty and craft, that was produced between the 1940s and 1960s. A variation on Venus’s 175 calibre, the 179 incorporates the highly complex split-seconds function, which allows measurement of intermediate times via a second chronograph hand that can be stopped and re-synchronised.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 

Each vintage calibre, sourced in New Old Stock (NOS) condition, has never been previously assembled, and is carefully inspected, refined and regulated by ANDERSEN Genève’s watchmakers, before being paired with the brand’s proprietary worldtime module. Originally developed by founder Svend Andersen in the late 1980s, this slim and sophisticated module has formed the basis for the brand’s expertise in worldtimers ever since its first Communication 24 model in 1990.

‘AAA’ WATCHMAKING – A NEW ANDERSEN GENÈVE STANDARD

The Split-Seconds Worldtimer marks the debut of a new category within ANDERSEN Genève’s watchmaking: the ‘AAA’ tier. While all ANDERSEN Genève timepieces are individually crafted and finessed to the most exacting standards, the ‘AAA’ designation – engraved discreetly inside the back bezel alongside the names of the contributing team members – represents a new and exceptional convergence of horological accomplishment and artisanal intensity. Here, high complications unite with the most extensive and uncompromising finishing and decorative techniques.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

Accordingly, the Venus 179 movement in this watch has been elevated to a ravishing haute horlogerie standard. Decorative techniques include black polishing of multiple components, such as the sinewy arms of the split-seconds clamp; the column wheel, screw heads, and ultra-refined balance-adjustment elements (swan-neck regulator, setting index, and Geneva stud plate).

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

The flanks of bridges and plates are perfectly drawn with fine emery buffs, and the angles carefully mirror-chamfered. Satin finishes are applied to selected surfaces using pierre de Paris stone – a fine shellac now rarely used in watchmaking, but prized for the refined texture it imparts. Sinks are polished with ruby cutters, and even the arms of gear wheels are delicately angle-polished with great precision.
This ‘AAA’ tier, representing the ultimate expression of horological craft in all its forms, will be reserved for only a handful of watches, owing to the extraordinary time investment and specialised techniques each requires.

CONTINUING A LEGACY IN WORLDTIME WATCHES

Worldtime complications have been a defining part of ANDERSEN Genève’s identity since 1990. Svend Andersen, the brand’s founder, developed one of the first independent ultra-thin worldtime modules after working on complex timepieces at Patek Philippe. His first worldtime wristwatch, the Communication 24, launched in 1990, and set a precedent for future editions, combining practical utility with discreet craftsmanship.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

Since then, ANDERSEN Genève has produced several limited worldtime models, including the Mundus – the world’s thinnest worldtime watch of only 4.2mm (1994), 1884 (2004), Tempus Terrae (2015), and the Celestial Voyager (2021–2024), each expanding on the technical and aesthetic possibilities of the worldtime format. 

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

The Split-Seconds Worldtimer builds on this lineage by integrating a new complication – and doing so without compromising the clarity, proportions, or artisanal ethos that characterises the brand’s work.


Milestones in Time: Key Dates in ANDERSEN Genève’s Worldtimer Journey

    1942 – Svend Andersen is born in Padborg, Denmark
    1969–79 – Works at Patek Philippe; restores original Louis Cottier-made worldtimers
    1979 – Founds ANDERSEN Genève as an independent maker of bespoke timepieces
    1990 – Launches Communication 24, with 24 pieces by subscription; followed by a series-made edition, called simply Communication
    1991 – Chronograph; followed by a series-made edition requested by Italian collectors, called OM21 (oro mundi)
    1992 – Christophorus Columbus – worldtimer showing map of Columbus’s 1492 voyage
    1994 – Mundus, sets record for the world’s thinnest worldtimer of only 4.2mm (still holding in 2025)
    2004 – 1884, celebrating 120 years of global time zones
    2005 – Voyage World Time (Shellman collaboration)
    2015 – Tempus Terrae, celebrating 25 years of worldtimer by ANDERSEN Genève
    2022 – Heures du Monde (Asprey collaboration)
    2022–2024 – Celestial Voyager enamel editions with BCHH
    2025 – Launch of Communication 45
    2025 – Launch of Split-Seconds Worldtime

ANDERSEN Genève has also made several special worldtimer series on request, as well as bespoke commissions for unique pieces. These have on occasion seen the worldtimer paired with other complications including minute repeaters, chronographs, perpetual calendars, retrograde displays and alarm functions.

WATCHMAKING’S GLOBAL CITIZEN
Q&A WITH SVEND
ANDERSEN
SVEND QUOTES ON WORLDTIMERS

What was your first experience of the Worldtime complication?

I moved from Denmark to Switzerland in 1963, and because I could speak good English, I got a job at Gübelin [the Swiss high-end watch retailer] in Lucerne. There, I had the chance to repair some of the original worldtime watches, with Louis Cottier’s mechanism. That was my first real encounter with the complication, and it stayed with me.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 


In the 1970s, you were part of the three-man team in Patek Philippe’s Grand Complications workshop, alongside Roger Dubuis and Max Berney. Did you encounter many worldtimers there?

Absolutely. Louis Cottier had died in 1966 and Patek Philippe stopped making worldtimers after that. But we would repair them, and once someone came to me with trays of parts from the old Cottier worldtime watches from the 1950s. They asked, “Can we make watches from these?” I looked at them carefully and said, ‘I think we can save three movements from this.’ The parts went to another workshop, they made three gold cases, and that was that. But it taught me something important: how special this concept was, how beautiful, and how rare."

You went solo in 1979, and spent the 1980s making first pocket-watch cases and then one-off bespoke watches. What led you eventually back to the worldtime?


Some Italian collectors were asking me for something more interesting than just hours, minutes and seconds. I remembered those old Cottier watches, and I thought, why not a Worldtime? So I began developing my own version. I designed a completely new module, much thinner than what was around at the time. Mine was just 0.9 millimetres, everything included. There weren’t many others around, and those that were used modules that were thicker, like the one from Lemania, and that made the whole watch too bulky. For me, slimness and elegance are very important, especially for a worldtimer.

The Communication started off as a subscription edition of 24 watches. What was the response from collectors like, and how did you get the word out?

When I developed the prototype version, in 1989, I presented it to a German journalist. He published an article, and within two weeks we had 18 subscriptions – out of a planned edition of 24. The other six came soon after. The subscription model meant that people paid 50 percent in advance, and that gave me the funds to buy gold for the cases and to begin production. We actually made 25 cases – the 25th, which had no lugs at all, I kept. It’s my wife’s watch to this day.

From there, you made the series-produced Communication, as well as a handful of special versions with different dial designs. Why do you think there was such a market for it?

Well of course I was very happy about that. It was very pleasing that so many good people, really committed collectors who loved watches, wanted it. Patek Philippe wasn’t making Worldtimers at that time, so in a way, there was a gap in the market. Ebel and a few other brands were doing them, but not really refined. I was going back to what Cottier had invented.

The different dials were made according to the different requests from my retail partners. For example, a cream colour dial with gold map was requested by Yoshi Isogai of the Shellman Boutique in Tokyo. He sold dozens of such Communication with white dials to high end Japanese collectors. There was also a black dial version which was requested by Mr Fagnola of the Fagnola boutique in Turin, for one of his long time Italian clients.

----------------------- 
ABOUT ANDERSEN GENÈVE

Founded in 1980 by master watchmaker Svend Andersen, ANDERSEN Genève has become one of the most exclusive Ateliers in Swiss watchmaking. A founding member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI) – an organization co-instigated by Svend – it is one of the few brands to specialise in bespoke haute horlogerie, working one-on-one with collectors around the world. It is known for its imaginative complications, refined worldtime watches and artistic craftsmanship, bringing a deeply artisanal approach to every creation.

Since 2015, ANDERSEN Genève has been owned and directed by Pierre-Alexandre Aeschlimann, working in close collaboration with Svend Andersen (83 years old), Marco Poluzzi (83 years old), and a small, in-house team of talented watchmakers.

Operating from its original workshop overlooking the Rhône in the historic Saint Gervais area of Geneva – once home to the city’s famed cabinotiers watchmakers – and since 2022 with a second Atelier for case-making in La Chaux-de-Fonds, ANDERSEN Genève creates around 50 watches per year, each one a rare and lasting work of art. In fact, fewer than 1,400 timepieces have been manufactured since 1980.

------------------------------
TECHNICAL DATA

Collection: HAUTES COMPLICATIONS / WORLDTIME Limited Edition

Model: WORLDTIME Split-Seconds Chronograph Platinum Edition

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO  

 Reference 631

Movement:
High quality movement  Venus  179
hand-wound column-wheel chronograph
14 lignes
D 31.6 mm, H 8.2 mm

Frequency:  18’000A/h
26 jewels, with 50 hours power reserve
Case
Material: Platinum (Pt 950) case with polished/brushed zones and welded lugs
Diameter:  38.80 mm
Height: 11.95 mm
Width between lugs: 18 mm
Water Resistant :  30m
Dial
Gold enamel dial & sapphire city ring
Functions
Hours, Minutes, Worldtime, Split Second Chronograph
Strap
Light blue hand-stitched suede strap with platinum (Pt 950) buckle

🔰 Limited Edition: 8 timepieces
🔴 Price: CHF 184,000💰

----------------------------

Press Contact
Zeina Dakak, Founder & Director at ZDLUX&Co.
E: zeina@zdluxco.com | M: +44 7788 161 438
--------------------------------
ANDERSEN Genève SA
36 Quai du Seujet CH-1201 Genève
bureau@andersen-geneve.ch
------------------------------------------
www.Andersen-Geneve.ch