What is the new ANDERSEN Genève Communication 45, Platinum Edition?
It is the platinum version of the Communication 45; a model unveiled last year in 3N yellow gold to celebrate ANDERSEN Genève’s 45th anniversary. It was named after the Communication, the brand’s first world timer unveiled in 1990. It was limited to 45 pieces, 1 each for every year of the brand, and split into three versions: 15 each for Europe, Asia and the Americas.
The Communication 45, Platinum Edition is the same watch clothed in its namesake white precious metal case. Like last year’s yellow gold edition, it too is limited to 45 pieces: 15 each for Europe, Asia and the Americas.
We were fortunate to interview Pierre-Alexandre Aeschlimann, the brand’s owner last year. Please click here to read.
What are its dial features?
The centre dial is crafted from 21K BlueGold featuring a ‘Tapisserie-Guilloché’ pattern achieved by an original machine from the 19th century and a Belle Époque template that Svend Andersen, the brand’s founder discovered more than 30 years ago. The 24-hour or time-zone ring is divided into day and night. Day is depicted by silver, and night by midnight blue. The silver-coloured city ring features a circular-brushed finish and showcases 24 city names, 1 for each of the 24 time zones as well as India, that falls in a half time zone.
What are its case features?
The three-part case is crafted from platinum, measuring 38 mm (diameter) and 8.95 mm (thickness). The lugs are crafted and polished before being soldiered to the case. Dial side and caseback feature sapphire crystals with anti-reflective coating on both sides. Water resistant up to 30 metres. The watch comes with a hand-stitched dark blue coloured suede strap fitted with a pin buckle made from platinum.
“Each Communication 45 Platinum case is made entirely by hand under the guidance of Marco Poluzzi, 84, whose workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds was acquired by ANDERSEN Genève in 2022 and now serves as the brand’s second Atelier. Making a platinum case requires even greater skill and patience than a gold case, due to its higher density and hardness, and tendency to gum up tooling.”
Is it powered by a vintage automatic movement?
Yes. It is powered by a high-quality vintage automatic movement upgraded by the brand that is paired with a world time module developed and crafted in-house. The world time module is an updated version from the one used in the brand’s Celestial Voyager series. It drives the hours, minutes and world time function, beats at a luxurious frequency of 3 Hz or 21,600 vph and delivers a power reserve of 40 hours.
The crown at 3 o’clock is for winding and time-setting, and at 9’clock for city or time-zone selection. Let us assume that Dubai is the selected time-zone, and the local time is 14.00. The wearer will have to rotate both the 9 o’clock crown until Dubai is set at 12 o’clock, and the 3 o’clock crown until the 24-hour or time-zone ring is set at “14” below Dubai on the city ring. Once this procedure is completed, the time-zone ring will rotate anticlockwise, allowing the wearer to glance at the time in all 24 time zones across the world. The time-zone ring is synchronized with the hour and minute hands.
What do we think?
ANDERSEN Genève is among a handful of watchmakers who literally handcrafts their watches. They presently have two collections: the Worldtimer Collection and the Jumping Hours Collection. Both utilise vintage movements paired with an in-house world time or jumping hours module. The brand also introduced the Rattrapante Mondiale, the first ever split-seconds world timer, featuring the Venus 179, a legendary split-seconds movement.
In an industry obsessed with “Manufacture” and “In-House,” ANDERSEN Genève is not afraid to be transparent about its choice of a vintage base movement, especially given their stature and pedigree. Svend Andersen spent nine years at Patek Philippe and is the co-founder of Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI). The brand is a pioneer of independent watchmaking, long before the term became commonplace as it is today.
The Communication 45, Platinum Edition celebrates the early days of the brand yet looks towards the future. It showcases exceptional craftsmanship; the dial, case and rotor individually are works of art. Its world time function is as romantic and relevant as ever, and its 38 mm case size is just perfect for the present trend for compact size watches. An IFKYN (if you know you know) kind of watch, it will surely delight the 45 fortunate owners who will have the privilege to add one to their collections.
Additional Details
Name: Communication 45, Platinum Edition
Price: Swiss Franc (CHF) 54,800 (not including taxes)
Limited to 45 pieces. 15 pieces depict Europe, 15 pieces depict Asia, and 15 pieces depict the Americas.
Please click here to learn more.
