ink gold and platinum combine to glorious effect in the new edition of Andersen Genève’s exceptional Jumping Hours watch, unveiled at the Tokyo residence of Switzerland’s Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Andreas Baum. Limited to 50 pieces, the Jumping Hours – Rising Sun Edition is a work of true horological artistry, which hails the enduring bond between Japan’s pioneering watch community and Andersen Genève.

In the 1980s, as Svend Andersen achieved growing renown as a leading independent watchmaker, Japan’s discerning collectors and connoisseurs were quick to recognise the skill, artistry and inventiveness of his work. A close relationship was formed between Andersen Genève and the watch community in Japan, a country where craftsmanship, detail and beauty carry such value, and where traditional watchmaking skills are held in such high regard. Many important Andersen Genève watches have since been made for Japanese collectors. These include several stunning unique pieces, and the famous Voyage world-timer, a 50-piece limited edition made in 2005 in collaboration with Mr Yoshi Isogai of the celebrated retailer Shellman. Few are ever resold.

Mr. Isogai was the owner of “Shellman” Boutique in Ginza. He introduced and distributed independent watchmakers like Philippe Dufour, Svend Andersen, Beat Haldimann just to name the ones belonging to AHCI (Académie des Créateurs Indépendants). Thanks to his passion for details and watchmaking, some of the most beautiful Andersen Genève timepieces are on the wrists of collectors in Japan.

In 2023, Andersen Genève has once more created a 50-piece limited edition designed to delight its Japanese clientele. The Jumping Hours – Rising Sun Edition was launched on June 13 in Tokyo at the Swiss ambassador’s residence, to an audience of many of the country’s most esteemed watch collectors and aficionados.

The new watch is Andersen Genève ’s latest interpretation of the Jumping Hours complication, in which the hour is displayed through a window in the dial – ‘jumping’ from one hour to the next on the hour – while minutes are indicated by a hand. A complication loved both for its minimalist elegance and for the emphasis it brings to the dial itself, the Jumping Hours holds particular significance for Andersen Genève.

In 1995 Svend Andersen was first commissioned to create a watch with such a display, combining it with a minute repeater. It subsequently became requested in a number of “pièce unique” commissions, and famously gave rise to one of the most recognisable Andersen Genève inventions, the “Jour & Nuit”. This ingenious design, which used the Jumping Hours module to carry a double-ended ‘jumping’ 24-hour hand, led to a series of watches made for Cartier in 1998, as well as well-known editions for Andersen Genève.

In recent years, Andersen Genève has taken the Jumping Hours complication to new levels of artistry and beauty, as a platform for watches that emphasise traditional craft above all else. Its Jumping Hours watches were nominated for Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) awards, in the Artistic Crafts category, in both 2020 and 2021.

Andersen Genève once again presents an exceptionally refined interpretation of the classic Jumping Hours complication, in a version that pairs a hand-crafted platinum case with a dial of 18ct pink gold: a subtle and exceptionally beautiful combination.

The hour is indicated through a window at 12 o’clock, while the minutes tick by discretely on a sub-dial at 6 o’clock, indicated by a white gold hand. This points to a railway-style chapter ring printed in dark blue, as is the Andersen Genève logo above the hour window.

The rest of the dial forms a canvas for a virtuoso display of traditional guilloché engraving, etched directly into the pink gold surface. The dial is dominated by a mesmerising “magic losange” pattern, while a hobnail pattern occupies the minutes subdial. Performed by one of Switzerland’s finest artisans, several days are required to engrave a single dial, with three different engine turning machines used to build up the intricately detailed pattern.

Viewed up close, this guilloché engraving brings incredible iridescence to the dial surface as the light catches it from different angles, and emphasises the rich tonal contrast between the pink gold and the platinum 950 case. The case itself requires different techniques of machining and craftsmanship to build, and to achieve the most flawless finishes – the flanks are satin brushed, while the bezel is mirror polished. The curving lugs, an Andersen Genève signature, are made separately in traditional style, and painstakingly welded to the case.

The reverse of the watch is equally enchanting: a sapphire glass case-back reveals the flawless hand- finishing of the movement, including meticulous anglage around the individual parts, Côtes de Genève decoration and mirror-polishing of the screw-heads, all performed in-house by Andersen Genève artisans. Topped off by a majestically decorated rotor winding rotor in 18ct pink gold, the movement is encircled by a ring of 21ct BlueGold, created via a unique heat treating process.

The watch is powered by the Frédéric Piguet 11.50 movement, an exceptional, artisanally-made Swiss calibre. Its ultra-slim dimensions make it a perfect base to carry the jumping hours mechanism developed and assembled in-house by Andersen Genève , while its two-barrel architecture ensures a long power reserve of up to 72 hours.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Frédéric Piguet 11.50 double barrels automatic movement

3Hz (21’600A/h) 28 jewels 70 hours power reserve

18ct pink gold (5N) “hand guilloché grain d’orge” rotor

Jumping Hours module developed and assembled at Andersen Genève

18ct pink gold (5N) hand guilloché “magical losanges” dial Hours displayed in the window at 12 o’clock, minutes displayed by a brushed white gold hand in a counter at 6 o’clock

Platinum (Pt 950) case with polished/brushed zones and welded lugs

Two sapphire glasses

Waterproof: 30m

Diameter: 38.0 mm Height: 9.22mm Width between lugs: 19 mm

Light grey hand-stitched suede strap with platinum (Pt 950) buckle