Andersen Genève’s final novelty of 2023 celebrated the era of three hour trans-Atlantic flights with the creation of the BCHH Celestial Voyager Supersonic, a limited edition world timer featuring Concorde and New York’s Chrysler building on its dial.
The watch, made in collaboration with Benjamin Chee Haute Horlogerie, recalls the romance of travel and the pioneering spirit of the fastest and most iconic passenger aircraft of all.
BCHH is a Singapore-based high horology brand specialising in one-of-a-kind collector timepieces.
In service from 1976 to 2003, Concorde became a global symbol of innovation, luxury and human achievement.
It is captured on the Andersen Genève dial in a nighttime scene as it passes New York City’s famous Chrysler building en route to JFK airport.
The art is created using champlevé enamelling where coloured enamels are fed into tiny engraved recesses in the dial.
More than ten enamel shades are used to create the mottled tones of the evening sky, each of which needs to be applied and fired individually in multiple layers before particles of gold are applied to make up the starry sky.
The starry dial is framed by a 24 city world timer city ring made from aventurine stone with New York highlighted in rose gold powder.
Andersen Genève and BCHH have committed to making 20 of the watches.
Modern aeronautics inspired more than just the dial, the watch comes in a slimline 37.8mm case made from platinum with a bezel and case back in grade 5 titanium, which is lighter and stronger than steel.
An exhibition case back shows off a Swiss-made automatic movement modified with a time zone complication developed by Andersen Genève. It has a 21ct BlueGold rotor decorated with an Art Deco wave-form guillochage engraving embossed with the silhouette of the Concorde.
Price is on application.
