Andersen Genève Communication 45 Worldtimer

ANDERSEN Genève presents the Communication 45, a new, handcrafted worldtime watch limited to just 45 pieces – one for each year of the brand’s existence so far – that takes its name from founder Svend Andersen’s original worldtimer series from 1990, the Communication. That watch, much sought-out today, helped reestablish this fabled complication among haute horlogerie collectors, and cemented ANDERSEN Genève as one of the most influential and enduring names in independent watchmaking.

The new Communication 45 becomes ANDERSEN Genève ’s tenth exclusive worldtimer series since 1990. Refined, technically demanding and ravishing in its detail, it embodies the key values of ANDERSEN Genève ’s art: meticulous design and fabrication, the use of exceptional materials and a deep, ongoing commitment to artisanal techniques in both watchmaking and decoration.

A world in gold: three maps, one global vision

The Communication 45 will be made in three distinct 15-piece series, each with a central dial map depicting one of three regions: Europe, Asia, or the Americas. As with previous ANDERSEN Genève worldtimers, the layout follows the classical format of a 24-hour rotating ring, surrounded by a city disc representing time zones around the world. Local time is read centrally using skeletonised, sword-shaped yellow gold hands.

At the heart of the watch is a spectacular, golden-hued map decoration. The centre dial, made from 21ct ‘BlueGold’, is delicately engraved with ANDERSEN Genève’s historic wave-form ‘tapisserie-guilloché’ pattern. Its rich Cognac tone is achieved by kiln firing in the ANDERSEN Genève Atelier, using a ‘BlueGold’ process that is an exclusive hallmark of the brand’s craft.

Into this golden-grown sea, the landmass areas are inlaid with yellow gold, via a multi-stage etching and infilling process that was developed specially for this watch.

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.

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.

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 82, 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.

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).

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).

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

Each case is made entirely by hand in La Chaux-de-Fonds by long-time collaborator Marco Poluzzi, 83 years old, without the use of CNC machinery.

The Communication 45 features a 38mm case in 3N yellow gold, with a slender three-part construction and a gracefully rounded form, hand-polished to a magnificent mirror finish.

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.

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.

The Crafts of Andersen Genève: Exceptional Dials

BlueGold ‘Cognac’ – 21ct Artistry

Dial making has been a key area of creativity and investment at ANDERSEN Genève over the past three decades. One of its most recognisable techniques is the use of 21ct BlueGold – gold that is combined with iron elements and heat-treated, developing a coloured oxidation layer on the surface with a resplendent, permanent lustre. While earlier models used blue-purple tones, the Communication 45 introduces a rich Cognac shade, achieved through precise control of kiln temperature, time, and atmosphere that has been the subject of considerable experimentation by ANDERSEN Genève’s watchmakers.

The BlueGold method was originally demonstrated to Svend Andersen by a Swiss jeweller in the 1990s, who had developed his own, highly specialised process for heat-bluing gold.

It is a technique that, in watchmaking, remains unique to ANDERSEN Genève. With each example made individually, and subject to myriad nuances in timing, chemical make-up and atmospheric factors – all ultimately governed by the intuition of the watchmaker – every BlueGold piece becomes a unique variant with its own character.

‘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.

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. 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.

Each movement is fully disassembled and refinished in-house. 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.

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.

Technical specifications

Andersen Genève Communication 45

Limited edition of 45 pieces: 15-piece editions with dial maps of Europe, Asia, or the Americas

Case

• Material:  3N yellow gold case
• Diameter: 38.00
• Thickness: 8.97 (without glasses)
• 2x sapphire glasses with double sided anti-reflect coating; 2x crowns

Dial and hands

• Dial in 21ct BlueGold “tapisserie-guilloché” cognac colour
• Map on the dial infilled with a liquid lacquer of unalloyed gold
• Open-worked sword hands in yellow gold

Movement

• Automatic Movement with frosted finishing, mirror polished screws
• Frequency: 3 Hz, 21'600 vph
• Power reserve of 40 hours

Functions/Indications

• Central local time, 24-hour ring with day/night, brushed city ring with custom font

Strap and buckle

• Dark brown suede leather with yellow gold pin buckle

MSRP: CHF 49'800 (excl. taxes)

For more information, please visit andersen-geneve.ch