Dubbed the “Watchmaker of the Impossible”, Danish born Svend Andersen moved to Switzerland in 1963 and worked for famed retailer Gübelin in their aftersales service. During his spare time he worked on a “Bottle Clock” a clock that was placed within a small bottle where Andersen had to assemble a working clock inside the confined space of said bottle!

The “Bottle Clock” was exhibited in 1969 at the “Montres et Bijoux” fair and the same year Andersen joined Patek Philippe at the Grand Complications workshop.

A pioneer in spirit, Andersen had the courage to set out on his own in 1980 in the midst of the quartz crisis with an aim to create unique bespoke timepieces. In 1985 with Vincent Calabrese – he co-founded the AHCI (Académie Horloger des Createurs Independent/ Horological Academy of Independent Creators) for which the duo received the Achievement Award at the GPHG in 2023.

Andersen lived up to his reputation as the “Watchmaker of the Impossible” by crafting unique complications for a discerning clientele and the present unique masterpiece is a perfect example.

Made upon commission by a very demanding collector and based on a vintage ebauche, Andersen devised a highly complicated wristwatch, the likes of which had never been seen before! A minute repeating split seconds chronograph, merging two of horology’s most complex complications to master and having taken over 3 years to make.

In his usual whimsical manner, Andersen designed the repeating mechanism to be activated by turning the bezel and thus doing away with the traditional trigger on the side of the case.

Furthermore, not content to offer only two extremely complex complications in the watch, Andersen added a retrograde chronograph minute counter at 1 o’clock, a retrograde date at 5 o’clock as well as a moonphase indication. It is very important to highlight that even though today retrograde indications are often seen, this was definitely not the case in the early 1990s.

Already an extraordinary timepiece with a movement made by a horological genius, the case is made by an artisan at least equally legendary in his own field to Andersen - J.P. Hagmann, who is widely considered one of the (if not the) best case makers in the entire history of horology, having collaborated with virtually all the most important brands. To give an example, when in 1989 Patek Philippe created the most complicated watch in the world (the Calibre 89), Hagmann was their case maker of choice for the pieces.

The present incredible timepiece is fresh to the market, offered by its original owner and a superb example of the innovative spirit and out of the box thinking of Svend Andersen.