By the end of day three at Baselworld each year, most watches start to blend into one another – the first watch you saw looks a lot like the last one you have just clapped eyes on. But occasionally, in this night sky of watch stars, you catch a glimpse of a comet. And this year, Rexhep Rexhepi’s Akrivia Chronomètre Contemporain was one of those comets.
On just about every watch journalist’s short list of “Top 5 watches at Baselworld”, it’s a return to the ideals of early/mid twentieth century watchmaking: traditional skills, simple aesthetics, the pleasing location of the in-house manufacture within the Old Town in Geneva. What was particularly stunning was the design of the movement: that symmetrical layout of main spring and winding gear, the gear train running down the left-hand side as you view the movement; and with a proprietary balance wheel of the same proportions on the right-hand side to provide visual symmetric balance to the design. Easier to describe than implement.
The power reserve is an impressive 100 hours and the watch also features a zeroing reset to 12 for all hands when the crown is pulled out. The finishing ranks among the best in the industry: the Geneva stripes, the black polished middle bridge with different curved and flat surfaces, the black polished balance cock and the chamfering (angelage) of all edges is exact: perfect tradition.
It is an extremely pleasing visual array of a basic time-only chronometric movement. If you have dealers of the calibre of Singapore’s “Hour Glass” Mike Tay ordering a basket of the watches for his clients, you know you have a winner. It’s been a longtime in the works, but it is one of the most exciting watches to appear this year – or most other years for that matter.
Four months after Baselworld ended I met Rexhep in the Akrivia atelier in Geneva Old Town. He sits at his own bench, facing a garden, essentially working alone on the watches that bears his name. It is difficult to believe he is barely 30. A youthful appearance and demeanor belie the fact that he is already in his seventeenth year as a watchmaker. Since the age of 14 it’s all he has wanted to do. As soon as he could, he left school and sought his education elsewhere. Landing an apprenticeship at Patek Philippe, he rose through the trainee ranks swiftly and was appointed to the restoration department where he dealt with the historic references. He had a particular love for the old Patek Philippe marine chronometers and observatory watches, how design, watchmaking prowess and finishing would provide a timekeeper of superlative aesthetics and chronometric accuracy.
We all dare to dream and for Rexhep it was to design and make his own simple, classic watch. Something that was modern but based firmly in the past. Despite working on some initial ideas while serving his time as an apprentice and newly qualified watchmaker at Patek, the plans were shelved in favour of starting a new brand with his brother that would concentrate on traditional watchmaking skills but modern design watches: Akrivia.
Since, Akrivia has developed a unique and recognisable aesthetic in the watch market. But after five years and with the Akrivia brand established, Rexhep turned his thoughts back to the initial ideas he had for his own watch. And understandably the influence vintage mid-century Pateks have on Rexhep’s own watch is all too evident. The case size is a near ideal 38mm with a case depth just over 9mm and reminiscent of the Patek case construction by Emile Vichet in the Fifties, where the lugs were elongated and curved downwards. The dial is vitreous enamel; fired enamel: where powdered enamel is fired to a metallic base – usually brass.
From the time Rexhep started working on the watch again it took about 18 months to get the prototype ready to show at Baselworld in March 2018. The prototype is the watch he wears everyday; Rexhep says that he keeps the Chronometre in its prototype form as it helps him think about the watch and how to improve it. The production version of the watch will differ in some small and subtle ways. However, the mandate to produce the watch in a strictly either/or dial colour and case material is absolute.
Only 50 will be made: 25 in rose gold with the black dial and 25 in platinum with the white dial. Rexhep’s own prototype watch is the only one with a steel case. There is a reason for this: in the future, Rexhep wants the watch to be instantly recognisable. If you allow a myriad of dial colour combinations, future collectors might wait for – or not want – one watch in favour of another. In turn, this might detract from the value of certain watches at auction. However, if there are only two basic case and dial combinations, then as a collector you only have two different watches to choose from.
When GQ visited the atelier, the Chronometre series was just about sold out. There were two of the rose gold versions left and a friend of mine had dispatched me with instructions to secure the last of the platinum-cased version. Needless to say that they are probably all sold by now.
So what now? Where does Rexhep Rexhepi go from here? Well, the success from the first watch has enabled him to not only establish his name and credentials, but equally to expand the atelier in the Old Town in Geneva, joining a lineage that includes such illustrious dial names as Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. That said, Rexhep intends to keep watch production limited in scale and located on the Grand-Rue of Geneva Old Town. A true Genevois production.
The success of the first watch, and the establishing of in-house machinery that can deal with one-off designs and implementation, means Rexhep is now able to make prototypes to test different mechanisms. There are three complications currently in development: a chronograph, a perpetual calendar and a minute repeater.
There are also some far-off plans for a tourbillon, but with a very classic design and execution with no hole in the dial. (Rexhep retains the Patek Philippe belief that sunlight accelerates the deterioration in the oils that lubricate a movement and therefore a hole to view the tourbillon dial-side is detrimental to the chronometric performance of the watch.) All watches will be produced in low numbered, limited editions.
But for the next couple of years, watch production will be devoted to the Classique series. Rexhep hopes to complete around 15 to 20 of the watches annually. The finished watches will have slight changes to the prototype that was unveiled at Baselworld: a small change to the case to accentuate the bezel and slightly rounded lugs to remove any sharp edges.
For the movement, the finishing will be improved: a deeper shine given to the Geneva strips, a more exacting polish on the angelage and work on the mechanical winding so that the owner can feel the mechanism.
The concentration on the quality of the movement only adds to the longevity and endurance of the watch: not just for this generation, but generations to come. Rexhep intends that his watches will be measuring time long into the future.
There is so much to admire about Rexhep’s watchmaking approach and philosophy. From the location of the atelier, to the design and execution of the watch, to the concentration on the aesthetics and chronometry of the movement. He will, for a small charge, obtain an independent timing certificate from the Besançon Observatory for your watch if you so choose. Independent testing and timing of a watch is putting your reputation on the line: as it should be. His watches will be future collectibles. One thing is for sure, if owning a watch of this calibre and quality interests you, you are going to have to be quick when a new watch is announced. Keeping production small scale, with limited editions, is a sure way to keep interest maintained. He might be the new kid on the block, but Rexhepi knows a great deal more than his years convey.
