Black jade and mother of pearl for Andersen Genève’s Jumping Hours 

Let’s talk about Andersen Genève once more. A brand, founded by master watchmaker Svend Andersen, much loved by connoisseurs of fine watchmaking and characterised by complications of the highest craft, made with an artisan approach inspired by that of the great masters of the past. Jumping hours and world hours are the complications that most characterise Andersen Genève’s production, making its watches instantly recognisable. It is precisely among the Jumping Hours that two impeccably crafted watches deserve a closer look: the Jumping Hours Black Jade Stone and the recently launched Jumping Hours Mother of Pearl.

How the Jumping Hours complication came into being and how they work is a subject we addressed in this article, illustrating the very personal interpretation that ANDERSEN Genève has given to the function. In that case we were talking about the Jumping Hours 40th Anniversary and the Jumping Hours Rising Sun Edition. We will not therefore return to the technical and historical subject matter, but rather we will focus on the references with the black jade and mother-of-pearl dials.

JUMPING HOURS BETWEEN PLATINUM AND MOTHER OF PEARL

Let us start with the latter, which is new and does not belong to the series of editions created by Andersen Genève for its 40th anniversary in 2020. In any case, like last year’s version with a black jade dial, mother of pearl has something magical about it. Starting with the fact that, to be worked into such thin layers as required for a dial, it must be entrusted to more than skilled hands. The slightest mistake is enough to risk ruining the entire piece. 

The case is 950 platinum, with balanced dimensions that make the Jumping Hours Mother of Pearl very wearable, like the brand’s other Jumping Hours watches. We are talking about a diameter of 38 mm and a thickness of 9.22 mm, with a lug width of 19 mm and a water resistance of 3 bar. The bezel is mirror polished, unlike the case middle which is characterised by a horizontal satin finish broken up by the lugs, also polished. The detail of the crown without the logo is beautiful, highlighting the minimalist character of the watch.

The hours are displayed in a window at 12 o’clock, and on the dial there is a single classic minute hand within a subdial at 6 o’clock, which seems to float over the mother of pearl of the dial with its blue chemin-de-fer minute track – matching the colour of the Andersen Genève inscription at 12 o’clock. Changing with the light, the mother of pearl reveals a milky glow and, at times, a variety of iridescent colours.

ANDERSEN GENÈVE AND CALIBRE EXCELLENCE

If the dial looks like a small, totally unique work of art, what can be seen on the back through the sapphire crystal is almost even more beautiful. The movement is the Frédéric Piguet 11.50 that we have already seen in previous Jumping Hours editions, with a double barrel and 70-hour power reserve. The meticulously bevelled individual parts, the mirror-polished screw heads and the Côtes-de-Genève decoration were all handmade in the Andersen Genève atelier.

The 18-carat rose gold rotor is guilloché with a ‘grain d’orge’ motif, and the A logo can be seen on the bridge. The whole is surrounded by a 21-carat blue gold band. This precious metal, a kind of Andersen Genève signature, is obtained by combining 24-carat gold with iron elements and subjecting it to a heat treatment giving it a radiant shade of blue, unique of its kind. As a result of this almost alchemistic process, a hue emerges whereby the shades of the metal can vary from light or dark blue to champagne, grey or even violet.

THE MAGIC OF JADE

Sharing the same spirit is the Jumping Hours Black Jade Stone. Having said that the calibre is the same Frédéric Piguet 11.50, it is also worth focusing on the craftsmanship with which the dial has been made for this reference. Indeed, this version of the watch combines a hand-crafted 950 platinum case of the dimensions we are already familiar with, with a black jade dial: a subtle combination of exceptional beauty, thanks to the contrast between the luminosity brought by platinum and the deep black characterising the jade stone.

Like mother of pearl, jade stone is a material whose processing allows no margin for error. To delicately cut it to a thickness of only 0.4 mm and work it to a perfectly flat and flawless finish, the craftsmen at Andersen Genève had to put all their skills to the test. In fact, this process requires incredible skill: at its thinnest point, where the hour disc is recessed underneath, the dial is only 0.25 mm thick: breakage during machining is a very high risk.

Surely, though, it is worth the effort: the effect the jade stone gives is bewitching. Seen from a distance, the dial appears to be black, deep and uniform. A colour that forms a vivid contrast with the minute hand, minute track, brand logo and crown, which are in a powdery shade of rose gold. However, as jade is not a uniform material by nature, a closer look at the dial reveals the veining of the stone, details that make each watch unique.

The total black look of the Jumping Hours Black Jade Stone is completed with a black leather strap with tone-on-tone stitching and a pin buckle. In the reference with the mother-of-pearl dial, on the other hand, the strap combines the sportiness of suede with the colour’s elegance: the leather’s light blue picks up on touches of blue in the dial, while the light-coloured stitching recalls the splendour of mother of pearl.

Due to the complexity involved in their making, both watches are limited editions: 50 pieces for the jade dial version, 12 pieces for the mother-of-pearl. Both references, however, are offered at the same price: 52,800 Swiss francs, excluding tax – although, on closer inspection, watches like these are actually priceless. Because with the Jumping Hours Black Jade Stone and the Jumping Hours Mother of Pearl, Andersen Genève has demonstrated once again that true value and true beauty often lie in the subtlest details.

By Davide Passoni