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Baselworld 2016: ANDERSEN Genève “Perpetual Secular Calender” 20th Anniversary Project
After having manufactured the first ever wristwatch with Jewish Calender – The Hebraïka, ANDERSEN Genève created in 1996 the “Perpetual Secular Calender”. It was the first 100% perpetual calender Horological Wristwatch Calender programmed for 400 years – or even 800.
This watch has been adorned by watch collectors worldwide. To celebrate its 20th Anniversary ANDERSEN Genève adds one more complication and presents the
ANDERSEN Genève – “Perpetual Secular Calender” 20th Anniversary Project
Only 20 “bespoke” watches will be manufactured
HISTORY
Our calender, which is in use worldwide, is called the Gregorian Calender. It was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII in replacement of the Julian Calender.
The new system adopted the year of 365 days with a leap year of 366 days every 4 years that had already been fixed by Julius Caesar but it revealed to be inexact. Therefore Pope Gregory XIII ordered a calender reform with a correction of 10 days, whereby the 4th October 1582 of the Julian Calender was immediately followed by the 15th October 1582 of the Gregorian Calender.
He also introduced a special secular leap year cycle, i.e. only those secular years which are divisible by 400 are considered to be leap years. Therefore the secular years 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 are not leap years and have only 28 days in February.
Watches with perpetual calender usually have the normal leap year cycle. Exceptions are big astronomic clocks as well as two pocket watches made by Patek Philippe, one being the famous "Calibre 89" and the other is a watch that was made in the seventies for an American collector.
Therefore back to 1996 the ANDERSEN Genève’s “Perpetual Secular Calender” Wristwatch was the first, hundred percent, perpetual calender wristwatch.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary (1996-2016) of this iconic watch ANDERSEN Genève adds one more complication to the “Perpetual Secular Calender”:
The seven days of the week will be displayed on the dial
The seven-day week is represented by the sun, the moon and five planets.
The complication is made readable with seven small apertures to indicate the current day.
Between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, the Roman Empire gradually replaced the eight-day Roman nundinal cycle with the seven-day week. The names of the days are derived from the sun, the moon and the names of classical planets in Hellenistic astrology. They are named after contemporary deities, a system introduced in the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity. It starts with the Sun, and then the Moon, Mars (Ares), Mercury (Hermes), Jupiter (Zeus), Venus (Aphrodite) and Saturn (Cronos).
The Latin names of planets were simple translations of the Greek names, which in turn were translations of the Babylonian names, which go back to the Sumerians.
The 1st day in Latin is named after the Sun (Solis dies), but Christians also consider the Lord's day (Dominicus dies), as in Greek.
Sunday - SUN The name comes from the Latin dies solis, meaning "sun's day": the name of a pagan Roman holiday. It is also called Dominica (Latin), the Day of God. The sun is “the chief” of all the astral bodies.
Monday - MOON The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon monandaeg, or the Latin Lunae dies "the moon's day". This second day was sacred to the goddess of the moon.
Tuesday - MARS This day was named after the Norse god Tyr. The Romans named this day after their war-god Mars: dies Martis.
Wednesday - MERCURY The Romans called it dies Mercurii, after their god Mercury.
The day was named in honor to Wodan (Odin).
Thursday - JUPITER The Romans named this day dies Jovis ("Jove's Day"), after Jove or Jupiter, their most important god. The day named after the Norse god Thor. In the Norse languages this day is called Torsdag.
Friday - VENUS To the Romans this day was sacred to the goddess Venus, and was known as dies veneris.
The day is in honor of the Norse goddess Frigg. In Old High German this day was called frigedag.
Saturday - SATURN Saturn is the Roman and Italic god of agriculture and later the god of time (cronos). This day was called dies Saturni, "Saturn's Day", by the ancient Romans in honor of Saturn. In Anglo-Saxon: sater daeg.
TECHNICAL DATA
Movement : High quality automatic movement upgraded by Andersen Genève
4Hz (28’000A/h) with 48 hours power reserve
“Perpetual Secular Calender” complication module developed and produced in the atelier in Geneva
Days, Date, Months and Leap Years indication over 400 years without settings
Four years' program for the leap year cycle: a wheel with 48 teeth=4 x 12 months, thus every 4 year, the 29th February appears. This wheel pushes a reduction wheel one tooth forward every 4 years. The reduction wheel divides the turning speed into two and hereby the secular wheel of 50 teeth is activated and moves on for one tooth every 8 years, e.g. 50 x 8=400
Thus, the secular wheel turns once in 400 years and is programmed for the secular years:
2000 (with 29 Feb.), 2100 (28 Feb.), 2200 (28 Feb.), 2300 (28 Feb.) and 2400 (29Feb.)
Case : Platinum Case
Diameter: 41 mm/ Height: 12mm/ Width between lugs: 21 mm
Platinum 5mm crown with “A” logo
Two sapphire glasses
Dial (front) : 35mm in Platinum with hand guilloché “diamond eight” motive
Days of the week indication with the sun, the moon and five planets hand engraved in Gold
Hours, Minutes and Seconds indication with blued hands
Dial (back) : “Perpetual Secular Calender” indication with three counters and blued hands indicating Months, Years and Leap Years. Bespoke and manufactured according to clients wishes (design, material, color, engraving etc.)
Strap : Hand-stitched alligator leather with buckle or fold-over clasp in platinum
ANDERSEN Genève
Andersen Genève has been creating high end watches for watch collectors for more than 4 decades. Svend Andersen launched his own workshop in the late 70’s after having spent 9 years at Patek Philippe in their Atelier des Complications. He started his career as independent watch maker by first manufacturing cases for Italian collectors. Satisfied with the high quality of the work, the watch collectors started to ask for their own bespoke time pieces (called “pièce unique”). Since then Andersen Genève has been developing complicated watches like the annual calender, perpetual calender, and jumping hour calender. One of Andersen Genève’s most complicated watches developed is the Secular Perpetuel Calender. It is a watch that accommodates a quirk of the Gregorian Calender; three secular years, not divisible by 400: 2100, 2200 and 2300, are not leap years. In these years regular perpetual calenders require manual correction, i.e. it doesn’t need an extra day in February. The complication developed by Andersen Genève will show the date without adjustment every year up to and beyond 2400.
Andersen Genève gained recognition not only from watch collectors but also from his peers. Svend Andersen co-founded the AHCI – Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants - in 1985. He was awarded world records from the Guinness Book. In 1989 he developed the smallest calender watch (6.5 x 17.4mm) ever produced; roughly the size of a match head. In 1994 one of his world time watches was awarded the thinnest world time watch ever made.
While working at Patek Philippe in the early 70’s Svend Andersen had the chance to work on the world time complication developed by the Geneva based watch maker Louis Cottier. Mr. Cottier created the first pocket watch in the 30’s and then the first wristwatch with an indication of different time zones. In commemoration to Louis Cottier’s first world time wristwatch, Andersen Genève designed its first World Time watch in 1989. It was a great success and the watches were delivered to watch collectors in 1990. Since then, Andersen Genève has been developing different series of World Time watches and pièces uniques. World Time watches are indeed part of Andersen Genève’s DNA.
Other Andersen Genève’s iconic timepieces are the collection of Eros watches and Montres A Tact.
Eros watches carry the most complicated erotic automaton available on the market. It also offers its owner endless personalisation possibilities on the dial of the watch or on the erotical scene.
Montre A Tact watches have 2 reading time windows on the case of the watch so that its owner doesn't need to turn his wrist to read time. The complication developed in house is added on a vintage high quality automatic movement upgraded by Andersen Genève. This watch doesn’t have hands on the dial and offers a wide range of personalization from hand painted scenes to any type of hand guilloché, or precious stones. Portraits, coat of arms, logos engraved scenes have been realized with the help of master craftsmen of their respective fields.
Andersen Genève welcomes collectors from all around the world to create and deliver them the “pièce unique” they have always been dreaming of.
