A WORLD IN GOLD: THREE MAPS, ONE GLOBAL VISION

The Communication 45 follows the classic worldtime layout. Time is shown simultaneously in 24 time zones around the world via a rotating 24-hour ring (with day/night sectors) and an adjustable city disc, with local time indicated centrally with skeletonised sword-shaped hands in yellow gold.

At the heart of the display is a spectacular centre dial in 21ct BlueGold – an ANDERSEN Genève speciality in which gold, combined with iron elements, is heat-treated in a kiln to develop a coloured oxidation layer on the surface, which has a resplendent, permanent lustre. Rather than blue, the dial is this time fired to a rich ‘cognac’ shade, and engraved with ANDERSEN Genève’s emblematic waveform ‘tapisserie’ – an antique pattern that has been a recurrent signature in the brand’s dialmaking.

Within this burnished seascape, pure yellow gold landmasses for the three dial map versions – Europe, Asia or the Americas – are inlaid using a new, custom-developed process that required months of development with outstanding Swiss suppliers. Fifteen watches are being created for each map variant, for a total of 45 pieces.

CASE-MAKING ARTISTRY

The 38mm case, made from 3N yellow gold, is produced at ANDERSEN Genève’s case workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds using traditional, non-CNC methods that are nowadays extremely rarefied. It features curving sides, an artfully stepped bezel, dual recessed crowns and a flawless, hand-polished mirror finish.

The distinctive lugs are a highlight of the design. Inspired by the teardrop lugs of the original 1990 Communication – a case made by the renowned, late craftsman Jean-Pierre Hagmann – they are reinterpreted here with a more sculptural cornes de vache profile.

The two crowns are subtly recessed into the case flanks. The crown at 9 o’clock, used to adjust the city ring, is engraved with the C45 anniversary globe logo; the 3 o’clock crown, for winding and time-setting, carries the ANDERSEN Genève “A” emblem.

THE MECHANICS OF WORLDTIME

The worldtime function is handled by ANDERSEN Genève’s in-house complication module, originally developed by Svend Andersen in the 1980s. The module is just 0.9mm thick and has been continually refined to improve accuracy, energy efficiency and usability.

This is paired with a new-old-stock vintage movement, selected for its slim profile and mechanical reliability. This high-grade ebauche is fully reworked, assembled and deftly hand-finished by ANDERSEN Genève’s watchmakers, and adorned with a winding rotor made – as with the dial – from cognac-toned BlueGold, bearing the same waveform tapisserie.

For the movement finishing, bridges and plates are given a delicate frosted texture, forming a rich contrast with the immaculately applied anglage. Screw-heads are mirror-polished, and the teeth of wheels are refined to precise tolerances. On the central bridge, the brand’s “A” logo is discretely engraved on a black-polished plate with a blued screw at its centre.

WORLDTIME WATCHES: AN ANDERSEN GENÈVE SPECIALITY

The worldtimer has been central to ANDERSEN Genève’s work for 35 years. Founder Svend Andersen first encountered the complication while restoring watches in the 1960s, and later deepened his expertise during a decade in Patek Philippe’s Grand Complications workshop. In the late 1980s, he developed his own ultra-thin worldtime module which became the basis for the Communication 24, launched in 1990 as a 24-piece subscription series. This was followed by the serially produced Communication, inspired by Cottier’s original design and cased by Jean-Pierre Hagmann with elegant teardrop lugs.

Since then, ANDERSEN Genève has produced seven more limited worldtimer series, including the Christophorus Columbus (1992), Mundus (1994), 1884 (2004), Tempus Terrae (2015), and the enam

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