The Andersen Genève x BCHH Celestial Voyager “Sunset over Cappadocia” Version 2

Longtime Singaporean collector Benjamin Chee had a dream of creating beautiful, high-end watches. To manifest his vision, he created the BCHH (Benjamin Chee Haute Horlogerie) brand and reached out to master watchmaker Svend Andersen of Andersen Genève to create the Celestial Voyager, a sophisticated world timer with a handcrafted enamel dial. Following the sold-out success of the 2022 “Sunset over Cappadocia” model, the new BCHH Celestial Voyager flies in with a cloisonné enamel dial with a new two-tone platinum and rose gold case.

Svend Andersen honed his skills at Patek Philippe in the prestigious Atelier des Grandes Complications during the 1970s, where he specialised in world timers, working with the complication developed by Louis Cottier in the 1930s. Branching out to create his own brand in the 1980s, Andersen has become the go-to watchmaker for world-time complications.

The first collaboration was the Celestial Voyager of 2021, followed by the sold-out Sunset over Cappadocia, the ensuing Arctic Sunrise and Aurora and the Supersonic.

Marking the first Celestial Voyager to appear in a two-tone platinum and rose gold case, the compact dimensions – 37.7mm diameter x 10.1mm thickness – ensure a perfect fit. The gracefully scalloped handmade lugs, referred to as eagle’s wings, are soldered to the case and polished by hand. This combination of a brushed platinum case middle and a warm, polished rose gold bezel gives the dial a warmer frame. Following the twin-crown architecture found in Cottier’s complication, the crown at 9 o’clock with the BCHH seal is to adjust the city ring, and the one at 3 o’clock, with the Andersen logo, is used to set the time.

The dial depicts hot air balloons drifting over the Cappadocian landscape at sunset. Although the colour scheme is similar to the first version, the scenery is slightly different, as is the position of the four balloons.

Handcrafted in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the dial is brought to life with the art of cloisonné enamel. Using flat gold strips soldered to the base to create the outline of the image, the enameller then fills the miniature cells with vitreous enamel colours that are fired dozens of times in the kiln and polished to achieve a smooth, uniform texture.

Sparkling blue aventurine is used for the peripheral city ring, with Cappadocia highlighted in rose gold powder. The 24-hour ring surrounding the dial also features rose gold representations of the Sun and Moon. The elegant leaf-shaped hands are openworked to allow the best view possible of the scenery on the dial.

The rose gold ring on the caseback opens onto a mother-of-pearl flange and a 21k ‘BlueGold’ rotor decorated with hand-guilloché wave patterns. The BCHH Celestial Voyager is equipped with a vintage movement and fitted with a proprietary world time module. Lovingly restored and hand-decorated by Andersen Genève with haute horlogerie finishings, the base movement is a calibre AS 1876 sourced from A. Schild S.A. The automatic movement runs at 3Hz and delivers a 40-hour power supply.

Only 20 pieces of the Celestial Voyager Sunset over Cappadocia Version 2 will be produced. The watch is open to customisation requests and retails for GBP 54,500 (excl. tax).

For more information, please consult bchh.ch.