Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Andersen Geneve Communication 45 Supersonic London Takes Flight
A collaboration with watch expert and journalist Justin Hast that celebrates the first and only commercial supersonic transatlantic connection.
In today’s fast-paced, always-online world, there’s less direct need to travel the globe, fast. We can reach someone at the other end of the world at the push of a button if needed. There was a time, however, that for some it mattered if they could get from London to New York in under 4 hours, half the time it took to cross the Atlantic for commercial airlines at the time. The method of travel for those was the legendary Concorde, the supersonic airliner built by the British Aircraft Corporation and Sud Aviation, which took flight on January 21 1976 and was in operation until 2003. Commemorating this incredible chapter in aviation engineering and innovation, Andersen Geneve has collaborated with enthusiast, journalist, collector and all-round watch geek Justin Hast (who long-term readers might still recall when he wrote for us). The fruit of that creative labour is the gorgeous Communication 45 Supersonic London, a worldtimer where the Concorde takes flight to head to New York and that somehow feels a touch familiar.
Before we delve into the watch, it’s probably best to (re)introduce you to Justin Hast to you first. His love for watches started at the age of thirteen, and he’s only dug deeper into the world of watches since then. He worked as a contributor to our magazine, but also for Hodinkee, The Rake and Vanity Fair. He’s also the co-founder of the London Watch Week, the creator of The Watch Annual, hosts a podcast, runs a YouTube channel and much, much more. The connection with Andersen Geneve comes from his love for independent watchmaking (rings a bell…) and the fact he wrote a book on the brand. With input from 15 collectors and enthusiasts, Hast has now coordinated with the fabled indie brand founded by master watchmaker Svend Andersen to create this special Communication 45.
Hand-made by master case-maker Marco Poluzzi, the full platinum case is beautifully proportioned, with a diameter of 38mm and a height of just 8.95mm. The lugs, an elegant blend of teardrop and Cornes de Vache-shaped lugs, are soldered on individually. The time, both locally and when travelling, can be set through the two crowns that are recessed in the flanks of the case and tucked in underneath the bezel. It creates an ultra-clean, almost crown-less illusion which just works wonderfully. And naturally, there’s a sapphire crystal on both ends to protect the dial and movement.
The dial in any Communication 45 is a work of art, and this Supersonic London Edition is no exception. The cloisonné enamel dial, a technique where gold wire is hand-formed to create an intricate image, is finished in a range of colours. It depicts the Concorde right after take-off, soaring through the London skies and passing over the historic Tower Bridge. The result is a decorative heart with incredible depth and detail. Surrounding it is an aventurine 24-hour ring with a piece of white mother-of-pearl underneath the daytime section. The outermost city ring is in brown mother-of-pearl, with the cities in rose gold apart from London, which is finished in blue. The skeletonised hands, which are brushed rose gold, show you local and home time at any time of day, thanks to the rotating city and 24-hour rings. You could say this is the return flight for that other Concorde-themed Andersen Geneve worldtimer, the BCHH Celestial Voyager Supersonic from a couple of years ago.
As ever, Alexander Geneve relies on a vintage A. Schild S.A. base movement, with an in-house world timer module on top. This specific module was first used in an Andersen Geneve-made watch back in 1980 and has served the brand well ever since, being used in plenty of very stylish and sought-after worldtime watches. And Alexander Geneve being Alexandre Geneve means the rotor is executed in BlueGold with a “tapisserie-guilloché” decoration. To spice it up a bit more, there’s also an applied 3D silhouette of the famous Concorde supersonic airliner.
This rather splendid edition of the Communication 45 comes on a hand-stitched brown suede leather strap with a platinum pin buckle and is limited to 20 pieces only. The price is set at CHF 54,800 excluding taxes, right on par with previous platinum iterations. It’s available directly from Andersen Geneve.
For more information, please visit Andersen-Geneve.ch.
