The name BCHH might not be familiar to you, but it is the result of a long-time collector's dream to create his own high-end watch brand. The abbreviation stands for Benjamin Chee Haute Horlogerie, a brand founded in 2019 by the man behind Celadon (established in 2012) and Milléchron (established in 2018), aiming to put his country, Singapore, on the map of traditional watchmaking. Speaking of maps, the new watches resulting from this project couldn't be more relevant, being classic and sophisticated world time watches. Today we explore the BCHH Celestial Voyager, a series of seven ultra-exclusive watches created in collaboration with Andersen Genève, showcasing impeccable traditional craftsmanship.
HISTORY
BCHH is spearheaded by a man named Benjamin Chee, who spent several years collecting watches before deciding to create his own brands. He first established Celadon in 2012, focusing on dress watches and decorative crafts. In 2018, he launched a second brand - Milléchron - with the aim of producing luxury sports watches. Then came BCHH, a brand that is undoubtedly several steps forward in terms of execution, embodying his dream of Haute Horlogerie. "BCHH was born out of a personal dream to combine traditional handmade Haute Horlogerie with artisans from other fields of classical high craftsmanship," explains Benjamin, who "wants to put his native country Singapore on the Haute Horlogerie map not just as a consumer, but as a creator (...) and to merge Singaporean craftsmanship with traditional Swiss watchmaking." To achieve this goal, collaborations with the best Swiss manufacturers are envisioned to create refined and elegant watches with a focus on complications and artistic craftsmanship. Looking at the BCHH Celestial Voyager, one can say the mission is accomplished.
Behind these exquisite and high-end world time watches stands one of the specialists in this complication, AHCI co-founder and watchmaker Svend Andersen (of Andersen Genève). Before establishing his own brand, this man worked for nine years at Patek Philippe in the Grandes Complications workshop in the 1970s, primarily on Patek's world time watches with Louis Cottier's complications - Cottier was the father of all world time watches, created in 1930 and adapted to wristwatches in 1950. Following this experience, Andersen founded his own brand. Since 1980, the world time complication has played a significant role in his production: no fewer than five different watches are equipped with this function, but fewer than 1500 watches have been produced in total, including Communication, Christopher Columbus, Mundus, 1884, and Tempus Terrae.
BCHH X ANDERSEN GENÈVE CELESTIAL VOYAGER
BCHH itself is not a manufacture and thus must collaborate with watchmakers to create its timepieces, which are, however, the result of Benjamin Chee's imagination. And for these watches, Chee chose one of Switzerland's most revered watchmakers, who knows the required complication inside out: Svend Andersen. What is the Celestial Voyager? It is an elegant, slightly modernized version of classic Cottier world time watches with two crowns, showcasing high-end craftsmanship in traditional execution, including cloisonné enamel, guilloché, precious materials, and a hand-finished movement. Furthermore, these are exclusive watches that will be released in limited quantities and with numerous customization options, resulting in only unique models.
The BCHH Celestial Voyager is housed in a sleek, compact case made of 950 platinum, adorned with beautiful decorations. The case measures 37.7 mm in diameter and just 10.1 mm in height, with surfaces that are either polished (lugs and bezel) or satin-finished (case band). The most striking design element here is the shape of the lugs, called "ailes d’aigle" or eagle wing lugs, which are separately soldered and give the watch an elegant appearance.
The second distinctive feature is the typical Cottier architecture with two symmetrical crowns. Both are very thin, almost flush with the case, lending the watch a discreet elegance. The left crown stamped with BCHH adjusts the city ring, and the right one, engraved with the Andersen Genève logo, sets the time. The watch is worn on a handmade alligator leather strap with an alligator leather lining; the strap's color is based on the client's preference - although this light grey strap pairs beautifully with the platinum case.
The most important element of these BCHH Celestial Voyager watches is their multi-component, complex, and traditionally crafted dial. While the layout is typical of Cottier and Andersen's work, the materials have been carefully selected, and the result is extremely impressive. The city ring on the periphery is made of aventurine with shimmering golden particles (said to be the first use of aventurine in world time watches). Next is the 24-hour ring, more subdued and colored in silver to enhance contrast.
In the center of the dial is a map - and each of the seven watch models will feature different maps (for example, here you see one with America and two with Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, but in different colors). Despite the diameter of this map being only 18 mm, it is highly detailed and impeccably executed. It is crafted by a dial specialist in La Chaux-de-Fonds using the cloisonné enamel technique. Starting with a pure gold base, the dial artist creates the map's contours using thin gold wire (creating so-called cloisons or compartments). Then, the various sections are filled with colored enamel using small brushes and fired in a kiln more than 20 times. The result, playing with shades of blue and green, is striking but at the same time restrained and elegant.
The BCHH Celestial Voyager is powered by a vintage movement, fully restored and decorated by Andersen Genève, and then equipped with an in-house world time module. The base movement is the AS 1876 caliber, made by A. Schild S.A. and used until the 1970s. The automatic movement, operating at 3 Hz and boasting a 40-hour power reserve, is meticulously hand-finished, including anglage, Geneva stripes, hand beveling, and mirror polishing of the ratchet and crown wheels, snailing and circular graining on all wheels, and polished screw heads. Additionally, typical of Andersen's work, the watch is wound by a "BlueGold" rotor - gold heated in a kiln and gradually turning blue. It features a beautiful guilloché pattern, presented here as scales. The movement is surrounded by a mother-of-pearl ring on the case back with the names of the project's participants.
AVAILABILITY, SPECIFICATIONS, AND PRICE
The BCHH Celestial Voyager will be released in only seven pieces. Almost all aspects of the watch can be customized, so no two watches will be identical. For example, a future owner can choose the names on the city ring, the image/map on the cloisonné enamel plate, or the guilloché pattern applied to the gold rotor.
The price will depend on the customization options, but the cost of the Celestial Voyager starts at 48,800 Swiss Francs (excluding taxes). It can be ordered directly from the website bchh.ch.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS – BCHH X ANDERSEN GENÈVE CELESTIAL VOYAGER WORD TIME
Case: 37.7 mm diameter x 10.1 mm height - 950 platinum case, satin-finished and polished - eagle-wing lugs - sapphire crystals front and back, A/R coating - two symmetrical crowns (left - city ring, right - time/winding) - 30 m water resistance
Dial: central 18 mm cloisonné enamel disc - aventurine city ring - silver-plated 24-hour ring - open-work leaf-shaped hands in white gold with cream finish
Movement: historical base caliber AS 1876 with Andersen Genève world time module - automatic with guilloché 21-karat BlueGold rotor (scale motif) - 21 jewels - 21,600 vibrations/hour - power reserve around 40 hours - enhanced finishing, handwork by Andersen Genève, including anglage, stripes, bevels, snailing, circular graining, polished screw heads - mother-of-pearl movement spacer - hours, minutes, world time
Strap: 19 mm alligator leather strap, alligator leather lining, 950 platinum buckle
Availability: only 7 pieces, with unique custom dials for each watch
Price: starting from 48,800 Swiss Francs (excluding taxes), depending on customization