Svend Andersen

Svend Andersen made his first small revolution in 1969 when he first introduced unusual bottle clocks. Andersen became famous as an outstanding innovator, and he remains so up to this day. Awarded numerous world records from the Guinness Book, he is known as the inventor of blue gold and author of more than 100 original Haute Horlogerie timepieces. But also, he is a man of a big heart and an open soul, for whom true human qualities are more important than any business and creative abilities.

Svend Andersen was born in 1942 in Denmark. He studied at the Danish School of Watchmaking at the Royal Institute of Technology in Copenhagen, then - for four years - was an apprentice with a watchmaker from the small Danish town of Padborg. In 1963 - at the age of 21 - he went to Switzerland, where he began his career working in after-sales service at Gübelin in Lucerne, and two years later he was transferred to Geneva for "excellent knowledge of the technical side of the matter and foreign languages".

The bottle clock that he presented at the Montres et Bijoux exhibition in Geneva impressed everyone so much that he was dubbed “the watchmaker of the impossible” in the press. Andersen was immediately lured from Gübelin to Patek Philippe, where he worked for almost 10 years in the complications department.

In 1979, the young watchmaker left Patek Philippe and opened his own company Andersen Genève the following year. In 1989, Svend Andersen entered the Guinness Book of Records for the first time as the creator of the smallest calendar watch in the world. The watch movement, based on the Jaeger-LeCoultre 104 caliber, had parameters of just 6.5 x 17.4 mm. Calendars, in general, have become one of Andersen's favorite complications.

The bottle clock that he presented at the Montres et Bijoux exhibition in Geneva impressed everyone so much that he was dubbed “the watchmaker of the impossible” in the press. 

Another passion of the master is a watch with a world time function, inspired by the famous disc system of Louis Cottier. During his years at Patek Philippe, Andersen was able to figure out how these watches work. In 1990, he first released his version of the worldtimer called Communication 24, and in 1994 he entered the Guinness Book of Records for the second time as the author of the thinnest watch with a world time function (with a thickness of just 4.2 mm).

A special place in the heart of the Danish watchmaker is occupied by automatons with erotic miniatures. He has been making custom watches since 1994, inspired by Japanese hentai and ancient Greek erotic style. On the outside, Andersen's watch looks absolutely classy - a gold case, and an elegant dial. But by turning the case over, you can plunge into the world of your erotic fantasies.

Soon Andersen came up with the idea of ​​the Montre à Tact concept. In this watch, the time is indicated either on a disc, located in a small window on the dial, which leaves room for customizing the entire dial, or between the lugs, on a rotating ring around the perimeter of the case.

Andersen once again demonstrated the immense potential of Montre à Tact concept by introducing a watch with a miniature on the dial depicting the famous painting “A Bold Bluff” by Cassius Coolidge, as well as a series of watches dedicated to Hans Christian Andersen with miniatures depicting scenes from the famous Dane's fairy tales.

The Andersen Genève brand has received recognition not only from watch collectors but also from colleagues. In 1985, Svend Andersen founded the AHCI (Academy of Independent Watchmakers).

Also, Svend Andersen was the driving force behind the inscription of watchmaking on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. If there was a Hall of Fame for watchmakers, this Dane would take pride of place in it.