Our Take

We proudly present the AkriviA AK-05 Tourbillon Barrette Miroir, unique piece with “khaki” hand-hammered dial. Commissioned by a exceptional collector, it’s a timepiece that casts light on why Rexhep Rexhepi and his team at AkriviA are at the pinnacle of independent watchmaking.

There’s really not much that doesn’t pull one in on this timepiece. There’s the massive tourbillon carriage whirling in 60-second intervals at 6 o’clock, the beautifully textured hand-hammered khaki dial, the number of shiny interior angles on both the dial and movement, and the elaborate movement architecture. It all comes together to create a timepiece that is immediately recognizable as “AkriviA,” even with the name plate removed from the dial. Altogether, this timepiece straddles the lines between past and future, heritage and innovation with exceptional tact. It doesn’t feel like something A.L. Breguet could have ever imagined, but it does feel like something 18th and 19th century watchmakers would recognize as clearly connected to their own discipline.

Beyond the specifics of finishing and mechanics though, it’s interesting that this timepiece can be viewed as a segue in the evolution of AkriviA. Whereas most early AK Series timepieces often combined haute complications, this fifth timepiece from AkriviA is a turning point toward more streamlined simplicity in the time-only watches to come. With the AK-06 and both Chonomètre Contemporain’s, it’s clear in retrospect that the AK-05 was the final timepiece in the early AK-01 to AK-05 part of Rexhep Rexhepi’s journey as a watchmaker..

The Details

Brand: Akrivia

Model: AK-05 Barrette Miroir Khaki

Movement: AK-05 - manual-winding movement with hours and minutes, 1 barrel created and developed, decorated and assembled in-house.

Power Reserve: 100 hours

Decoration: The entire movement’s visible and non-visible parts have been hand-finished to the highest Geneva traditions using several traditional techniques : black polish, Côtes de Genève engraved striping, hand polished and brushed surfaces, rhodium treatment, beading and hand engraving and 69 entirely handmade inward angles

Tourbillon: 60-second tourbillon, cage diameter 13.80 mm, composed of 63 parts with hand-bevelled and hand-blued escapement wheel with bercé-polished upper bridge

Dial: Two toned, matte-polished dial with handmade steel numbers, black polish treatment, and black polished inserts

Strap: Hand-sewn alligator strap

From the Source

Rexhep Rexhepi was born in 1987 in a very small agrarian village, called Zheger, situated on the Karadak River in Kosovo. During his childhood, his father had to move to Switzerland for work, but every time he would come home, Rexhep would try to steal his Swiss watch to open it, which was the beginning of his horological passion. It was only several years later that Rexhep and his brother Xhevdet were able to join their father in Geneva.

After completing his apprenticeship at Patek Philippe, he continued working there for two years. Later he worked at BNB Concept as a watchmaker. Within a period of a year, he became the atelier manager; he was leading a group of 15 watchmakers in the complications department at only twenty-one years old. After three years at BNB Concept, he went on to work at F.P. Journe’s atelier, where he assembled various watches from the Chronomètre Souverain to the Chronomètre Resonance.

It was in 2012 that decided to create his own atelier under the name AkriviA. “The idea had been in the back of my mind since my studies at Patek. I had the choice between doing the same kinds of operations on watches day in and day out, or take on the challenge of creating my own watches and accepting all the risks involved. In the end, it turned out to be the best choice I ever made.”