AKHOR Le Temps en Équilibre

AKHOR Le Temps en Équilibre Watch Review

The AKHOR Le Temps en Équilibre delivers a highly original means of indicating time. Endowed with an innovative display featuring ‘dual-disc’ architecture, the hours and minutes seemingly float mid-air. US-based Meehna Goldsmith talks of illusions when discussing the composition of this exquisite timepiece.

AKHOR, Genève

It’s an ambitious undertaking to establish a new horology brand, an even greater one to debut with a proprietary movement – let alone one that reimagines how to depict time. The new Genevan brand AKHOR has managed to pull off this hat trick with the Le Temps en Équilibre collection. Translated from French, the name means Time in Balance and I imagine it was a delicate measuring of forces that brought about this equipoise, both literally and figuratively.

AKHOR Le Temps en Équilibre – an illusion of time

The AKHOR dial presents an illusion of time, one that can be marked but never captured. The hour and minute hands appear to hover above a lower disc, seemingly detached from any mechanism.

What comes to mind are the 19th century timekeeping creations of mechanical genius, watchmaker and magician extraordinaire, Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin. Considered the Father of the Mystery Clock, Houdin mounted hands on transparent crystal discs rotated by hidden gears around the clock’s perimeter, which were concealed in the frame or base. Louis Cartier was so captivated by the concept that he partnered with watchmaking prodigy Maurice Couet, creating the Cartier Model A Mystery Clock in 1912.

The AKHOR takes a different mechanical approach from Mystery watches or clocks by anchoring the dial directly to the movement to achieve that suspension effect: watchmaker as magician. A bespoke and invisible system had to be conjured, allowing the hands to orbit a central axis beneath a suspended upper disc, an engineering solution to make this timekeeping mirage work. AKHOR collaborated with CLAMAX, a micro-mechanical firm specialising in the high-precision machining of mainplates, bridges and other movement components, to design the dual-disc structure at the heart of the show, which received a patent and brought conception into reality.

As in any good illusion, there is no room for error, preventing the audience falling from its trance. Just enough of the upper disc had to float above the central axis to conceal part of the rotating hands without obscuring the time. Meanwhile, the seconds hand, featuring a counterweight in the shape of the AKHOR logo, circles independently on an entirely separate plane and across the main view, pointing out the marvels of the show like a magician’s assistant.

AKHOR Le Temps en Équilibre – case

The AKHOR’S illusion is staged in a 39 mm 1960s cushion-shaped case with a thin bezel and short lugs anchoring it to the wrist, all designed to keep the focus on the main event. Case materials include stainless steel or 4N/5N gold with diamond-set variants delivering an added quotient of glamour. The dial also comes in two different patterns, either honeycomb or sunburst, executed in a choice of hues, including white, black, blue, green or brown. On offer to complement your desired composition are rhodium-plated or gold-toned hands with luminescent tips. The look is completed with a hand-stitched alligator or calfskin strap, secured to the wrist with a polished or diamond-set folding clasp.

AKHOR Le Temps en Équilibre – AK10 Calibre

The proprietary AK10 Calibre, a hand-wound mechanical movement with a 60-hour power reserve, animates the theatre above. The view through the sapphire caseback reveals the variable-inertia balance, while a stop-seconds function will appeal to those individuals who are fastidious about setting the time to the exact second. Other flourishes include hand-finished wheels, polished bevels, mirror-polished surfaces and sunray Côtes de Genève radiating from the balance. In a nice thematic echo, the screws are cushion-shaped to match the case. The AK10 isn’t just any base calibre, it has been designed to support further complications such as a moonphase, large date, tourbillon and day/night indicators, serving as a tantalising hint at what may be released in the future.

AKHOR – the brand’s origins

The AKHOR collection is born from the minds of Anissa Bader, Riccardo Monfardino, Laurent Davoli and Daniel Martinez. All have deep roots in the horological world. Each covers a different expertise, from engineering and marketing to watchmaking and design. But the brand gets its name from Bader, the CEO who finds inspiration from Egyptian culture. In Ancient Egyptian, ‘Akh’ refers to the immortal force of the soul, and for her, watchmaking goes beyond mere functionality, while ‘OR’ mirrors the fine materials incorporated into the brand’s timepieces.

Above image – Anissa Bader, Founder & CEO of AKHOR

Image – Riccardo Monfardino, Chief Operating Officer of AKHOR

Closing remarks

While AKHOR doesn’t reinvent time, it reminds us that even in Geneva, a good trick still depends on flawless timing.