IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ME NOT TO BECOME PIGEONHOLED INTO THIS OR THAT PARTICULAR STYLE.
--Akrivia founder Rexhep Rexhepi
IW INTERVIEW
Fast-forward to 2018 and the release of the Chronometre Contemporain, signed on the dial with the Rexhep Rexhepi name. In an interview during Baselworld 2018, I had the chance to handle the new timepieces and interview the man himself in detail about the new collection.
The Chronometre Contemporain
For many watch enthusiasts, your new Chronometre Contemporain is a real departure from what many recognize as the Akrivia style. Everyone is curious what the story is behind these changes. During my schooling and employment at Patek Philippe I was of course regularly exposed to all kinds of classical timepieces, among which many officer’ s style wristwatches, that nearly everyone loves for their elegant simplicity. B & B Concept and F. P Journe were of a different style, and when I went off to start for myself I very much wanted to make something completely different from what existed anywhere at the time.
After a couple of years, people began actively accepting my designs for Akrivia, which was a great feeling for me, and sales were good. As I am always developing new designs, occasionally I sketched some‘ tributes’ to the kinds of classical watches I was raised on in free moments, but never used them and just kept them in my notebook …. Every now and then, a collector would approach me and ask if I would ever create a classically styled timepiece, but the time was never right for that.
About a year ago, Michael Tay from the Hour Glass approached me with the exact same question, and I showed him some of my sketched ideas, which excited him. That got the ball rolling, and he placed an order for some timepieces with enamel dials, leading to the Chronometre Contemporain created for Baselworld this year.
SUMMER 2018 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 121