Introducing Albishorn's Second Model — The Voisin Aérosport (Live Pics)

It's been heartwarming to see the general positivity around Albishorn, the brand run by the multi-hyphenate chronograph collector-turned-designer Sébastien Chaulmontet, whose daytime job is the Director of Innovation and Marketing at Sellita. In the two short years since we've been covering Albishorn, we've written eight stories on the brand, and most of them have revolved around a very clever, surprisingly affordable take on a modified Valjoux 7750 with an "imaginary vintage" design and narrative. But many, myself included, have been waiting anxiously for something new; maybe something with a bit broader reach. Well, thankfully, not so anxiously for me, as I've handled prototypes for half a year now and not; but finally we get to show you the Voisin Aérosport.

Chaulmontet told me a while back that he was going to make an Art Deco-inspired watch. Yes, the watch draws its name and its inspiration from that era's futuristic, aviation-inspired car, the Voisin C28 Aérosport, but if you don't see the connection, it's more a watch in honour of Gabriel Voisin, the kind that he might have liked wearing in the 1930s, though with a slightly more modern sizing. Just a note that the one photographed here is a prototype and has a few scratches from being disassembled and reassembled a few times.

The watch measures 38mm by 9.6mm (not counting the sapphire, it's 8.9mm) with a 45.2mm lug-to-lug and 20mm lug width to the stainless steel case. The entire thing has a mix of polished and satin finishes, highlighted by chamfered and polished edges. But it's the combination of the dial and the movement behind it that first caught my eye.

The watch comes in two variants, Classic and Ice Blue, each with a complex combination of finishes at multiple layers. The centre is deeply opaline and textured, surrounded by a circular satin-brushed hour and minute chapter ring, with polished edges for more visual depth. Classic has a silver centre, while Ice Blue has—you guessed it—an iced blue centre. 

But it's the dial layout that's even more interesting. The watch has a two-sided second hand, half of which is hidden like a moonphase would be, with a double indication of 0-30 and 31-60 on the subsidiary seconds. This subdial is severely sunk, with the hand floating above. And taking it even further, Chaulmontet had the watch COSC-certified, a challenge for such an unusual display.

To create such an uncommon design, Chaulmontet created a proprietary movement based on an ébauche by Manufacture AMT. The 30mm movement, the ALB04 M, is manually wound and evokes famous chronometer movements from the 1930s. But the movement needed to run two dial assemblies separately—the main portion for hours and minutes, and the rotating seconds at 4 o'clock—keeping them on different planes to carry that design to the dial side. It also meant finding 2mm of space on the plate to make room for the subdial indicator.  In essence, the dial is conceived mechanically with the movement. Like the chronographs, the crown is at 10 o'clock on the case.

In addition to the impressive (and challenging, based on the subsidiary seconds design) COSC certification and the 60-hour power reserve, the watch is just really well finished for the price. Côtes de Genève radiate from the balance wheel, there's double colimaçon finishing on the winding wheels, and while a lot of high-end brands brag about finishing the underside of components (nearly all of them do), Alibshorn has as well. But even the screw heads are polished, engravings are gold-toned, and all of it is visible through a sapphire caseback.

The watch is technically limited to a maximum of 99 unnumbered pieces delivered over the course of 3 years, but it's more a reflection of the fact that the brand is so small and capacity is limited, not any push to drive a sort of artificial hype. The Albishorn Voisin Aérosport is available on a strap (it's delivered with two per watch) for CHF 3,450 or on an optional "bamboo"-style steel bracelet that has built-in microadjustment for CHF 3,900. It's available on Albishorn's website starting November 11.

Care to take a guess how I feel about this watch? I'm excited. Frankly, far more than I thought I would be when Chaulmontet told me he was making an Art Deco watch. I was thinking architectural, ornamented, and a bit too on-the-nose for what has quickly become a repetitive playbook over the last year or two. "You're too late," I remember thinking. No, I just didn't have the right vision for the Voisin, and he came up with something really cool and at a great price. Even better, it's one that I could see myself wearing more than many of the chronographs (though I did like a few of those as well).

I could see this being a breakout hit for Albishorn. Having handled the watch a few times now, I continue to be impressed with the quality that the brand puts out, but this feels like another level. No, you're not getting artisanal independent-quality finishing—I don't want to overstate it—but in terms of quality, creativity, and design, it's releases like this that show off the potential that a small brand or micro-brand has when it puts effort into all of the above. Albishorn hasn't reached anywhere near the sales totals of the Furlan Marris, Baltics, and SpaceOnes of the world—I don't think they have the capacity—but it probably deserves to be spoken about similarly, especially as people have become more attuned to value.  

Brand: Albishorn
Model: Voisin Aérosport
Diameter: 38mm
Thickness: 9.6mm (8.9mm without counting the crystal)
Lug-to-Lug: 45.2mm
Case Material: 316L stainless steel case with polished and satin-finished surfaces and chamfered and polished edges
Dial Colour: Grained and brushed silver two-tone dial; grained and brushed ice-blue two-tone dial
Indexes: Blue printed indices
Lume: None
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: Delivered with two leather straps, each fitted with an Albishorn-signed buckle: taupe and petrol blue for the Classic version, and taupe and blue for the Ice Blue version; Optional stainless steel bracelet with micro-adjust.

Calibre: Proprietary calibre ALB04 M based on a Manufacture AMT ébauche
Functions: Hours, minutes, and wandering/running seconds
Diameter: 30mm
Thickness: 4mm
Power Reserve: 60 hours
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 4 Hz
Jewels: 17
Chronometer Certified: COSC-certified
Additional Details: Sapphire crystals on the front and back, with a multilayer anti-reflective coating on both sides of the front crystal

Price: CHF 3,450 on strap (~A$6,100); CHF 3,900 on bracelet (~A$6,900)
Availability: Nov. 11 on Albishorn's website
Limited Edition: Limited to 99 pieces (unnumbered), produced over a period of three years

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