Introducing: The Krayon Anywhere Arborea Métiers D’Art 2024
Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend an event in London hosted by 289 Consulting. Roughly 25 brands attended, and we were free to sit in a casual, albeit dark, environment to view the newest watches. It was an enjoyable day with many highlights. A standout was the new Krayon Anywhere Arborea.
Geneva Watch Days 2024 was so crammed with meetings that I could not make the Krayon appointment with Dave, my partner in crime. The relatively young Swiss brand, established in 2013, produces highly complicated, exclusive watches. Reportedly, Krayon makes 40 watches annually, so I figured I would need to wait another year to see one. Then, I received an invitation to the London event. The Anywhere Arborea was worth the commute.
The Krayon Anywhere Arborea
The Krayon Anywhere Arborea is the 2024 Métiers d’Art edition. The translation to English is “craft,” and for Krayon, it denotes a special model with a hand-painted dial. Specifically, this watch uses a champlevé enameling process within 680 small cells to recreate Henri Rousseau’s painting The Virgin Forest at Sunset. It’s magnificent in person, and while I have my photographs, the event was held in a darkened cellar restaurant at a Soho hotel. Therefore, we need to make do with the press photos. Still, I hope the craftsmanship is noticeable.
The 39mm Anywhere Arborea is made of 950 platinum and has a 39mm case. We’ll discuss the movement shortly, but its 5mm thickness allows for a case that’s only 9.5mm thick. It includes sapphire crystals on both sides and has a 30m water resistance rating. The dressy watch comes on a black alligator strap with a case-matching platinum pin buckle.
The beautifully finished C030 movement
The in-house C030 movement debuted in 2020 and offers a highly complex yet entirely legible complication. Before we get to that, let’s discuss the construction. A whopping 432 parts make up this hand-winding caliber adorned with anglage and fine surface finishing. It contains 55 jewels, has 72 hours of power reserve, and beats at a 21,600vph frequency. The purpose of this movement, aside from telling the time and showing the date, is where the complication surfaces.
A unique complication
The Anywhere Arborea — like all Anywhere models, for that matter — shows the sunrise and sunset of a specific location. As the date changes, the sunrise and sunset times also adjust. Practically, if one lives in a place where winters result in shorter days, the Krayon watch will reflect this. Two sapphire discs rotate to illustrate day and night. A white gold sun traverses these discs and corresponds with a black outer 24-hour track. When the sun enters the darker section, complete with a background of stars, it is night.
Intriguingly, the owner can have Krayon set the watch to track the sunrise and sunset of any location in the world. A threaded transverse screw within the movement allows for latitude adjustment for sunrise and sunset. The two screws on either side of the transverse screw adjust for longitude for sunrise and sunset respectively. While the movement is complicated, the outcome is pleasingly simple and practical. As someone who likes to photograph watches outside using natural light, this is a neat indicator. Setting the date is easily done via the crown, which also changes the sunrise and sunset discs.
The Anywhere Arborea is limited to 15 pieces
Krayon will make just 15 examples of the Anywhere Arborea. During our meeting in London, we were told that the price is CHF 178,000, making these incredibly exclusive. While these will sadly only fit the budget of a select few, I’m pleased that watches like this exist. It shows a watchmaker’s creativity and when combined with a discipline such as champlevé enameling, the watch is not only technically superlative but also beautiful.
What do you think of the new Anywhere Arborea Métiers d’Art 2024? Do you think this complication is useful? Let us know in the comments.
