A 38.8mm watch with a 9.7mm case does not immediately suggest a complicated chronograph. The RRCHF, however, contains a fully integrated flyback mechanism, an instantaneous minute counter and a new hand-wound movement developed entirely in-house. It is Rexhep Rexhepi’s first flyback chronograph under his own name, and one of the most technically demanding watches to emerge from his Geneva workshop.
The proportions are important because they dictated much of the project. Rexhepi has described thinness as a principal objective from the outset, requiring a new movement architecture rather than an adaptation of an existing calibre. The result is a watch that sits within the traditional dimensions of a dress chronograph while housing an unusually complex movement for its size.
The Making of an Independent
Rexhep Rexhepi was born in Kosovo and moved to Geneva as a teenager. At 15, he began an apprenticeship at Patek Philippe, followed by positions at BNB Concept and F.P. Journe. In 2012, he established his own workshop under the name Akrivia, launching with the AK-01, a tourbillon monopusher chronograph. The Chronomètre Contemporain that followed, and its second iteration in 2022, widened his following among collectors, as did a 2023 chronograph collaboration with Louis Vuitton. In 2024, he opened an in-house enamelling workshop, the source of the Grand Feu dials now used on the RRCHF.
Architecture and Craft
The RRCHF calibre comprises 320 components and 30 jewels. It is hand-wound, operates at 21,600 vibrations per hour and provides 72 hours of power reserve. More importantly, the flyback chronograph is built into the movement from the outset, using a column wheel and lateral clutch alongside an instantaneous 30-minute counter. It is this integrated construction, rather than a modular approach, that allows Rexhepi to keep the watch to 9.7mm thick.
At 6.3mm, excluding the dial and hands, the movement occupies most of the available space within the case. Its asymmetrical construction is particularly evident from the back, where the chronograph mechanism becomes part of the composition rather than being concealed beneath a conventional arrangement of bridges. The open case back is aligned with the centre of the lugs, giving the movement a clear field of view.
With so much of the movement visible, the finishing becomes more than a secondary detail. The mainplate and bridges are made from German silver and finished with Côtes de Genève, circular graining and black polishing, alongside hand engraving and polished inward angles. Even the wheels are hand-bevelled. Seen through the sapphire back, these treatments follow the architecture of the movement rather than simply decorating its surface.
© Rexhep Rexhepi
The same attention to proportion carries through to the case. It comprises 52 components, with a double-stepped bezel, elongated sharply angled lugs and similarly treated pushers. The resulting form has a pronounced geometric quality, while the 38.8mm diameter keeps the watch relatively compact. Water resistance is rated at 30 metres.
The dial is arranged around the chronograph rather than the conventional time display. Hours and minutes sit at 12 o’clock, running seconds at 8 and the instantaneous minute counter at 4, leaving the central chronograph seconds hand to travel across the full diameter. Its stepped profile, like that of the minute hand, allows it to sit close to the crystal, while the chronograph hands are tempered to a copper tone.
There are two executions. The platinum version combines a storm-blue Grand Feu enamel dial with smoked sapphire counters; the rose-gold version uses black enamel with the same treatment. The enamel is produced in-house, while both watches receive hand-stitched nubuck calfskin straps with a Norwegian centre stitch.
The sapphire subdials reveal glimpses of the structure beneath the dial without turning the watch into an open-work display. The effect is subtle, but it gives the chronograph a second layer of visual depth while preserving the clarity of the overall layout.
Positioning and Demand
Rexhepi has built his reputation over more than a decade of limited production, making him one of the most closely watched names in contemporary independent watchmaking. The RRCHF marks his first complication built entirely in-house.
The RRCHF is priced at £137,500 (US$185,000; CHF 150,000). Demand for it was reported to have exceeded 1,700 requests shortly after its unveiling, a figure that reflects interest rather than confirmed orders but shows the level of interest surrounding the timepiece. Production across Rexhepi’s atelier remains limited to around 50 watches a year in total.
© Rexhep Rexhepi
The Long View
The RRCHF brings a level of mechanical development and hand craftsmanship rarely found within such compact proportions. The new calibre, the purpose-built case and the hand-finished, in-house enamel work all point to the same conclusion: the RRCHF is as much about the work behind the dial as the complication itself.
