Chronomètre Contemporain

The Chronomètre Contemporain is where Rexhep Rexhepi announced himself. A 38mm hand-wound watch built in Geneva in quantities so small most collectors will never see one in the metal, it earns the attention of serious buyers through movement finishing alone. This is the reference that made Patek and AP collectors stop and look.

What it is

Rexhep Rexhepi founded Akrivia in Geneva in 2012 after training at Patek Philippe. The Chronomètre Contemporain, reference AK-06, arrived in 2018 as the house's definitive statement: a classical 38mm case with a hand-wound in-house caliber finished to a standard rarely attempted outside the grandes maisons. Akrivia operates with a tiny team and produces a handful of watches per year, which means the AK-06 has never been a watch you could simply order.

The finishing on the AK-06 movement drew immediate comparisons to independent makers like F.P. Journe, and the watch solidified Rexhepi's reputation before he launched his own eponymous line. It remains the reference that defines what Akrivia is and what it is trying to do.

Buying notes

Supply is the defining constraint. Akrivia produces very few examples per year and maintains a tight relationship with its collectors, so the secondary market is genuinely thin and prices reflect that scarcity rather than pure demand signals. Buyers should expect condition variation on pre-owned examples because owners who acquire these watches tend to wear them.

The 38mm case is correct for the watch's character but buyers accustomed to modern proportions should handle one before committing. Authentication matters: given the watch's value and low production volume, insist on Akrivia service records or original purchase documentation. Finally, resale is not guaranteed to be fast; the audience for a watch at this price from an independent this small is real but narrow.

Market read

The AK-06 trades on the secondary market at a meaningful premium to its original price, driven entirely by scarcity. New allocation is essentially relationship-dependent, which means the secondary market is where most buyers will land. Pricing has been stable rather than speculative, which is healthy for a watch at this level.

Expect to pay more than retail and to wait for the right example.

Service expectations

The AK-06 is powered by Akrivia's in-house caliber AK-06, a hand-wound movement with a finishing level that makes servicing a precision undertaking. Service should be performed by Akrivia in Geneva or by an independent watchmaker with documented experience on high-grade Swiss independents. Budget accordingly and plan on extended turnaround given the house's production scale.