Review: AkriviA AK-06

As the saying goes, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”. This chase for perfection is well exemplified by AkriviA and more specifically, its founder, Rexhep Rexhepi

Since the company was founded back in 2012, AkriviA has continuously proven itself to be uniquely different from the rest in terms of its mastery and craftsmanship. This can be clearly seen in its creations such as the Tourbillon Monopusher Chronograph and the Tourbillon Regulateur, all distinctively different with their own characteristics.

 

 

At Baselworld 2017, AkriviA unveiled the much anticipated AK-06 which would be the first non-tourbillon watch of the AkriviA collection. The AK-06 was inspired by Rexhep’s belief that one of the most intimate moments is the act of winding the watch up, the part when human energy is literally “given” to the movement, bringing it to life.

In order to enhance that feeling, the AK-06 was designed in a way that exposes most if not all of the mechanical parts to the user, making it visually attractive especially when you start winding the watch to life. Also, exposing the movement entirely would place a great emphasis on good craftsmanship to ensure all details from the polishing of sinks to the anglage polishing of filed edges are well taken care of.

 

Case, Dial and Hands

The AkriviA AK-06 comes in a 41 mm case with several options ranging from Stainless Steel, Titanium, Rose Gold to Platinum, all depending on the user’s needs. On first look, the dial is strikingly pleasing with all the small details and unique layout of the components.

 

 

One of the more noticeable features would be the round dial right underneath the AkriviA nameplate which is the power reserve indicator. The two part sub-dial contains an inner and outer ring and it rotates using a differential gearing to reveal the energy flow of the timepiece.

From a functional perspective, one of the more impressive features of the AK-06 is the inclusion of a combined stop seconds and seconds reset functionality. This combined functionality would help to ensure accuracy of the timepiece whereby the seconds hands would reset to “0” once the seconds stop running. This is not a commonly seen feature these days but is widely known to reduce inaccuracies through a complete reset of the seconds hand.

 

 

We would also like to highlight the exceptional finishing of the AK-06 where it truly embodies AkriviA’s philosophy of mechanical purity. To illustrate the quality of finishing, one would only need to take a detailed look at the movement to realize the amount of effort taken to achieve that level of finishing. For instance, the anglage created on the edges of all parts is rounded in a bombé cross section, this particular technique cannot be replicated by machines and requires a lot of time and effort to achieve the desired outcome.

 

The Movement

The AkriviA AK-06 is powered by the newly-created manual winding AK-06 movement which was developed and assembled entirely in-house, running at a frequency of 18,000 vph and featuring a staggering 100 hours of power reserve.

 

 

We like the finishing of the movement as well, particularly the decorations on the movement. Every part of the movement, visible or not, is hand-finished to a high standard using a variety of technique ranging from black polish, hand polish, Rhodium treatment and even to handmade anglage. This allows for the timepiece to reach the highest standards possible in terms of decorations and finishings.

 

 

Concluding Thoughts

The AK-06 is an excellent timepiece showcasing the best in terms of quality finishing and the desire to be different from most. We like the idea behind the creation of the AK-06 and feel this is a great example of constantly reinventing yourself for the better and not staying the same. The finishing is remarkable from the dial to the movement, recognizing the fine craftsmanship that the brand is well-known for, setting it much apart from the rest.

The AK-06 comes in several options and is available at Sincere Fine Watches boutiques. The pricing would be SFR 79,000/SGD $126,795 for Stainless Steel, SFR 83,000 for Titanium, SFR 87,000 for 5N Rose Gold and SFR 91,000 for the Platinum version of the timepiece. We recommend making a trip to a Sincere Fine Watches boutique to have a hands-on detailed look at the AK-06, we are sure you would be impressed as well.

 

Technical Specifications

CASE DIMENSIONS
9.9 x 41mm

MOVEMENT DIMENSIONS
Ø 30.00 MM

MOVEMENT
New manual-winding AK-06 movement – created,
developed, decorated and assembled in-house.
100 hours power reserve using a jeweled, single
barrel. (With stop seconds and
0-seconds reset function.)

DISPLAY
Hours, minute, seconds, power reserve indicator

JEWELS
28

BALANCE WHEEL
In-house developed variable inertia balance wheel
(10.5 mm) using 4 adjustable weights combined
with Breguet overcoil

FREQUENCY
18,000 VPH

DECORATION
The entire movement’s visible and non-visible parts
have been hand-finished to the highest Genevan
traditions using several traditional techniques:
black polish, Côtes de Genève, hand polished and
brushed surfaces, Rhodium treatment, beading and
hand engraving and entirely handmade anglage.