What do Assegai hands look like?
A spear hand looks like a leaf, or feuille, hand. The difference is in the proportions. It is thinner and longer, and it ends in a sharper point. The Assegai hand follows this pattern. Its blade is slim and set at a slight angle. The slim shape has a cost. The thinner a spear hand is, the longer it takes to finish by hand.
Where it comes from
The name comes from the assegai, a throwing weapon. It is usually a light spear or javelin, with a wooden shaft and an iron head. Laurent Ferrier wanted a hand that was three-dimensional and soft, and unlike any other. He took the design to several Swiss firms that make watch hands. At first every one of them said no. None had the skills or the equipment to make it. Around 2009–2010, one hand maker brought a retired master craftsman back to work to produce it. The company calls the result perhaps the most complex hands in the industry.
Which watches have Assegai hands?
Assegai hands appear on watches from Laurent Ferrier, where they are now one of the brand’s defining details. The Classic Origin with an opaline dial uses them. Set beside a teardrop hand, the Assegai hand is the sharper of the two relatives. On the beige-dial Classic Origin, the Assegai hands are made of 18K red gold.
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