Classic tapware with contemporary lines

The Watermark Collection presents Anika, a tapware collection created to suit the traditional home within today’s society. It takes classic design elements and incorporates them into fine, subtle lines more typical of contemporary design, resolving them with a refined treatment: stepped handles and escutcheons that mark an evolution of the classic language rather than a replica.

In this article we look at what defines Anika’s design, which finishes the manufacturer recommends for it, which pieces it includes for bathroom and kitchen, what to bear in mind when specifying it and who is behind the brand.

A transitional design between classic and contemporary

Anika is available with two handle options: a conical lever or a proprietary three-spoke cross handle. In both cases, the handle and escutcheon share a stepped detail, a sequence of rings that recalls traditional tapware but with a clean, restrained profile. The manufacturer describes it as transitional, halfway between classic and contemporary.

The stepped detail also has a function. The Watermark Collection explains that it does not like to show handle fixings or hide them under obvious caps. In Anika, the central screw that fixes the handle to the valve is covered by the handle’s own top ‘step’, so the piece reads as a single volume, with no added trim.

Finishes that bring out the steps

According to the manufacturer, Anika is specified mainly in period homes and hotels, and suits soft, traditionally inspired finishes such as Aged Nickel, Aged Brass or Charcoal. These finishes evoke a time-worn sophistication and, because they are applied with fewer layers of plating, keep the many lines of the handles and escutcheons crisp.

Hand-applied finishes such as Vintage Brass, Vintage Copper and Pewter offer another reading: they create darkened areas of shadow in the different stepped sections of the design, giving the piece a more intriguing presence.

Anika was offered in 22 finishes. The brand works to order, so any finish can be applied to any piece in the catalogue. According to The Watermark Collection, its finishes are applied by hand and can combine up to eight layered treatments, from brushing or hammering before plating to relieving and lacquering afterwards.

What the collection includes

Anika covers the whole bathroom and the kitchen: basin, bath, shower, bidet and sink tapware, as well as accessories. The manufacturer offers it with both handle options. The table summarises the configurations and the data given in the manufacturer’s spec sheets.

Key points for specifying Anika

Beyond the handle and the finish, these are the points worth resolving at design stage:

• Handle: conical lever or three-spoke cross handle. It is best decided early and kept throughout the bathroom so the whole is consistent.
• Concealed parts: for wall-mounted tapware, the concealed body is ordered separately and must be installed before the wall is closed. On wall-mounted sets, the handles can be placed to the left, to the right or above the spout.
• Holes: the spec sheets indicate 38 mm diameter holes, a recommended spacing of 100 mm between centres and, for deck-mounted pieces, a countertop thickness of 20 to 30 mm.
• Supply pressure: the manufacturer requires balanced pressures between 1 and 5 bar. For the bidet mixer it recommends fitting pressure regulators.
• Finish to order: because the pieces are made to order, the finish is chosen piece by piece. To bring out the stepping, the manufacturer suggests the aged and hand-applied finishes in the table.

The Watermark Collection: the craft of finishing

Herman Abel founded Watermark in 1976 in a small Brooklyn workshop, driven by his passion for decorative metal finishing. That passion remains at the heart of the company: some of its finishes still use his original formulas. The brand draws inspiration from the architectural details and engineering structures around it, and today produces in its own 90,000 sq ft factory with more than a hundred craftspeople.

According to the manufacturer, all its pieces are solid brass made from lead-free material, every product is pressure-tested with water and air before leaving the factory, and brass offcuts from production are collected for reuse. Almost half the factory is devoted to finishing, the process that most defines the character of the collection.

At Matter we help you define the tapware for your project together with the surfaces, basins and sanitaryware that go with it. Come to our material library to compare materials and finishes with your technical team.