What We Know
Only seven years ago, Czapek, a brand over 180 years old, opened its first modern boutique in Geneva, right next to the brand’s original workshop from 1839. Soon after, it opened its first boutique on the Place Vendôme in Paris. Its first collection, called “Quai des Bergues,” celebrated the first boutique; another collection celebrated that boutique in France. Now, the brand has reopened its Geneva boutique with a new look and is celebrating with a new watch from each collection.
The newest Quai des Bergues “Midnight in Geneva” uses the brand’s proprietary SXH1 hand-wound movement, cased in a mid-sized 40.5mm by 11.9mm stainless steel case with sandblasted, hollowed-out lugs. The watch is an impressive bit of watchmaking in a really elegant form. The watch has a power reserve indicator, weekday indicator, and subsidiary seconds, but the power reserve is a massive 7 days. The elegance comes in part from a beautiful dark blue aventurine dial with silver powder-coated steel Fleur-de-Lys hands, printed elongated Roman numerals, and a chemin de fer outer track. The watch, with a 50-meter water resistance, is limited to 18 pieces and retails for $28,600.
The Place Vendôme Complicité Glacier Blue is a new treatment for the brand’s open-worked double-escapement watch created in collaboration with Bernhard Lederer. While the previous watch was technically impressive but visually reserved, the Place Vendôme Complicité puts complexity at the forefront. The watch features two variable-inertia balance wheels oscillating in opposite directions, with four adjustment screws and four weights. The double escapement then goes to differential gearing, which feeds into the central seconds. All this is on display, open-worked, over a grainé main plate with light blue PVD and a light blue PVD circular-grained minutes and hours track.
The watch is cased in platinum and measures 41.mm by 14.3mm (8.8mm without the domed glass), with a 48.2mm lug-to-lug. The brand also points out that the watch, while pricey, does feature hand-beveling on bridges and mainplate, with 18 hand-chamfered inward angles. The Place Vendôme Complicité Glacier Blue is limited to 10 numbered pieces and retails for $144,200.
What We Think
I’d guess that most of our audience probably knows Czapek for their Antarctique line, which dominated discussion during the resurgence of interest during the boom in demand for integrated bracelet sports watches. I’m probably guilty of focusing my own interest on that line as well, and the derivative designs that others followed on with. Because of that, I think other models from the brand are probably underappreciated, most of all the Quai des Bergues.
One thing I’ll say about other Czapek watches is that they often look larger in images than the actual dimensions might suggest. The Quai des Bergues seems to have a quite balanced size versus thickness at 40.5mm (whereas the balance might feel a tad top-heavy in the smaller 38.5mm size), and the 7-day power reserve is quite impressive. I like the combination of aventurine dial and silvered hands and indices as well. The Place Vendôme is quite cool as well, though a bit more visually (and materially) hefty. But the bona fides on the technical side, especially the name-drop of the talented Bernhard Lederer, make it a watch for deep-cut horological lovers.
The Basics
Brand: Czapek
Model: Quai des Bergues “Midnight in Geneva” and Place Vendôme Complicité – Glacier Blue
Reference Number:
Diameter: 40.5mm (QdB); 41.8mm (PVC)
Thickness: 11.9mm (QdB); 14.8mm (PVC)
Lug-to-Lug: 47.67mm (QdB); 48.22mm (PVC)
Case Material: Stainless steel (QdB); Platinum 950 (PVC)
Dial Color: Dark blue aventurine domed dial (QdB); Open-worked on a ‘grainé’ main plate with a light blue PVD treatment and Light blue PVD circular-grained minutes and hours track (PVC)
Indexes: Printed, including Elongated Roman numerals (QdB); Faceted, mirror-polished rhodium-plated indexes (PVC)
Lume: None (QdB); Yes, unspecified (PVC)
Water Resistance: 50m
Strap/Bracelet: Alligator strap with stainless steel pin buckle (QdB); Alligator strap with platinum (Pt950) pin buckle on a titanium folding clasp (PVC)
The Movement
Caliber: Calibre SXH1 (QdB); Caliber 8 (PVC)
Functions: Hours, minutes, subsidiary seconds, power reserve, and weekdays (QdB); Hours, minutes, central seconds (double escapement with differential) (PVC)
Power Reserve: 168 hours/7 days (QdB); 72 hours (PVC)
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 3Hz
Jewels: 31 (QdB); 44 (PVC)
Additional Details: 18 inward angles, hand-chamfered, two variable-inertia balance wheels oscillating in opposite directions, with four adjustment screws and four weights (PVC)
Pricing & Availability
Price: $28,600 (Quai des Bergues); $144,200 (Place Vendôme)
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: 18 pieces and 10 pieces
For more, click here.
