Antarctique Révélation

Czapek & Cie has announced the release of a striking new model in its popular Antarctique collection. As its name suggests, the Antarctique Révélation has been skillfully skeletonised and the new bespoke, purpose-built movement exposes its pulsating heart on the dial side, to the thrill of the wearer.

The high art of skeletonisation allows connoisseur and neophyte alike to discover and delight in the inner workings of a watch, the interplay of the hollowed-out bridges, wheels, and hands around a filigree mainplate.

Czapek & Cie’s Antarctique Révélation takes this idea even further. The movement itself is placed on the dial side, where it acts as a fascinating animation to thrill the wearer. It recalls the Antarctique Rattrapante launched in 2021, which featured the first split-seconds chronograph to appear on the dial. Inspiration came once more from the fans of the brand, says CEO Xavier de Roquemaurel: “People were in love with the remarkable design of our SXH5 movement, and we therefore asked ourselves how we could somehow make it visible on the dial.” What sounded simple at first became a three-year saga of deep exploration into aesthetics and engineering.

The powerful SXH5 was an outstanding caliber on its own merit and with an exceptionally stark design, in particular the fine bridges angling over to grip the gearwheels, a hint of the nineteenth-century Czapek pocket watch movements.

“One of the first requests had been to engrave a drawing of the movement onto the dial, as a ‘trompe l’oeil,’” says de Roquemaurel. “But soon a far more complex idea emerged, namely turning part of the movement upside down in the case and skeletonizing the main plate.”  

The decision raised a number of significant challenges, the first one being to completely reverse the escapement. Then the oscillating mass had to be engraved on both sides, for example, and the crown mechanism, now visible to the naked eye, had to be reworked entirely. On a more technical note, the seconds hand could no longer be connected by a bridge to the center, so space was made at 4:30 for a small seconds dial. The solution was to use sapphire crystal ring for the seconds. It is discreetly attached to the larger sapphire ring carrying the hours and minutes and ensuring as much transparency as possible, so the wearer can take a deep dive into the mechanism. 

Gradually, what emerged was a new movement, the SXH7. As it evolved, elements from other Czapek models found their place, like the central tripod from the Antarctique Rattrapante holding together the finely cut out bridges. The position of the small seconds, too, is reminiscent of the famous day-date subdial of the Quai des Bergues. 

In fine watchmaking, every little detail counts. Besides the exceptional SHX5 movement and the sleek and sharp design of the case or the dial, a great deal of attention was put on the bracelet. The feeling when placed on the wrist, the comfort in every situation and lightness are as important as the timepiece visual and technical qualities. The capability to be forgotten by its wearer and to suddenly reveal its stunning beauty create an intensely pleasurable dichotomy. This is why the Antarctique collection is equipped by an ergonomic brushed integrated bracelet, whose links mesh to form a highly polished "C" for Czapek. Since January 2022, this bracelet also features a micro-adjustment system, allowing the wearer to extend its lenght by few milimeters in an instant.

But there’s more. An additional strap is provided, as Czapek has developed an exclusive quick-change system allowing the wearer to switch from one strap to another in a minute. A large choice of straps is now offered to provide a maximum versatility and playful experience. 7 rubber straps are available in either black, white, dark blue, light blue, dark grey, sporty red or orange. On top of that, a selection of soft calf straps with contrasting topstitches can be chosen.

THE ANTARCTIQUE REVELATION IS A LIMITED PRODUCTION OF 100 PIECES PER YEAR.

FUNCTIONS
Hours, Minutes & Seconds

MOVEMENT
Calibre SXH7: Czapek's in house self-winding mechanical skeletonized movement
Diameter: 30 mm – 13 lines ¼
Height: 4.2 mm
Number of parts: 152
Jewels: 25
Swiss lever escapement, variable-inertia balance fitted with four gold inertia-blocks
Frequency: 4 Hz – 28800 VpH
Power winding system: Micro rotor with an 100% recycled platinum mass
Power-reserve > 60 hours on one single barrel
Barrel torque: 8.8 Nmm
Finish: Open ratchets, sandblasted black bridges, bevelling, straight-grained sides, six hand-chamfered inward angles

HANDS
Luminescent, steel “Sword” hands

CASE
Stainless steel case
40.5 mm diameter
Height: 10.6 mm
Sapphire crystal glass-box with anti-reflective treatment ARDur©
Sapphire crystal case-back with anti-reflective treatment
Water-resistance: 120 meters (12 atm)
Screwed-down crown

BRACELET
Integrated stainless steel bracelet with Czapek exclusive "Easy Release" system and micro-adjustment device
Additional calf leather or rubber strap

DIAL
Minutes track and small second subdial in grey smoked sapphire crystal
Luminescent, rhodium plated steel hour markers