Antarctique S - La Carte Des Nuages "Stormy Grey"

One year after the successful launch of the Antarctique S, Czapek plays on its sporty chic appeal with new dials to complement its sleek 38.5mm case.

In keeping with the Czapek ethos, these new dials introduce atypical colours, intriguing textures and fascinating details. With a contemporary twist on traditional crafts and materials, and a new approach to texture, each dial has been designed to capture the light in a particular way, creating a sense of movement and vitality through a play of constantly changing colours.

La ‘Carte des Nuages’ (literally, the Map of the Clouds) dial plays with the rich glow of white or grey mother-of-pearl, offsetting it with a glittering pair of ‘Antarctique cut’ diamonds marking 12, and a Princess cut diamond set at each of the 11 other hours. This ‘Antarctique cut’ of the elongated index markers is an entirely new diamond cut, designed for Czapek by Adrian Buchmann of London-based studio Fuzion Ltd, and registered as a proprietary Czapek cut. Etched into the surface, six fine guilloché gridlines anchor the composition, in a playfully modern take on the traditional craft of guillochage – with a subtle allusion to cartography. Taken from the central and most lustrous part of the oyster shell, the wafer-thin discs of mother-of-pearl used for these dials are rarely guilloché due to their fragility; to do so requires a highly specialised skill that only a few Maisons are able to source.

This exuberant and dressed-up expression of the Antarctique S can also wears diamonds on the bezel, integrated lugs and first ‘C’ link of the bracelet, and a reverse-set diamond caps the winding crown as an option. The sophisticated mix of steel and diamonds complements the visual depth and shape-shifting lustre of mother-of-pearl dial.

As is the norm at Czapek, the new dials are the creation of the company’s unique community of ‘rare people’ – designers, craftsmen and production partners of rare skill – as well as the friends, family and collectors whose tastes and desires are absorbed into the spirit of the brand as if by osmosis. By working in the établissage tradition, which governed all Swiss watchmaking before the modern era of vertical production, Czapek draws on the skills of very small-scale, specialised producers to bring such rare dials to life.

“Working this way enables us to iterate and refine until we are completely happy,” explains Xavier de Roquemarel, Czapek CEO . “More than just suppliers, our partners often contribute to the creative process and new ideas will come up in the middle of a conversation – as in the case of the new diamond cut.”

The SXH5.01 automatic caliber is the first to be entirely conceived in-house by Czapek from a blank page. Every part of it has been made with care to detail and with the help of the top Swiss manufacturing partners and craftsmen, la crème de la crème, the magnificent orchestra directed by Czapek in the We Collect Rare People spirit. The microrotor, is placed off-center to allow a plunging view into the mechanism and its exceptional architecture. A free-sprung balance wheel with variable inertia provided by four gold adjustable weights enables the highest level of precision tuning. The gear train is held in place by a series of seven handsome skeletonized bridges. Their original shape is reminiscent of lace, inspired on one side by XIX century pocket watches, and by the very modern Czapek Faubourg de Cracovie chronograph’s rotor. The movement has superlative finishing on the bridges that merges Haute Horlogerie angling techniques with state-ot-the-art laser engravings. 

Since the unveiling of its base movement in May 2020, Czapek & Cie has been continually making improvements to its automatic caliber SXH5 to enhance its precision, performance, and aesthetic. The most recent upgrades raised the train efficiency to 90% to fully wind the single barrel and deliver the impressive 60 hours of power reserve. This is a significantly longer autonomy than the average of high-end sports watches.

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. Yet, with less space between the lugs at the attachment point, the long, subtly curving line that tapers from the widest point of the case to the narrowest point of the bracelet had to be carefully studied and adjusted to achieve perfect harmony. Like its predecessor, the bracelet of the Antarctique Passage de Drake S – with its brushed steel links connected by highly polished links in the form of a stylised “C” for Czapek – it features a quick-change system that enables owners to quickly and easily switch to the additional rubber or leather strap that comes with the watch. The option to order a fully brushed metal bracelet is now available.

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. rubber straps whose pattern recalls the "Stairway to Eternity" design on the Passage de Drake dial are available as much as a selection of calf straps.

THE ANTARCTIQUE CARTE DES NUAGES IS A LIMITED EDITION OF 100 PIECES, 50 PIECES PER DIAL COLOR.

FUNCTIONS
Hours, Minutes & Seconds

MOVEMENT
Calibre SXH5: Czapek's in house self-winding mechanical movement
Diameter: 30 mm – 13 lines ¼
Height: 4.2 mm
Number of parts: 193
Jewels: 28
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

DIAL
Dial made of white mother-of-pearl with a grey coating on the back
‘Carte des Nuages’ guilloché gridlines motif
Exclusive ‘Antarctique cut’ diamonds at 12
Princess cut diamond hour markers

HANDS
Luminescent, steel "Sword" hands

CASE
Stainless steel case
38.5 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
Diamonds set on the bezel, integrated lugs and winding crown (0.95 carat in total)

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