Czapek
We Collect Rare PeopleWe Collect Rare People
“Since the rebirth of the brand, Czapek has been proud of its ‘family’. We never planned to create a community, it just emerged from our way of working. By opening the books during our fundraise, we became naturally transparent, by being transparent we became collaborative, by being open and collaborative we attracted hundreds of watch-lovers and made them become our ambassadors. We created a community. By collecting rare people, Czapek becomes stronger and more enticing.” Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie
Czapek Collections
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Quai des Bergues Emerald Green L
Quai Des Bergues
The first collection of timekeepers to herald the renaissance of Czapek & Cie is called ‘Quai des Bergues’. It is a tribute to the location where François Czapek founded the company in Geneva in 1845. The ‘Quai des Bergues’ collection features a seven-days power-reserve manually wounded movement and it highlights typical Haute Horlogerie techniques such as engine-turned or "Grand-Feu" enamel dials.
Place Vendôme Ombres
Place Vendôme
The Place Vendôme collection is named after the Parisian square where François Czapek opened a boutique in the mid-19th Century, assumed to be the first Haute Horlogerie boutique ever on this world famous square. The two limited-edition models feature a one-minute suspended tourbillon, together with a second time zone for today’s world travelers, a day/night disk, and a power reserve indicator. Even with the new functionalities, Czapek lovers will easily recognize the watch’s unusual look with the two subdials at 7:30 and 4:30.
The Place Vendôme represents the second phase in the Czapek Renaissance. It highlights the travel through time from past to present and now from present to future.
Faubourg de Cracovie California Dreaming
Faubourg de Cracovie
The Faubourg de Cracovie chronograph is the company’s third collection and was named after the location of Czapek’s third boutique, which he opened in 1850 in Warsaw, Poland. The calibre inside – a COSC-certified, 5Hz integrated chronograph with column wheel and vertical clutch - is also Czapek’s third, following the seven-day manually-wound movement found in the Quai des Bergues and the suspended tourbillon with GMT in the Place Vendôme, both famous locations of the late François Czapek. The Faubourg de Cracovie marked another major milestone in the company’s modern history, for the pleasure of watch lovers and collectors world-wide.
Antarctique Passage de Drake Glacier Blue
Antarctique
Released for the first time in May 2020, the Antarctique collection combines sophisticated style and look with a genuine in-house power movement bound to stake a major claim in the popular sport-chic segment. The Antarctique is a 40.5 millimeters or 38.5 millimeters three-hander, thin enough to slip comfortably under a cuff, and with a carefully-honed, edgy look. It features up to 60 hours of power-reserve, a jumping date and a water-resistance of 120 meters. The transparent case back reveals the model’s beating heart, the vigorous SXH5 automatic calibre, conceived internally by a multifaceted team. Special attention was given to both performance and appearance, so the movement’s parts are arranged for visual harmony and transparency. “This watch, whatever the colour, is a thrill for both the newcomer and the horological expert,” says Czapek’s CEO Xavier de Roquemaurel. “The neophyte will instinctively fall in love with the dial and the remarkable movement inside, while the expert can use the watch almost as an exhibition piece to explain how a movement works and what makes haute horologerie so unique.”
“Everyone has their own journey of how they got there. You’re never defining who the person is, just that they are confidently different to everyone else.”Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie,
By watch lovers, for watch lovers
François Czapek was a Czech-born Polish watchmaker, who fled to Geneva in 1832 after fighting in the Polish uprising in Warsaw. He immediately started his own atelier in the Swiss city and, in 1839, entered into a partnership with fellow Pole Antoine Norbert de Patek, introducing him to the world of watchmaking. In 1845, at the end of their partnership, he created his own maison, Czapek & Cie, and achieved considerable success. Francois Czapek became the official watchmaker of Napoleon III and opened what was most likely the first watchmaking boutique on the Place Vendome in Paris, as well as in Geneva and Warsaw. He wrote a book about watchmaking, but mysteriously vanished around 1869, before publishing a second one.
The Czapek & Cie name has been revived in 2015 thanks to an unprecedented equity crowdfunding, the first-of-a-kind for a Haute Horlogerie brand. Just one year after, in 2016, the Quai des Bergues 33bis, leading model of the first, exceptional collection inspired by an 1850’s Czapek & Cie pocket watch, won the Public Prize at the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie de Genève. A suspended tourbillon with a second time-zone followed one year later, as well as the first Czapek chronograph, unveiled in 2018. In 2020 the company launched the Antarctique, a sport-chic integrated bracelet timepiece powered by Czapek’s first in-house movement, an automatic three-hander with microrotor. The company’s atelier is located in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, while the headquarters are in the showroom-boutique in Geneva, Switzerland.
