Content Attributes
Tales of a Reputable Obscure Brand
Czapek Antarctique is a resurrected brand that may have grounds for competition with even the Holy Trinity (Patek Phillipe, Vacheron Constantin, and Audemars Piguet) for its prestige.
The brand was founded in 1839, almost 200 years ago, by Franciszek Czapek in partnership with Antoine Patek –co-founder of the famous Patek Phillipe brand. They both went their separate ways after only six years, with Czapek opting to be an independent brand.
Czapek’s new partner, Juliusz Gruzewski, was a friend of the last French emperor and easily introduced him to a business deal with the royalty. This association set up Czapek to become the official watchmaker to the Imperial Court of Napoleon III.
The company peaked in the 1850s with boutiques in Geneva, Warsaw, and Paris. But the brand mysteriously disappeared in the 1870s.
Fortunately for the watch community, a trio of watch lovers spearheaded the revival of Czapek in 2011. Led by Xavier de Roquemaurel, Harry Guhl, and Sébastien Follonier, Czapek also received funding from hundreds of watch enthusiasts to over $2 million to create new collections in 2015.
Czapek now sticks to its heritage and style, maintaining vintage dial designs and production based on exclusivity and craftmanship over quantity. This is evident in the availability of some of their latest collections. For example, Antarctique watches are currently sold and out, and new releases are delayed for months.
Into The Antarctique: Geeking Out On Its Design
Staying True to Haute
The Antarctique is a relatively new creation from Czapek. The Geneva-based watchmaker unveiled it in 2020 to give wearers the royalty feeling of high-end luxury and the safety of a durable sports watch you can wear anywhere.
New creators at Czapek upheld the founding father’s commitment to exclusivity, patriotism, and high-class watchmaking. Hence, Antarctique watches are more than a pricy timepiece; they have a passionate story behind their creation.
The context behind the name “Antarctique” is from the infamous Sixth Continent, Antarctica. It’s inspiration came about when one of the founders took a family trip to the deteriorating icy continent and his undying support for sustainability courses.
Antarctica and the Antarctique collection resonates with the Czapek tradition in three ways. First is the Swiss brand’s general commitment to a greener world. Second, the watch uses a recyclable gold rotor. The third is preserving similarly valuable assets, such as Swiss watchmaking experts who work on the Antarctique by hand.
The result of this humane and progressive dedication to the art of watchmaking is a pretty-faced luxury GADA (Go Anywhere, Do Anything) watch.
Edgy Case and Beautiful Dial
The Antarctique is a beautiful barrel-cased timepiece with a multitude of themed dials. It’s a true testament to luxury GADA watches with the convergence of its edgy case, dressy appeal, and robust stainless steel construction.
In its octagonal case is the stunning dial, set in a polished round bezel that’s sure to spark a conversation at first glance. The Czapek Antarctique’s polished steel case sparkles under light reflection and has a brushed bracelet to minimize scratches.
What’s unique about Czapek Antarctique watches is the dial variety, aesthetic, and backstory on each of them. Antarctique watches boast over 40 dial iterations, from plain to guilloche to limited edition models based on historical eras or even celestial bodies.
This masterpiece is available in multiple sizes of 42mm, 40.5mm, and 38mm models across the collection.
Spectacular Integrated Bracelet and Gifted Straps
Staying on the theme for a proper luxury sports watch is Antarctique’s integrated bracelet. It’s built with a squared lug edge that slightly tapers down, similar to the design of the AP Royal Oak, but connects to only one large link.
The bracelet design is an artistic dual-link architecture at its core. The large outer links are brushed to taste and match the darker shade of the case. The inner links are a stylized depiction of the letter “c,” which represents “Czapek.”
What makes the bracelet of the Antarctique more impressive is its quick change system. It allows you to remove the strap as quickly as a minute without using a tool or professional assistance. It’s similar to the ease of changing the strap of an Apple Watch, but not the same process.
Czapek also offers a complementary rubber or leather strap with your purchase in support of the quick-change system. This opens users to versatility, with an option of styling an Antarctique for formal, casual, or active wear.
Best-in-Class Movement Making
Czapek is an industry leader in making movements in-house for its watches. The expertise, attention to detail, and innovations in the movement of Antarctique timepieces prove this claim.
Antarctique watches use the SXH5 automatic caliber movement with over 60 hours of power reserve. The SXH5 caliber features a power rotor that’s made from a 100 percent recyclable platinum mass. It uses a Swiss lever escapement and variable-inertia balance with four gold inertia blocks and operates on a 4-hertz frequency.
Czapek even further customizes the movement architecture in skeleton models, like the Antarctique Revelation.
Competitive Pricing
The Antarctique and Czapek watches, as a whole, are undeniably in the high-level luxury watch price range. Nonetheless, they offer a comparably greater value for the money to popular haute watchmaking houses.
Czapek Antarctique produces watches at its own pace with a crew of less than twenty staff and pays no serious attention to influencer marketing.
Hence, you get a good bang for your buck, with most of it going into top-class materials and engineering rather than riding on the brand’s popularity. In addition, you’ll receive direct access to the exclusive club of Czapek watch owners, a brand that collects “rare people.”
Conclusion
Czapek Antarctique watches are high-end luxury watches that appeal to both beginner watch enthusiasts and experienced collectors. A newbie will get a beautiful and reliable timepiece, while expert horology enthusiasts can get an exhibition piece or collectible.
Is it pricey? Yes, for most who think Czapek is an obscure brand. But it offers great price value for those who appreciate exclusivity, tradition, and haute horology.
The Antarctique is the perfect timepiece for a watch geek. From its themed dials to the complicated in-house engineering movement, the Antarctique is a must-get.