At GT Cadrans, near Lausanne, only one artisan can brush the varnish that shapes the clouds on the Antarctique S Ice Cloud, working entirely by hand.
Czapek introduces the Antarctique S Ice Cloud, limited to 10 pieces, alongside the Promenade Midnight Pearl. Both explore mother-of-pearl with GT Cadrans, a dial maker near Lausanne.
The technique is nacre brouillée, or scattered mother-of-pearl, which Czapek calls rare in watchmaking today. White mother-of-pearl is worked to 0.2mm, about two sheets of paper, and a blue-tinted varnish is brushed onto the underside by hand to suggest clouds. The dial is then fired at over 100°C for hours; after that, nothing can be corrected.
Inside is Czapek’s own Calibre SXH5, turning behind an off-centre micro-rotor in recycled platinum. “Working on these projects for Czapek has been both challenging and immensely rewarding,” says Alexis Chevalier of GT Cadrans.
Even chosen carefully, no two brushstrokes turn out quite the same. No two dials will show quite the same sky – a fitting idea for a watch named after clouds that never repeat themselves.
The Basics
Brand: Czapek
Model: Antarctique S Ice Cloud
Diameter: 38.5mm
Thickness: 10.6mm
Case material: Stainless steel
Dial: Light blue hand-varnished mother-of-pearl (nacre brouillée), fired in an oven; applied metal indexes; made with GT Cadrans
Water resistance: 12 atm
Bracelet: Integrated stainless steel bracelet with “Easy Release” system and micro-adjustment; rubber strap included
Limited edition: 10 pieces
The Movement
Calibre: SXH5, in-house, automatic
Functions: Hours, minutes and central seconds
Winding: Automatic, off-centre micro-rotor in recycled platinum
Power reserve: 60 hours
Frequency: 4Hz (28,800 vph)
Jewels: 28
Images courtesy of Czapek.