Czapek’s engineers reversed an entire escapement so that a skeletonised calibre could be read from the front, through a dial made of sapphire rather than metal.
Czapek today introduces the Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue, a limited edition of 38 pieces. Two years after the Viridian Green, the brand returns to the same idea with a different palette.
The dial is not painted. Its blue fumé comes from metallic dots, roughly eight microns across, beneath the sapphire. They thin towards the small seconds at 4:30, leaving the centre see-through. The light blue Super-LumiNova indexes, new to this edition, are applied by hand and glow the same blue after dark.
Inside the 38mm steel case, 10.8mm thick, the automatic Calibre SXH7 has seven openworked bridges that recall François Czapek’s 19th-century pocket watches.
“The blue shades originate from the small seconds, echoing the Promenade collection’s signature off-centred small-seconds counter. A tribute to Czapek’s design language, built on symmetry and surprise,” says Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie.
The Aqua Blue is the second colour in a project built to let the movement, not the dial, hold the eye.
The Basics
Brand: Czapek
Model: Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue
Diameter: 38mm
Thickness: 10.8mm
Case material: Stainless steel
Dial: Blue fumé translucent sapphire, metallised; hand-applied light blue Super-LumiNova® indexes
Water resistance: 50m
Strap: Dark blue nubuck leather; stainless steel Milanese mesh bracelet as an alternative
Limited edition: 38 pieces
The Movement
Calibre: SXH7, in-house, automatic, skeletonised
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds at 4:30
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 60 hours
Frequency: 4Hz (28,800 vph)
Jewels: 25
Images courtesy of Czapek.