CZAPEK ANTARCTIQUE GREEN METEOR – FROM THE COSMOS TO THE WRIST
Geneva, May 2024 – Continuing to play a creative game with the sporty-chic persona of the Antarctique, Czapek & Cie. has introduced a new variation with an eye-catching green meteorite dial.
Since its launch four years ago, Anarctique has become recognized as a contemporary classic and has featured many dial variations – always with intriguing textures and atypical colours that appear to change with every shift in the light. As is the norm at Czapek, the green meteorite dial is partially a response to collectors’ wishes – and partially a ‘lightbulb moment’ of creativity.
“After creating the Antarctique Viridian Green in 2021 in partnership with Fratello watches, many collectors asked if we would do another green dial, so it has been very much in our minds,” says Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek and Cie. The decision to use meteorite was a coup de fouder moment, he adds. “I was visiting our partner, GT Cadrans and held a disc of meteorite against my Antarctique. It looked so right with the style of the watch. And I immediately thought, why not do it in green – a cool tone of green that would complement the colour of the steel case.”
In keeping with Czapek’s love of highly textured dials, meteorite appears to be a deeply three-dimensional – sometimes almost infinite, resembling an illusion by M C Escher. However, this is an optical illusion caused as the light catches the geometric lines – known as the Widmanstatten pattern – created by the crystallized structures of the iron-nickel alloy.
Since its launch four years ago, Anarctique has become recognized as a contemporary classic and has featured many dial variations – always with intriguing textures and atypical colours that appear to change with every shift in the light. As is the norm at Czapek, the green meteorite dial is partially a response to collectors’ wishes – and partially a ‘lightbulb moment’ of creativity.
“After creating the Antarctique Viridian Green in 2021 in partnership with Fratello watches, many collectors asked if we would do another green dial, so it has been very much in our minds,” says Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek and Cie. The decision to use meteorite was a coup de fouder moment, he adds. “I was visiting our partner, GT Cadrans and held a disc of meteorite against my Antarctique. It looked so right with the style of the watch. And I immediately thought, why not do it in green – a cool tone of green that would complement the colour of the steel case.”
In keeping with Czapek’s love of highly textured dials, meteorite appears to be a deeply three-dimensional – sometimes almost infinite, resembling an illusion by M C Escher. However, this is an optical illusion caused as the light catches the geometric lines – known as the Widmanstatten pattern – created by the crystallized structures of the iron-nickel alloy.
600 MILLION YEARS OLD METEORITE DIAL
Characteristic of Octahedrite meteorites, the crystals were formed as the
meteorite cooled very slowly during its millions-of-years journey through the
cosmos, before colliding with Earth. Thanks to this crystalline structure, the
pattern is different on every slice of meteorite used to create a watch dial,
making each one unique.
The Czapek Antarctique Green Meteor dials have been taken from the Gibeon meteorite, which fell in Namibia in prehistoric times – believed to be approximately around 600 million years ago. The slice of raw meteorite must be acid washed and polished to reveal the full beauty of the pattern – the angles of the lines being determined by the plane on which the raw material was cut. For the Antarctique Green Meteor, the mineral’s natural grey colour has been transformed by a green lacquer; applied in many layers and polished to a perfect finish, it appears to change tone in different light conditions. The simplicity of the dial indications – faceted trapezoid indexes and sword-shaped hands – gives full rein to the meteorite’s intriguing geometric patterns.
The Czapek Antarctique Green Meteor dials have been taken from the Gibeon meteorite, which fell in Namibia in prehistoric times – believed to be approximately around 600 million years ago. The slice of raw meteorite must be acid washed and polished to reveal the full beauty of the pattern – the angles of the lines being determined by the plane on which the raw material was cut. For the Antarctique Green Meteor, the mineral’s natural grey colour has been transformed by a green lacquer; applied in many layers and polished to a perfect finish, it appears to change tone in different light conditions. The simplicity of the dial indications – faceted trapezoid indexes and sword-shaped hands – gives full rein to the meteorite’s intriguing geometric patterns.
Aside from its beauty, meteorite holds a special fascination in being perhaps the only material found on Earth that didn’t originate on our planet – and, indeed, may have originated before our conventions of time measurement.
The Antarctique is powered by the automatic SXH5 calibre, conceived in-house by Czapek’s own team. With special attention given to balancing aesthetics and performance, the moment architecture was designed for visual harmony and transparency as well as functionality.
Introduced at Watches and Wonders 2024, the Antarctique Green Meteor will be made in a limited edition of 100 pieces and is available for pre-order at the brand authorized dealers worldwide along with our boutique, PALLADIO JEWELLERS, at 900 West Hastings Street in Downtown Vancouver. Deliveries will start in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025.
The Antarctique is powered by the automatic SXH5 calibre, conceived in-house by Czapek’s own team. With special attention given to balancing aesthetics and performance, the moment architecture was designed for visual harmony and transparency as well as functionality.
Introduced at Watches and Wonders 2024, the Antarctique Green Meteor will be made in a limited edition of 100 pieces and is available for pre-order at the brand authorized dealers worldwide along with our boutique, PALLADIO JEWELLERS, at 900 West Hastings Street in Downtown Vancouver. Deliveries will start in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025.
