CZAPEK PROMENADE – STROLL INTO STYLE
Simplicity, style, substance and joy. At Watches and Wonders 2024, Czapek & Cie. introduced “Promenade”, a new collection that eloquently expresses these four principles. A collection that redefines contemporary sophistication, marrying mechanical excellence with joyful aesthetics.
THE GENESIS OF A NEW COLLECTION
Born as the natural evolution of the Quai des Bergues and the Antarctique lines, the Promenade collection represents Czapek’s vision for the future of high-end watchmaking: refined, sleek, playful and powerful.
The real complexity of this collection lies in its simplicity: a chic, contemporary watch that appeals to those with a certain sense of style and an appreciation of mechanical sophistication. The style of Promenade gives a subtle nod to the calibre’s sporting origins but is deliberately not a sports watch.
“The sports watch is a modern classic and will always be with us – but we feel that the genre is very close to reaching the limit of creativity. We love to play with colours, techniques and materials, so Promenade is not just a timekeeping instrument buts also a canvas for creative expression.” says de Roquemaurel.
The real complexity of this collection lies in its simplicity: a chic, contemporary watch that appeals to those with a certain sense of style and an appreciation of mechanical sophistication. The style of Promenade gives a subtle nod to the calibre’s sporting origins but is deliberately not a sports watch.
“The sports watch is a modern classic and will always be with us – but we feel that the genre is very close to reaching the limit of creativity. We love to play with colours, techniques and materials, so Promenade is not just a timekeeping instrument buts also a canvas for creative expression.” says de Roquemaurel.
A DECORATIVE TECHNIQUE REINVENTED
“With watches as with people, the dial – or face – reveals so much of the character on first encounter and our choice of the watch we wear reveals a little of our soul.”
Strongly anchored by the substance of watchmaking tradition and craftsmanship, the Promenade collection speaks of a relaxed approach to life, an easygoing and quietly confident sophistication, injected with a sense of playfulness and joie de vivre.
Czapek’s deep respect for the rules of traditional watchmaking allows it to bend its own design rules, and so the signature of the Promenade dial is asymmetry: the designs all radiate from the small seconds dial placed at 4:30, producing a sense of dynamic tension and flowing movement. Driven, as always, by Czapek’s twin imperatives of colour and detail – with the emphasis on decoration techniques – guillochage and enamel – are used in new ways.
Strongly anchored by the substance of watchmaking tradition and craftsmanship, the Promenade collection speaks of a relaxed approach to life, an easygoing and quietly confident sophistication, injected with a sense of playfulness and joie de vivre.
Czapek’s deep respect for the rules of traditional watchmaking allows it to bend its own design rules, and so the signature of the Promenade dial is asymmetry: the designs all radiate from the small seconds dial placed at 4:30, producing a sense of dynamic tension and flowing movement. Driven, as always, by Czapek’s twin imperatives of colour and detail – with the emphasis on decoration techniques – guillochage and enamel – are used in new ways.
“Goutte d’Eau (drops of water) harnesses the beauty of grand feu enamel to mesmerising effect: at the watch moves, an optical illusion is created – as when a raindrop falls on the still surface of a pond, ripples appear to radiate out from the seconds sub-dial. Czapek partnered with Donzé Cadrans to create “Goutte d’Eau” dial which is presented in Sapphire Blue in Promenade collection’s first model named “Promenade Goutte d’Eau”.
Guilloché “Soleil” (Sun) reinvents guillochage with a sharply modern approach: the seconds sub-dial represents the Sun and the finely cut guilloché sunrays radiate from it. To develop the new guillochage technique, Czapek collaborated with its long-term partner, Metalem. The hand guiloché dials are of offered in two colours: Iviore and Bleu Nuit.
Allowing the beauty of the dial decoration to take the centre stage, all other elements are reduced to a minimum. The fire, arrow-shaped hands are semi-skeletonized and the applied indexes are trapezoidal ingots
with diamond-cut angles to reflect the light.
“We are on a continuous quest for Beauty through reinventing ideas about classicism and the traditional métiers d’art. Our creative development is a process of continuous iteration, generating many ideas and tests, enabling us to exclude those that are not entirely excellent. Our collaborative approach – the blending of different minds, different talents, different skills, and different experiences – is a great strength that does so much to fuel this process,” explains Xavier de Roquemaurel.
“We are on a continuous quest for Beauty through reinventing ideas about classicism and the traditional métiers d’art. Our creative development is a process of continuous iteration, generating many ideas and tests, enabling us to exclude those that are not entirely excellent. Our collaborative approach – the blending of different minds, different talents, different skills, and different experiences – is a great strength that does so much to fuel this process,” explains Xavier de Roquemaurel.
A SLIM CASE AND EXCEPTIONAL CALIBRE
Remaining true to the spirit of elegance, the Promenade case pays homage to Czapek’s icon – the original Quai des Bergues model. The result is a modern evolution, rather than a revolution, recognisable as part of the family thanks to the recessed and sand-blasted case sides, the signature curved crown protection, and a slim, rounded bezel that fully opens the dial to view. A key criterion was that the 38mm case should be as slim as the calibre would allow – below the threshold of 10 millimetres.
Since its introduction in May 2020, the automatic Calibre SXH5 has continually evolved. For Promenade, Czapek and its engineers played with its architecture purely for the sake of the dial aesthetics – another example of the Maison’s “Beauty Above All” approach, positioning the small seconds mechanism now directly beneath, and on the same axis as the dial display.
Immediately recognisable by the seven skeletonized bridges that hold the gear train in place – inspired by the 19th century pocket watch of Francois Czapek – the movement plate and bridges feature fine haute horlogerie finishes, including bevelling, straight-grained sides and hand-chemfered inward angles. Beating at 4Hz (28,800 vph) and wound by a micro rotor with a mass of 100% recycled platinum, SXH5 offers 60 hours of power reserve.
The Promenade collection will be available at the Maison’s official retailers worldwide, the Czapek boutique in Geneva, Switzerland, and at Czapek.com. Deliveries will start in the second quarter of 2025.
Since its introduction in May 2020, the automatic Calibre SXH5 has continually evolved. For Promenade, Czapek and its engineers played with its architecture purely for the sake of the dial aesthetics – another example of the Maison’s “Beauty Above All” approach, positioning the small seconds mechanism now directly beneath, and on the same axis as the dial display.
Immediately recognisable by the seven skeletonized bridges that hold the gear train in place – inspired by the 19th century pocket watch of Francois Czapek – the movement plate and bridges feature fine haute horlogerie finishes, including bevelling, straight-grained sides and hand-chemfered inward angles. Beating at 4Hz (28,800 vph) and wound by a micro rotor with a mass of 100% recycled platinum, SXH5 offers 60 hours of power reserve.
The Promenade collection will be available at the Maison’s official retailers worldwide, the Czapek boutique in Geneva, Switzerland, and at Czapek.com. Deliveries will start in the second quarter of 2025.
