ON THE LIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD
Czapek & Cie reinterprets three emblematic Antarctique models in titanium
Geneva, April 2026 – When it comes to weight, there’s always debate: for some, the constantly felt presence of a hefty watch offers a certain reassurance; for others, a barely-there wrist-feel is the ultimate comfort. At Watches and Wonders Geneva, Czapek & Cie celebrates the sporty allure of titanium and its exceptional strength-to-weight ratio with three new Antarctique models: the Antarctique Dark Sector, Révélation and Tourbillon Cosmic Blue.
Probably the most high-performing metal known to mankind, titanium is best known for its light weight – but that belies its exceptional strength and great ductility. It’s also fully bio-compatible, corrosion-resistant and paramagnetic, with low thermal and electric conductivity and very high fatigue resistance. And it’s also very expensive to refine and notoriously difficult to machine – a contradiction that appeals to Czapek’s contrarian nature.
The three new models amplify the distinctive silvery-grey hue of titanium with visually arresting dials in Czapek’s proprietary Cosmic Blue – chosen for its depth and intensity after a long process exploring many shades of ‘sapphire’. In typically playful Czapek style, there’s an optical illusion: the blues appear to be slightly different on each of the new watches; however, that’s simply the effect created by the different ways that the underlying materials and surface textures absorb and reflect the light.
“Colour – and the freedom to play with it in different ways – has always been a key part of our constant quest for new ways to express beauty,” says Xavier de Roqumaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie. “We originally developed Cosmic Blue for the first iteration of the Antarctique Tourbillon but when we realised how beautifully it resonates with the exact tone of titanium, we decided to wait and use it as the unifying story for these three new pieces.”
The titanium case and bracelet adopt the Antarctique design codes verbatim: the box-shaped sapphire crystal, the narrow, rounded bezel, and the integrated bracelet with C-shaped central links with, for the first time in titanium, the option of fully brushed links or a mix of brushed and polished links. The bracelet is fitted with Czapek’s micro-adjustment system for a perfect fit and the ‘easy release’ system that enables changing from the metal bracelet to the additional rubber strap included in the box in a matter of moments.
In 2023, titanium made its Antarctique debut with the Antarctique Dark Sector, featuring a highly distinctive dial design. Now, Czapek revisits the model, making the dial even more visually striking by marrying titanium with Cosmic Blue – with a velouté finish that adds yet more depth and richness to the colour.
In a fresh and original play on the traditional notion of a sector dial, a classical minute track around the periphery frames two concentric circles with polished and slightly domed surfaces. These circles are broken at 12 points, thus marking each hour with a void, rather than a solid index or numeral. As the sword-shaped luminescent hands move around the dial, they create subtle visual shifts: the hour hand pointing towards a void on the hour and the minutes hand and red tip of the seconds hand covering the voids as they pass. The design of the hours track was inspired by the Calibre SXH5 bridges, retaining their essence with the hollowed central area framed by the raised and highly polished surfaces of the two circles.
The sapphire crystal caseback reveals the distinctive architecture of Calibre SXH5, with its seven skeletonised bridges – inspired by François Czapek’s 19th-century pocket watches – and off-centre micro-rotor. The fine decorative finishing plays on contrasts: the matte effect of sandblasted surfaces, the high shine of hand-bevelling and polishing; the mirror-smooth central bridge in black-polished steel. Created for the launch of the Antarctique collection in 2020, Calibre SXH5 represents a milestone in Czapek’s modern history as the first movement conceived and fully developed in-house. Combining the aesthetics of Haute Horlogerie with the precision and performance of a sports watch, the bi-directional winding micro-rotor is made of recycled 950 platinum for optimal inertia, the balance wheel beats at a frequency of 4Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour) and the single barrel is engineered to ensure a power reserve of 60 hours.
Set in a 40.5 mm case as well as the 38.5mm ‘S’ case, the Antarctique Dark Sector Cosmic Blue will be limited to 25 pieces in 40.5mm and 10 for the 38.5mm version.
In 2023, as Czapek continued to explore the aesthetic possibilities of the Antarctique collection, its passion for the visual pleasure of watch mechanics was manifested in the skeletonised movement of the Antarctique Révélation. While Calibre SXH7 is a reinterpretation of SXH5, it goes far beyond merely open-working the existing movement: prompted by a collector’s request to turn the calibre upside-down to reveal what is usually hidden, the entire calibre had to be re-engineered. The escapement was reversed to offer a full view of it on the dial side; the stop seconds mechanism is also revealed on the dial side, giving a fascinating glimpse of its activation when setting the time. The natural corollary to this was skeletonisation: the main plate was fully skeletonised, creating the trompe l’oeil effect of multiple bridges – thus echoing the architecture of SXH5. Because the seconds hand could no longer be connected by a bridge to the centre, space was made for a small seconds display at 4:30. To ensure maximum transparency, the indications are marked on a smoked sapphire crystal sub-dial, discreetly attached to the hours and minutes track. Since the oscillating mass became visible from both sides of the watch, it had to be engraved and fully decorated.
Despite the emphasis on transparency and openness, Czapek took great care not to compromise legibility – always a concern but especially so in a skeletonised watch. With the new Antarctique Révélation Titanium Cosmic Blue, the rich colour of the peripheral dial and its contrast with the case and mechanical components creates an even stronger visual anchor for the indications.
The Révélation Titanium will be offered in the 40.5 mm Antarctique case and the 38.5 mm Antarctique S case, in limited production of up to 50 pieces per year for the former and up to 25 pieces for the latter.
When the Antarctique Tourbillon was created, the fundamental design principle was that the key elements of Calibre 9 should be displayed on the dial side. The flying tourbillon, gear train and barrel would be perfectly aligned on the vertical axis and appear to float above the trompe l’oeil vortex effect created by the hand-guilloché ‘Singularité’ design, developed specially for the watch by Czapek’s long-time partner, Metalem. The name of the pattern is taken from the astronomical term singularity, meaning those places in the universe such as black holes, where space and time become infinite and undifferentiated.
Now, a year after the launch, the Cosmic Blue dial of the new titanium version of the Antarctique Tourbillon amplifies the visual drama, creating the impression of infinite depth at the heart of the display and enhancing the purity of the mechanical structure floating in the void above it. The contrast between the blue dial and the hour markers, which are attached to the flange rather than being set on the dial, increases this effect. Against the rich blue, the hand-polished angles of the long, slender gear train bridge and open-worked barrel bridge and satin-polishing on the top arms of the tourbillon cage create fascinating plays of light and shadow. On the reverse side of the calibre, the 18k gold winding rotor echoes the impression of floating, its convex surface hand-engraved with a black-hole inspired pattern by Michèle R., Czapek’s treasured independent master engraver.
Calibre 9 marked a new stage in Czapek’s technical evolution, as the first Czapek calibre not only designed, conceived and constructed in-house, but also machined mostly in-house. Significant technical prowess is also evident in the new geometry for the tourbillon, which dictated a finely machined convex titanium cage, and the anticlockwise crown wheel that required the development of a new proprietary toothing. As the Manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds continues to build its repertoire of skills, certain elements of component finishing, including the hand-bevelling and sandblasting of the large central bridge that spans the dial, were also executed in-house for the latest iteration of Calibre 9.
The Antarctique Tourbillon Titanium Cosmic Blue is presented in a 40.5 mm case and will be produced in a limited edition of 25 pieces.
“We chose these three calibres as each represents a milestone in Czapek’s evolution,” says Xavier de Roquemaurel. “SXH5 was the first calibre that we conceived, developed and assembled in-house – and has really become our emblem; the Révélation enabled us to take that original calibre in a completely different direction, driven by the idea of expressing its beauty differently; and Calibre 9 was a milestone for our expansion of the Manufacture’s capabilities. As well as conceiving and developing movements in-house, we are now machining and finishing the majority of components – up to 70 percent – in the Manufacture.”
“In our quest for excellence as an independent Manufacture, we have no intention of excluding external partners because we believe deeply in the principle of établissage,” he adds. “Expanding our in-house capabilities means that we ensure our independence while remaining free to harness the expertise of Switzerland’s finest specialists for cases, dials and certain specialised components.”
The three new Antarctique Titanium Cosmic Blue models will be available for pre-order at Czapek’s authorised dealers worldwide, the boutique in Geneva, and at Czapek.com.
