Czapek Quai des Bergues Emerald Green L QdB Emerald Green

A contemporary high-end independent watchmaking Maison created in the spirit of François Czapek, a 19th-century Czech-born Polish watchma Geneva by a group of watch enthusiasts.

THE CASE

The first collection of timekeepers to herald the renaissance of Czapek & Cie is called ‘Quai des Bergues’. It is a tribute to the location where François Czapek founded the company in Geneva in 1845. Our cases were designed to be like a pocket watch perfectly fitting on a wrist. The generous and smooth round shape of the case, and the beauty of its curves, are an expression of the purity of the brand.

The Quai des Bergues Emerald Green L is featuring our distinctive ‘Revolution’ case with their sandblasted stretchers on the flanks.

THE DIAL

‘Flinqué’ is a technique combining the stamping of geometric patterns, which have been initially engraved on a dial using the guilloché technique, with enamelling. The guilloché pattern used with the original ‘flinqué’ technique was so recognizable that it gave it its name. Nowadays any pattern can be used in a ‘flinqué’ dial. Czapek had its partner Metalem recreate its own ‘Ricochet ®’ design – a motif inspired by the ripples of a stone skipped on a lake – on a stamping tool. Once the décor is stamped on a silver plate, an intense ‘moiré’ enamel is applied by another Czapek partner, Donzé Cadran. It is then finally fired in a kiln to harden the enamel. The process is repeated several times until the right hue is achieved.

THE MOVEMENT

The SXH1 caliber is a proprietary movement designed by Czapek. It is the first in a family of movements developed specifically for Czapek watches, according to the strictest rules of the watchmaking art. It was conceived in cooperation with Le Locle based company Chronode. This manually wound movement has two barrel springs, ensuring 7 days of power reserve and runs at a rate of 21,600 vibrations per hour, (3 Hertz). It features an annular balance wheel with weights for variable inertia and a Breguet terminal curve balance spring. The balance cock has been finely skeletonized and streamlined to give the whole balance greater transparency. It is finely decorated and remains aesthetically and functionally true to the 1850 original. The architecture remains symmetrical, and the sandblasted finish is a modern interpretation of the ‘satiné frost’ technique used in the 19th Century.