In Geneva, Czapek & Cie unveils two limited studies in mother-of-pearl craft: the Antarctique S Ice Cloud and the Promenade Midnight Pearl. Both chase light, each by a different path, and both remind us that restraint can be the bravest flourish.
Mother-of-pearl is fickle and rewarding in equal measure. Its shimmer shifts with the wrist. Here, Czapek works with GT Cadrans near Lausanne, pursuing two techniques that demand a steady hand and a patient mind.
Antarctique S Ice Cloud employs nacre brouillée – scattered mother-of-pearl – to suggest clouds across a pale sky. A polished white nacre base is thinned to 0.2 mm, then varnish is applied by horsehair brush on the underside in random strokes, tinted cool blue to evoke Antarctic air. The balance is delicate: too little varnish and the effect fades, too much and the dial grows unfit. The piece is then fired at over 100°C to set the pattern for good. At GT Cadrans, only one artisan executes this technique, which suits the watch’s rarity. The Ice Cloud is limited to 10 pieces.
Promenade Midnight Pearl ventures further with a patented sandwich of blue aventurine glass over Tahitian nacre. The two layers, each around 0.2 mm, yield a dial near 0.4 mm thick. Assembly is entirely by hand, followed by careful CNC work to cut the profile, centre, and appliqué sites. The small seconds at 4:30 adds the tightrope act: milling a groove into the aventurine without wounding the nacre beneath. Aventurine thinned to this extreme breaks easily, but when it holds, the result is midnight viewed in still water. Within the 38 pieces, each dial is unique, with artisans aligning the nacre’s fire while accepting nature’s variations.
“The Antarctique Ice Cloud and Promenade Midnight Pearl each showcase different facets of mother-of-pearl’s captivating beauty,” says Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek. GT Cadrans’ Alexis Chevalier calls the work “challenging and immensely rewarding.” On the wrist, that effort reads as quiet confidence rather than spectacle.
The Ice Cloud arrives in a 38.5 mm stainless steel case with the in-house automatic Calibre SXH5, its off-centre micro-rotor in 100% recycled platinum 950. Seven skeletonized bridges, inspired by François Czapek’s 19th-century pocket watches, frame a 4 Hz, variable-inertia balance with four gold weights, and a 60-hour reserve. Finishing includes hand-chamfered inward angles, bevelled edges, straight-grained flanks, and sandblasted black bridges.
The 38 mm Promenade Midnight Pearl is powered by Calibre SXH5.1, shifting to small seconds at 4:30 while keeping the same technical core: 30 mm diameter, 4.2 mm height, 127 components, 26 jewels, and 60 hours of autonomy.
Since 2022, Czapek has operated as a fully independent manufacture, developing its calibres in-house while collaborating with Swiss specialists for cases, dials, and components. From La Chaux-de-Fonds to Geneva, the intent is clear: let craft lead, and let the material speak.
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