“Dear Czapek, where is the green dial?”
I kid, I kid. To be honest, while green is the trending colour for dials these days, we gotta’ give it to blue for staying consistent as one of the safest hues out there. As for salmon (light pink-orange) dials, well, I’m just glad that Czapek has another watch around with this shade.
And Czapek themselves are pretty confident with their selection of new colours for the Antarctique Passage de Drake collection. Dubbed ‘Glacier Blue’ and ‘Salmon’, the former goes into series production alongside other variants while the latter is limited to just 99 pieces worldwide. Since the spotlight is on the new dial colours, let’s talk about that first.
A (new) Stairway to Eternity awaits…
Now, I know what you’re thinking or rather humming.
But no. Let’s not get distracted. Czapek’s ‘Stairway to Eternity’ dial design is “an atypical trapezoid motif whose three-dimensional stamped surface creates a play of shadows across the dial.” In the case of the salmon-dialed model, the hue is achieved via a “galvanoplastie” process – a sort of galvanic treatment. As for the Glacier Blue model, Czapek has employed a PVD (physical vapor deposition) process to achieve their objective.
Elsewhere, the applied indices and sword hands contain luminescent paint. A date window with a matching coloured background sits at the 6 o’clock mark. Sealing in the dial is a box sapphire crystal with AR coating. Turning the watch around, you would be treated to a view of Czapek’s SXH5 in-house calibre via another AR-coated sapphire crystal.
“What about case size?”
The Czapek Antarctique Passage de Drake measures 40.5 mm and stands at 10.6 mm. Lug to lug is quoted at 45 mm while water resistance is rated at 120 m. A screw down crown plus an integrated stainless steel bracelet with brushed and polished links and Czapek’s ‘Easy Release’ mechanism wraps up the external tangible aspects.
Additionally, customers will also get a choice of another strap in either rubber or leather.
“What else can we expect from the new Czapek Antarctique Passage de Drake models?”
Well, not just limited to the new models but from now on, customers can choose between Arabic numerals or twin batons at the 12 o’clock mark. To add to that, the second hand can be painted in full red, “plain” or just red-tipped. Personalized engraving on the caseback along with a fully brushed bracelet are also on the cards for more customizability.
“And the in-house calibre?”
Yes, Czapek’s 28-jeweled SXH5 automatic movement features a platinum 950 micro-rotor and beats at a rate of 4 Hz. The movement has a power reserve of around 56 hours.
But tech specs aside, would you just look at it? The gear train features seven skeletonized bridges “whose shape is inspired by both the XIX century pocket watches, and by the very modern Czapek Faubourg de Cracovie chronograph’s rotor.”
Oh, and did I mention that this is Czapek’s first in-house movement? No? Well, it is.
“Lastly, the price?”
Curiously, the limited-to-99-pieces Salmon variant retails at exactly the same point as the series production Glacier Blue model. Prices stand at $22,000 (RM92,065). For the full breakdown and more details, check out Czapek’s page on the Passage de Drake collection here.
