The greatest gift designers and engineers can bring to their brands is the creation of a watch that can be remade in different colours, materials, complications and dial treatments and make them wearable on a range of different straps or metal bracelets.
Importantly, they must stand the test of time, standing ready to be reinvented for the changing tastes of every generation.
Known to the trade as platform watches, we see the greatest examples in the likes of Patek Philippe’s Nautilus, Rolex’s Daytona, AP’s Royal Oak, Cartier’s Tank and Omega’s Speedmaster.
Emerging independents are constantly striving to create their own platform watches, and Czapek hit the jackpot with the release of its Antarctique right into the sweet sport of the integrated sports watch market back in 2020.
It has since been produced as a three-hander in myriad colours, as a rattrapante flyback chronograph, in steel, titanium and gold and sold on integrated metal bracelets and rubber straps.
There are two sizes, with the original 40.5mm Antarctique followed in 2022 by the 38.5mm Antarctique S.
Czapek’s latest additions, the Antarctique Polar Sky and Antartique Flying Diamonds, add a bit of sparkle ahead of red carpet party season with shimmering aventurine dials and the option of diamond indexes.
There are six references in the capsule collection of limited editions.
Two Polar Sky models come without diamond hour markers in either the original 40.5mm case (limited to 99 pieces) or the smaller Antarctique S 38.5mm size (limited to 77 pieces).
The same is true of the Polar Sky with diamond hours with the larger piece limited to 99 units and the 38.5mm model, without diamonds, limited to 77.
Top of the range are 40.5mm and 38.5mm versions of the Antarctique Flying Diamonds with diamond indexes and optional diamond-set case and bracelet. There are eight of the larger model being made and 18 of the smaller piece.
“We released the Antarctique line in 2020 as the epitome of sporty elegance – and for us, the pared-down sophistication of its design makes it a natural platform for creativity,” says Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie. “At Czapek we like to dream with our feet on the ground and our heads in the stars, and the sparkle of these new dials expresses that idea in a delightful and surprising way.”
The watches are being presented at this week’s Geneva Watch Days but deliveries are not expected to begin until Q4 2025.