Czapek & Cie’s Antarctique Revelation With A Skeletonised Heart
5 min read
If it's what’s on the inside that counts, then the latest Czapek Antarctique Révélation revealed at Watches and Wonders 2023 is a timepiece to grab. The movement-peeping nuances of the Antarctique Révélation follow the trends of high art of skeletonization and let connoisseurs of mechanics dwell deep into the inner workings of the haute horlogerie offering.
The latest Czapek & Cie’s Antarctique Révélation translates the high watchmaking code of skeletonization to an extension beyond the ordinary. The movement finds itself nestled on the dial side, where it reveals a fascinating animation to impress the wearer. Just as the Antarctique Rattrapante launched in 2021 highlighted the split-seconds chronograph on the face, the same concept inspires this latest iteration launched at Watches and Wonders and is expressed passionately by, Xavier de Roquemaurel CEO: “People were in love with the remarkable design of our SXH5 movement, and we therefore asked ourselves how we could somehow make it visible on the dial.”
The timepiece is a realization of a three-year saga of deep exploration into aesthetics and mechanics. The powerful SXH5 caliber with its impressive mechanical merit and an equally beguiling architecture, in particular the fine bridges angling over to grip the gearwheels, not only replicates the nineteenth-century Czapek pocket watch movements, but serves a perfect foundation for skeletonization.
“One of the first requests had been to engrave a drawing of the movement onto the dial, as a ‘trompe l’oeil,’” says de Roquemaurel. “But soon a far more complex idea emerged, namely turning part of the movement upside down in the case and skeletonizing the main plate.”
A number of engineering challenges had to be addressed in making possible the skeletonization of the Antarctique Révélation launched at Watches and Wonders 2023 including completely reversing the escapement, engraving of the oscillating mass and reworking the crown mechanism to be presentable and optimally functional. The modifications for the seconds display make use of a sapphire crystal ring for a small seconds dial at the 4:30 position.
The extreme modifications to reveal the mechanics results in a new movement, the caliber SXH7. In the latter phases of aesthetic evolution of this timepiece, the elements from other Czapek models like the central tripod as well as the position of the small seconds, derive inspiration from the Antarctique Rattrapante and Quai des Bergues respectively.
