Czapek & Cie presents the second of the four pieces created to mark the tenth anniversary of its revival. The Antarctique Plique-à-Jour is a limited edition of ten pieces that unites the maison’s contemporary watchmaking language with one of the most intricate traditional enamelling techniques. The model will be unveiled to the public for the first time at WatchTime New York 2025.

Since its relaunch in 2015, Czapek & Cie has built its creative approach around a simple but demanding idea: to bring traditional craftsmanship into dialogue with modern watchmaking. The Antarctique Plique-à-Jour continues this exploration, applying an ancient decorative art, normally reserved for jewellery or objets d’art, to a modern integrated steel watch.

“Czapek has always sought to explore métiers d’art and reinterpret them through contemporary design and novel techniques,” says Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie. “This project is about preserving a rare artisanal know-how while giving it a new role in modern watchmaking.”

The plique-à-jour technique, whose name literally means “letting in the daylight,” is one of the most demanding forms of enamel work and was developed in the Byzantine Empire in the 6^th century AD. It consists in applying layers of coloured enamel into open metal cells with no backing. The enamel is fired at around 900°C, fusing to the metal framework— typically made of gold — but leaving transparent sections that allow light to pass through. The result resembles a miniature stained-glass window, alive with reflections and variations in tone.

Only a few workshops in the world still master this art, due to the precision and patience it requires. The challenges lie in multiple dimensions. First, each colour must be carefully formulated to achieve the desired hue and transparency once fired. Second, each cell on the dial must be filled individually, in the right proportion and sequence, to obtain harmonious gradients. Third, the enameller must control every stage of firing, ensuring the material does not crack under high temperature. Finally, the finishing process — polishing and adjusting the thickness — must be done, gently and progressively, to preserve the integrity of the enamel.

The transparency achieved in this dial reveals the inner architecture of the movement beneath, creating a direct visual connection between art and mechanics.

“What makes this dial so extraordinary and unique is precisely its transparency”, explains Xavier de Roquemaurel. “Indeed, unlike traditional plique-à-jour enamel, which is often slightly opaque due to air bubbles that form within the enamel, the technique used for the Antarctique Plique-à-Jour allows for complete transparency. The subtle colour gradient adds yet another layer of complexity to what was already a true tour de force”.


To realize this project, Czapek collaborated with several specialized partners. While MD’Art created the metal structure, Bagues-Masriera was responsible for the enamel work, including the colour application and high-temperature firing. PBMC carried out the delicate polishing and thickness adjustments, performed one by one and in progressive stages to avoid fissures in the enamel. The final steps — including pad printing, attachment of the dial feet, and surface finishing — were entrusted to MD’Art.

Every dial was the result of a continuous exchange between Czapek’s product development team and the artisans. The complexity of the process and the fragility of the material required absolute precision at each stage, making every dial unique.

The Antarctique collection represents Czapek’s vision of a contemporary haute horlogerie watch: a sport-chic timepiece with a finely executed steel case and integrated bracelet. Its design combines sharp lines with fluid ergonomics, alternating brushed and polished surfaces to catch the light.

Inside the Antarctique Plique-à-Jour beats the Czapek Calibre SXH7, a skeletonized automatic movement developed and assembled in the manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Derived from the SXH5, the SXH7 retains the same micro-rotor architecture with a 100% recycled platinum rotor mounted on ball bearings for optimal winding efficiency but introduces a fully open and three-dimensional construction. The skeletonized bridges, open worked barrel, and visible balance wheel create total transparency — in perfect harmony with the plique-à-jour enamel dial. The movement beats at 4 Hz and offers a power reserve of 60 hours. Finishing details include 18 internal (inward) angles, hand-chamfered edges, sandblasted bridges, diamond-cut sinkholes, and rhodium-plating that enhances contrast and depth.

The transparency of the enamel dial thus reveals the movement in an unprecedented way, allowing light to illuminate the mechanical landscape beneath the surface.


Only ten pieces of the Antarctique Plique-à-Jour will be produced, each one subtly unique due to the natural variations of the enamelling process. The series, as was the case for the Antarctique Tourbillon launched in April, carries the Czapek anniversary logo engraved on the case back, as it is part of the collections marking ten years since the rebirth of Czapek & Cie in 2015 — a decade defined by collaboration, passion, and the pursuit of independence and authenticity in contemporary watchmaking.


Czapek is a contemporary watchmaking Maison created in the spirit of François Czapek, a 19th-century Czech-born Polish watchmaker. ln 1832 Czapek escaped from political turmoil in Warsaw and fled to Geneva, where he created a series of businesses during the 1830s. After establishing Czapek & Cie in 1845, he became Purveyor of the Imperia! Court of Napoleon Ill and opened the first watchmaking boutique on Place Vendôme in Paris. The Czapek & Cie name was reborn in 2015 by a group of watch enthusiasts who sought to revive the Maison’s heritage and craftsmanship. lnspired by an 1850s Czapek & Cie pocket watch, the leading model of the first collection, Quai des Bergues 33bis, won the 2016 GPHG Public Prize. ln 2020, the company launched Antarctique, a sport-chic collection with the first in-house Czapek movement. Today, Czapek’s haute horlogerie timepieces are known for their distinctive designs, high-quality craftsmanship and limited production. With headquarters in Geneva and its atelier in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Czapek thoroughly defends the concept of établissage in a modern way.

#wecollectrarepeopIe

Functions	:	Hours, minutes & small seconds
Movement	:	Calibre SXH7 Czapek’s in house self-winding mechanical skeletonized movement
Diameter	:	30 mm - 13 lines ¼
Height	:	4.2 mm
Components	:	152
Jewels	:	25
Escapement	:	Swiss lever Variable-inertia balance fitted with four gold inertia-blocks
Frequency	:	4 Hz - 28,800 VpH
Winding	:	Micro-rotor with a recycled platinum mass
Power reserve	:	60 hours on one single barrel
Barrel torque	:	8.8 Nmm
Finish	:	Open ratchets, sandblasted rhodium-plated bridges, bevelling, straight-grained sides, hand-chamfered 18 internal (inward) angles Hand-bevelled main plate
Case	:	Steel
Diameter	:	40.5 mm
Height	:	10.6 mm
Glass	:	Sapphire crystal glass-box with anti-reflective treatment
Case back	:	Sapphire with anti-treatment on the inner side
Water resistance	:	120 m
Crown	:	Screwed-down
Dial	:	18K white gold dial with a gradient of grand feu blue enamel
Hands	:	Luminescent sword-shaped hands insteel
Bracelet	:	Integrated stainless steel with Czapek exclusive “Easy Release” system Micro-adjustment device allowing for a gain of between 2 and 4 mm in the length of the bracelet
Price (before taxes)	:	61,200 CHF