CZAPEK & CIE
Czapek vintage pocket watch Right: Quai des Bergues No. 31
the numerals. It was no longer a pocket watch, but instead had become a wristwatch with pleasantly rounded forms and a comfortable height. The crown, which was not a part of the original 3430, was tucked between two raised sections of the watch barrel, making it less prominent on the side of the case. This approach seems rare or even unique for a wristwatch.
The new Czapek watch was indeed an elegant timekeeper, at least on the photos. The collection, called Quai des Bergues, from the address of the Czapek workshop back in the 1800s, had four models: one in rose gold and one in white gold. A more modern version was to be in a case made of extra-tough, anti-corrosive“ XO steel” produced by Montanstahl in Ticino, Switzerland.
According to the brand,‘ made for the North Sea,’ though I have to wonder if the Mediterranean would do … Finally, there would be a jazzier version in titanium with a carbon dial for trendier fans made up of a coiled carbon thread. There were even some drawings of future watches, far more modern, with a tourbillon and a generally more crowded dial.
Inside was a brand new movement built by Chronode S. A., Jean-François Mojon’ s top-notch team, contributors to such marvels as MB & F’ s LM1 and LM2, the Klepcys by Cyrus, and author of the Harry Winston Opus X.
The Czapek people had made a good decision not to skimp on quality and to pick one of the top movement makers in the business. When I spoke to Mojon earlier this year, he explained that
he had been given the task of adapting the old movement to today’ s standards of excellence.
“ We changed the position of the barrel springs, the shape of the bridges,” Mojon pointed out.“ We spent many hours with the designers and sometimes had ten different versions. The watch is inspired by a historical timepiece, but it is entirely contemporary.” Looking at the movement, you can see the open ratchets, a throwback to the past, and a harmonious interplay between the balance cock and the bridge holding what looks like the fourth wheel.
Nevertheless: I did want to see one of these watches in the flesh and on the flesh. None were available at the time.
THE RE-FOUNDING FATHERS A few months later, I met de Roquemaurel over coffee. He is a jovial man in his forties who still seemed to be finding his place in a small company after having worked as a marketing professional for such big names as L’ Oréal, Ermenegildo Zegna and Ebel. He did not have a sample to show, but instead was wearing a limited edition chronograph the“ company” had made to raise initial funds.
The wellspring of the new Czapek company, still in a cocoon of secrecy, was a gentleman named Harry Guhl, a freewheeling entrepreneur and leading consultant in contemporary art and, in his words,“ an occasional collector of vintage watches, when I happen to come across one.” In 2001, he saw a Czapek watch in a book and was immediately taken with it, but did nothing more about it. In 2008, it happened again.
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WRISTWATCH | 2017