While many are familiar with Czapek and the watch that introduced us to the brand, Quai Des Bergues, this year Czapek introduced a new watch, the Titanium cased Place Vendome. While the Quai De Bergues was a homage to the old pocket watches from Czapek with the duo register sub dials at 4 and 8. With the 8 o’clock sub dial displaying the small seconds hand and the 4 o’clock sub dial displaying the day of the week and the power reserveRéserve de marche Also known as Power Reserve. A watch's power reserve refers to the amount of time a mechanical watch can run without being wound. The power reserve of a mechanical watch can vary depending on the size of the mainspring, the efficiency of the gear train, and the rate at which the mainspring releases energy. If a watch has a Power Reserve 'complication' it simply means that the status of the power reserve can be seen on the watch itself (either on the dial or movement side of the watch). [Learn More]
The new Place Vendome takes a different direction with a titanium case and a instead of the power reserve at 4, it has the GMTGMT A GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) complication is a feature found in some watches that allows the wearer to track two time zones simultaneously. It typically includes a 24-hour hand and a bezel or a second hour hand that can be adjusted independently of the main hour hand to track the time in a different time zone. [Learn More] function with 12 hour display and open dial showing the movement in the front. Since it is a 12 hour display, it also has a day/night indicator at the 6 o’clock position to help knowing the time. Taking place of the seconds hand at 8, is the 1 minute tourbillonTourbillon A tourbillon is a complication in a mechanical watch that is designed to improve the accuracy of the watch by compensating for the effects of gravity on the balance wheel and escapement. It consists of a rotating cage that holds the balance wheel and escapement, which rotates on its own axis once per minute. This rotation helps to average out the positional errors caused by gravity, making the watch more accurate [Learn More].
The hour and minute hands has been moved to the sub dial off center just below 12 o’clock position and the power reserve at the bottom of the sub dial, winding counter clockwise and 60 hoiurs of power reserve. In having the 4 sub dial displays, the watch provides an excellent symmetry and balance.
The dial side has a sandblasted finish while the movement side has the nice beveling and anglageAnglage Anglage is a decorative technique used in the finishing of mechanical watch movements. It involves beveling, polishing, and chamfering the edges of various movement components, such as the main plate, bridges, and gears, to create a smooth and polished look [Learn More] we have seen in previous Czapek releases. You may have noticed the sub dial at 12 has a black circle around, which is black enamel, adding another fine detail to the watch!
Powering the watch is the SXH2 with a tourbillon, GMT, day night indicator, and 60 hours of power reserve all in one barrelBarrel The barrel is a cylindrical container that holds the mainspring. The barrel is connected to the winding mechanism. The winding mechanism rotates the barrel, which in turn winds the mainspring. [Learn More] ! The case as mentioned before is made with grade 5 titanium with a 43.5mm diameter. As you can see in the pictures, it is no wonder that the was has been pre-selected for the 2019 GPHG! Of course, all these features, the price comes at 88,000 CHF and limited to only 25 pieces.
Easy to see why this got selected for the GPHG for 2019!