W&W 2024 Czapek & Cie. Antarctique Green Meteor

Continuing to play a creative game with the sporty-chic persona of the Antarctique, Czapek & Cie has introduced a new variation with an eye-catching green meteorite dial.

Since its launch four years ago, the Antarctique has become recognised as a contemporary classic and has featured many dial variations – always with intriguing textures and atypical colours that appear to change with every shift in the light. As is the norm at Czapek, the green meteorite dial is partially a response to collectors’ wishes – and partially a ‘lightbulb moment’ of creativity.

After creating the Antarctique Viridian Green in 2021 in partnership with Fratello watches, many collectors asked if we would do another green dial, so it has been very much in our minds,” says Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie. The decision to use meteorite was a coup de foudre moment, he adds. “I was visiting our partner, GT Cadrans, and held a disc of meteorite against my Antarctique. It looked so right with the style of the watch. And I immediately thought, why not do it in green – a cool tone of green that would complement the colour of the steel case.”

In keeping with Czapek’s love of highly textured dials, meteorite appears to be deeply three-dimensional – sometimes almost infinite, resembling an illustration by M C Escher. However, this is an optical illusion caused as the light catches the geometric lines – known as the Widmanstätten pattern – created by the crystallised structures of the iron-nickel alloy. Characteristic of octahedrite meteorites, the crystals were formed as the meteorite cooled very slowly during its millions-of-years journey through the cosmos, before colliding with Earth. Thanks to this crystalline structure, the pattern is different on every slice of meteorite used to create a watch dial, making each one unique.

The Czapek dials have been taken from the Gibeon meteorite, which fell in Namibia in prehistoric times – believed to be approximately around 600 million years ago. The slice of raw meteorite must be acid-washed and polished to reveal the full beauty of the pattern – the angles of the lines being determined by the plane on which the raw material was cut. For the Antarctique Green Meteor, the mineral’s natural grey colour has been transformed by a rich green lacquer; applied in many layers and polished to a perfect finish, it appears to change tone in different light conditions. The simplicity of the dial indications – faceted trapezoid indexes and sword-shaped hands – gives full rein to the meteorite’s intriguing geometric patterns.

Aside from its beauty, meteorite holds a special fascination in being perhaps the only material found on Earth that didn’t originate on our planet – and, indeed, may have originated before our planet existed. It’s a subtle reminder of the infinity of time and the cosmic origins of our conventions of time measurement.

The Antarctique is powered by the automatic SXH5 calibre, conceived in-house by Czapek’s own team. With special attention given to balancing aesthetics and performance, the movement architecture was designed for visual harmony and transparency as well as functionality.

Introduced at Watches and Wonders 2024, the Antarctique Green Meteor will be made in a limited edition of 100 pieces and is available for pre-order at the brand authorised dealers worldwide, the boutique in Geneva, rue de la Corraterie 18, and at Czapek.com. Deliveries will start in Q2 2025.

Technical specifications

Czapek & Cie. Antarctique Green Meteor

Limited edition of 100 pieces

Case

• Material: Stainless steel
• Diameter: 40.5mm
• Thickness: 10.6 mm
• Glass: Sapphire crystal glass-box with anti-reflective treatment
• Screwed-down crown
• Sapphire case back with anti-reflective treatment on the inner side
• Water-resistant to 120 meters

Dial and hands

• Dial made of Gibeon iron meteorite, renowned for its Widmanstatten patterns
• Green polished laquer
• Luminescent steel sword hands

Movement

• Caliber SXH5: in-house self-winding mechanical movement
• Diameter: 30 mm – 13 ¼ lignes
• Height: 4.2 mm
• Number of parts: 193
• Number of jewels: 28
• Swiss lever escapement, variable-inertia balance wheel regulated by 4 small cylindrical inertia-blocks
• Frequency: 28'800 vph (4 Hz)
• Power winding system: micro-rotor with a recycled platinum mass
• Power reserve: 60 hours, one single barrel
• Barrel torque: 8.8 Nmm

Finishing

• Open ratchets, sandblasted black bridges, bevelling, straight-grained sides, handchamfering

Functions/Indications

• Hours, minutes and central seconds
• Date at 6 o’clock

Strap and buckle

• Integrated stainless steel bracelet with Czapek exclusive ‘Easy Release’ system and microadjustment
• Additional calf leather or rubber strap

MSRP: CHF 25'000

For more information, please visit czapek.com