Czapek Faubourg de Cracovie (Price, Pictures and Specifications)
Czapek unveils its brand new Faubourg de Cracovie ‘Secret Alloy’ model, a steel 5 Hertz chronograph with an unconventional ‘raw’ grey engine-turned dial.
Czapek continues its creative exploration of the countless possibilities offered by the art of ‘guillochage’ (engine-turning), collaborating one more time with its partner Metalem, in Le Locle, one of the top Swiss watch dial factories established in the Jura region since 1928.
This time the Geneva-based brand worked on the engine-turned dial of its Faubourg de Cracovie model, launched at Baselworld 2018, boasting a 5 Hertz column-wheel integrated chronograph. The Faubourg de Cracovie ‘Secret Alloy’ was born from the collaboration with Metalem craftsmen that showed the “raw”, non-coloured dials with the Czapek “Resonance” pattern after hand-engraving them. “The rough tint of the dial without the electroplating coating looked so incredibly beautiful that we decided to make it a watch of our collection”, explains Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie.
The timepiece owes its name “Secret Alloy” to the alloy 401, a special alloy developed for Czapek and made of gold (55%), platinum, palladium and silver. This Gold alloy serves as the base for all Czapek handmade guilloché dials and, thanks to its composition including palladium and platinum, it is stronger than 18-carat gold. This allows Czapek to give to their engine-turned dials their unique and beautiful “bombé”, domed shape.
“In the spirit of sharing and transparency that is proper to the Czapek Company– continues Xavier - we decided to reveal with this watch our ‘secret’ alloy 401, which is undoubtedly one of the key elements of our exceptional guilloché dials”.
As the other models in the Faubourg de Cracovie line, the Secret Alloy features a 41.5-millimeter steel case where the crown protectors serve as pushers. The case hosts the SXH3 Caliber, a COSC-certified automatic integrated chronograph movement delivering 65 hours power reserve from a single barrel that drives the balance wheel at 36,000 vph.
Produced in a limited edition of 18 pieces, the timepiece will be proposed with or without the date window (the standard version being without the date).
The Czapek Faubourg de Cracovie Secret Alloy will be presented for the first time at Watch Time New York (Gotham Hall, October 25-26) and it will be only available in the brand’s official retailers in the US including Oster Jewelers in Denver, Colorado and Cellini Jewelers in New York, until Baselworld 2020.
Czapek Faubourg de Cracovie
Technical specifications:
Stainless steel case, guilloche dial in “Alloy 401”
Blue steel hands, certified Chronometer (COSC)
Functions:
· Chronograph, Hours, Minutes & Seconds
· Chronograph's Minutes at 3 o'clock
· Chronograph's Hours at 9 o'clock
· Small seconds at 6 o'clock
· Date at 6 o'clock
Movement:
· Caliber SXH3: Haute Horlogerie integrated automatic Chronograph movement with a bespoke execution
· Power reserve: 65 hours
· Frequency: 5 Hz - 36'000 VpH
· Column Wheel, Vertical Clutch and Linear Hammer
· Golden Rotor with Czapek logo
· Diameter: 30mm - 13 lines 1/4
· Height: 6.95mm
· Finish: finely sandblasted and diamond polished anthracite bridges, snailed trottoirs
· Certified Chronometer (COSC)
Case & Bracelet:
· 41.5mm Stainless Steel Case
· Sapphire crystal Glass-Box with anti-reflective treatment
· Sapphire case back with Anti-reflective treatment on the inner side.
· Water Resistance: 50m
· Alligator Strap with a steel deploying buckle
Dial:
· "Rough" Handcrafted Guilloché "Résonance" bombé dial in AuPtPdAg
· Baton applied indexes with Super Luminova treatment
· 12 in Arabic numerals with Super Luminova treatment
Hands:
· Czapek Modern Rodhium plated steel hands, Arrow with Superluminova treatment
· Small second hand with red tip
The price for the Czapek Faubourg de Cracovie is CHF 24,000 and is limited edition to 18 pieces.
