Czapek & Cie teams up with Arab Watch Club to create a unique piece, a Place Vendôme model with an exceptional Zoisite —a mineral that includes several gem varieties such as Tanzanite— dial. This watch will be auctioned by Christie's in order to support Emirates Foundation which is an independent organization set up by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to facilitate public-private funded initiatives to improve the welfare of youth across the UAE and encourage them to embrace the concept of volunteerism. Through grants and operational projects aligned with the nation’s vision, the Emirates Foundation has journeyed over the past 15 years, impacting the lives of people positively and permanently. The Foundation’s National Emergency Response Volunteering Program, known as SANID, is the first volunteering program specialized in Emergency Response and Disaster Management in the Middle East.
Czapek & Cie. based out of Geneva was revived in 2015. François Czapek was a Czech-born Polish watchmaker who fled to Geneva in 1832 after fighting in the Polish uprising. He immediately started his own atelier and in 1839 entered into a partnership with Antoine Norbert de Patek, introducing him to the world of watchmaking. In 1845, at the end of their partnership, he created Czapek & Cie and achieved considerable success. He became the official watchmaker of Napoleon III and opened, what was most likely the first watchmaking boutique on the Place Vendome in Paris. He wrote a book about watchmaking, but unfortunately, he died before publishing a second one.
After its revival, Czapek & Cie won the Public Prize at the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie in Geneva in November 2016. Taking its inspiration from an 1850’s Czapek timepiece, their collections are grounded in three different timepieces. The first one features a beautiful enamel dial and a 7-day proprietary movement perfectly combining craftsmanship with design and exclusivity with rarity. The second collection, a suspended Tourbillon with a second time-zone, was launched one year later in 2017, while the first Czapek chronograph Faubourg de Cracovie was unveiled at Baselworld 2018.
Now, Czapek has teamed up with one of the most prominent group of collectors in the Arab region, the Arab
Watch Club, to support Emirates Foundation. To help raise funds for the volunteer organization, Czapek has crafted a unique piece for the Place Vendome collection, the most exclusive collection within its portfolio. Named “Al-Kanz” —The Treasure in Arabic—, the unique piece will be auctioned by Christie’s.
Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie, commented:
“The idea of this collaboration came to our friends at the Arab Watch Club. They always had the wish of creating an exceptional piece for the benefit of a worthy cause linked to the region, and we chose to become partner of this club’s project.”
Hassan Al Akhras, known as Arab Watch Guide in the watch community and the founder of the Arab Watch Club added:
“Our club members, who are originally from all across the region, have always been conscious of their social responsibilities and always wanted to contribute through their passion of Horology to a greater cause supporting their community; this project with Czapek & Cie and Emirates Foundation is a true realization of our vision.”
Things to Know About the Watch
The Czapek & Cie Place Vendôme ‘Al-Kanz’ features a 43.5 mm titanium Grade 5 case and a ring displaying hours and minutes at 12 o'clock made of Zoisite which is a very special green semi-precious stone with an irregular dark grey speckling, a world's first in watchmaking. The tourbillon and GMT rings are made of steel and covered with a green nanometric layer. This process, originally invented for the medical industry, is a variant of the CVD called ALD. It is executed by Positive Coating, in La-Chaux-de-Fonds. Czapek’s signature subdials at 7:30 and 4:30 carry a one-minute suspended tourbillon and a second-time zone indication, additionally, the watch features a day/night indicator at 6 o’clock.
“With our partner GT Cadrans, in Lonay, we were looking for something green, but most of the options had already been extensively used. When I saw the Zoisite, it was literally love at first sight! So far, only the center ruby part of this stone has been utilized for dials, while the green part was overlooked and considered too fragile. Instead, we decided to have a sustainable approach to dial making and reveal one of the unknown treasures on Earth. This is the reason behind the timepiece’s name 'Al Kanz, The Treasure’” explains Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie.
All the details in the ‘Al-Kanz’ have been the object of meticulous research. The small center dial is engraved with an Arabic pattern reinterpreted by Czapek’s head designer Adrian Buchmann, inspired by the beautiful motifs of the Arabic Mosques and other legendary regional buildings. The engraving has been made by hand by Le Locle-based Michèle Rothen-Rebetez, one of the most famous and talented Swiss hand-engravers. The very rare “aubergine” hue has been achieved by electroplating by Comblemine, in Saint-Sulpice, renowned for collaborating with a number of Swiss fine watchmaking firms.
The Czapek Al-Kanz is powered by the Czapek & Cie. in-house manual wound movement SXH2. This movement which beats at a frequency of 21,600 vph provides a power reserve of 60 hours with one single barrel. The movement finish includes satin-brushed bridges and an open-worked ratchet.
The Place Vendôme “Al-Kanz” by Czapek & Cie and Arab Watch Club will be exhibited in Dubai at Christie’s premises from October 19th to the 25th and at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva on November 7th and 8th, as part of Christie's Luxury Week. Christie’s will offer this spectacular piece in the “Watches Online: Geneva Edit” sale which will take place from November 5th to 19th, 2020. All the proceedings from the Al-Kanz sale will be donated to the Emirates Foundation.
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