Czapek Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue: Skeletonised Watchmaking Done Differently
Every now and then a watch comes along that makes you stop looking at the dial and start looking through it.
That's certainly the case with the new Czapek Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue, a 38-piece limited edition that combines a smoked sapphire dial with Czapek's fully skeletonised SXH7 movement. And while the new blue colour will inevitably grab most of the attention, look a little closer and there's far more going on here than a simple change of palette.
Two years after the original Viridian Green edition, Czapek has returned to its Transparencies concept with a watch that feels both familiar and noticeably different.
The basic idea remains the same. Rather than using a conventional metal dial, Czapek uses sapphire crystal, allowing the movement underneath to become part of the visual architecture of the watch.
But creating that blue fumé effect is where things start to get interesting.
The sapphire isn't painted or simply tinted blue. Instead, Czapek uses a metallisation process that deposits microscopic metallic dots onto the underside of the crystal. We're talking dots measuring around eight microns across, with their density increasing towards the edge of the dial.
The result is that lovely graduated blue appearance, darker around the outside before becoming increasingly transparent towards the centre and small seconds.
It's a clever solution because it gives the watch a proper dial without really giving it a dial at all. And that's important.
Skeleton watches can sometimes become visually exhausting. Remove too much and suddenly you're trying to tell the time through a maze of bridges, wheels and polished surfaces. Here, the blue sapphire creates just enough structure to keep everything under control while still allowing the movement to take centre stage. The hour markers are another neat detail.
On the previous Transparencies, Czapek used conventional metallic indexes. This time each marker is effectively a small block of light-blue Super-LumiNova, individually applied to the sapphire.
During the day they help separate the time display from everything happening underneath. At night they glow in the same pale blue colour.
It's one of those relatively small changes that could have a surprisingly big effect on how the watch looks on the wrist.
But as good as the dial is, the real reason to spend time staring at this watch sits underneath it.
The SXH7 is Czapek's fully skeletonised automatic calibre, developed from the architecture of the SXH5. Seven openworked bridges stretch inwards from the edge of the movement towards the gear train, creating a layout inspired by the multi-bridge movements found in François Czapek's 19th-century pocket watches.
There's plenty of history behind the idea, but thankfully the execution doesn't feel remotely old fashioned.
To make the movement work visually from the front, Czapek had to reverse the escapement and move the small seconds to 4:30, allowing it to be driven directly from the fourth wheel. The crown and keyless works were also redesigned to accommodate the new architecture.
Then there's the micro-rotor.
Made from 100 percent recycled platinum, it's engraved on both sides because, rather unusually, both sides can actually be seen.
That might sound obvious when you're talking about a skeletonised watch, but it creates another problem. There's nowhere to hide.
Czapek therefore applies the same level of finishing to both sides of the SXH7. Sandblasted bridges, straight-grained flanks, openworked ratchets and hand-finished anglage are all on display.
Essentially, if you're going to remove the dial and expose almost everything, you'd better make sure everything is worth exposing.
Technically, the SXH7 runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, uses 25 jewels and provides a 60-hour power reserve. Solid numbers, but this is clearly a movement designed to be looked at just as much as relied upon.
Thankfully, Czapek hasn't allowed all that mechanical theatre to dictate the size of the watch.
The Promenade case measures just 38mm across and 10.8mm thick. That's probably one of my favourite things about the whole package.
It would have been very easy to make this 41 or 42mm simply to provide a larger canvas for the movement, but the smaller dimensions should give the Transparencies a much more elegant presence on the wrist.
You still get sapphire front and back, internal anti-reflective treatment and 50 metres of water resistance. Strap options include nubuck leather or a steel Milanese bracelet.
At CHF 28,800 before tax, the Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue is clearly playing in serious haute horlogerie territory. And with only 38 pieces being produced, chances are most of us won't be bumping into one at the local RedBar either.
But this isn't really a watch that's trying to compete on specifications or value.
What I like is that the blue hasn't become the entire story. Yes, it's the first thing you notice, but underneath it is an unusual sapphire dial construction, solid Super-LumiNova indexes, a heavily reworked skeletonised calibre and a genuinely interesting approach to displaying a movement from both sides.
There are plenty of skeleton watches designed to show you everything. The Czapek Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue feels more interested in deciding exactly how much you should see. Sometimes, leaving a little to the imagination makes things far more interesting.