A Look at the Czapek Antarctique Passage De Drake Salmon & Glacier Blue
Monday - 23 May 2022
Limited to just 99 pieces worldwide in each colour, the new Antarctique Passage De Drake watches by Czapek & Cie perfectly capture the stormy seas and icy conditions of the Drake Passage and come equipped with a beautifully manufactured movement for reliable timekeeping.
Classified as a quintessential sports watch with its integrated bracelet, textured dial, reliable in-house developed movement and a series of sharp angles and smooth finishes - the Antarctique watch collection by Czapek & Cie has been proving itself a strong contender in the field of luxury sports watches since it was first launched back in 2020. More specifically, the Passage de Drake sub-category released just last year was named after the Drake Passage, founded by English explorer Sir Francis Drake – a passage that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans between Cape Horn with the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic. It comprises models that keep their sporty persona but feature dial colours and textures inspired by the icy conditions and stormy seas that sailors would have to navigate through this passage. Fortifying the need to extend upon this chapter of the Antarctique watch story once more, Czapek & Cie releases the new 2022 Antarctique Passage De Drake watches in glacier blue and salmon dial colours.
The new Czapek & Cie Antarctique Passage de Drake glacier blue and salmon watches continue along the same lines as their predecessors. Intricate case surfaces, fine finishes, and examples of attention-to-detail can be found throughout both designs. The date is once again positioned at 6 o’clock to satisfy the brand’s aesthetics based on vertical symmetry, whilst the sword-shaped hands remain easy to read and clear. By taking the sport-chic case design of the Antarctique Terre Adélie line and combining this with the sub-collection’s atypical trapezoid dial motif, Czapek can create a striking three-dimensional dial design that makes for particularly interesting viewing when reading the time.
The new Czapek & Cie watches from the Antarctique Passage De Drake collection are elegantly restrained, yet with the addition of these new dial colourways, the models communicate an air of playfulness. Sharing the same case size of 40.5mm, sharp unchamfered edges and brushed surfaces lend themselves to a case that sits on the wrist at a height of 10.6mm. The rectangular-shaped cut-outs along the sides of the case are angular and aggressive, donating a chiselled and masculine finish to the design. The crown guards flanking the Czapek & Cie-stamped crown at 3 o’clock, however, are much softer and more flowing, adding a curving sweep to the design of the case.
The new salmon and glacier blue versions of the Czapek Antarctique Passage De Drake watch are 120-meter water-resistant and topped with a strong anti-reflective and scratch resistant pane of sapphire crystal glass that reveals the new colours of the model’s geometric-stamped dial. This “Stairway to Eternity” trapezoidal texture gives a great sense of depth to timekeeping. Shadows and reflections of light create a topography of textural differences underneath a set of torpedo-shaped hour markers with polished bevels, not to mention a rich semi-matte finish for the central hands to glide over. The central second hand on each watch has a red tip that interacts beautifully with the pointed paddle handset. One difference to note about the design of the dial here is that the Arabic numeral hour marker that normally resides at 12 o’clock has now been replaced by double indices. The largest departure of all, however, has to be the glacial-inspired blue dial with a PVD coating and salmon-pink dial colour with a galvanic finish for a truly golden execution.
The in-house SXH5 automatic movement powers both the salmon and glacial blue versions of the new Czapek & Cie Antarctique Passage De Drake watches. Seven skeletonised bridges rendered in brushed black and matte-blasted finishes are combined with a platinum micro-rotor with laser applied engravings and put on show through a sapphire-backed case. The independently manufactured SXH5 automatic movement provides a power reserve of 56 hours and performs at a rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour.
The two new limited edition Czapek & Cie Antarctique Passage De Drake glacier blue and salmon watches are set to be a fan favourite and come fitted on a tapering C-link integrated bracelet in stainless steel with polished central links and a robust folding clasp. You can check out further details on the two models here or call and speak to a member of our sales team at Jura watches today on 01335 453453
