2024 sees the release of four new limited-edition Czapek Antarctique timepieces that, at a glance, can easily be mistaken as all the same watch. That’s because even though all of these watches feature steel Antarctique cases with aventurine glass dials, there are actually two case sizes and two dial styles available. Together, that makes for four models, each of which is a limited edition. Czapek will make 99 pieces of the 40.5mm Antarctique Polar Sky, 77 pieces of the 38.5mm Polar Sky, and 18 pieces of the 38.5mm Flying Diamonds, as well as 18 pieces for the 40.5mm Flying Diamonds watch.
The difference between the Antarctique Flying Diamonds and Polar Sky watches is the presence of diamonds as the hour markers. You then have either the 40.5mm-wide standard Antarctique or smaller 38.5mm-wide Antarctique S case options to choose from. The diamond hour markers are very easy to miss if you don’t know what you are looking for. The Polar Sky version uses applied metal (with luminous paint filling) hour markers, while the Flying Diamonds has diamonds cut in the same shape as the Antarctique’s standard hour markers in lieu of applied metal pieces. All of the versions use carefully made aventurine glass which are produced by the specialist dial maker GT Cadrans.
As someone who loves decorated dials on otherwise sporty watches, these versions of the Czapek Antarctique really speak to me, especially the Flying Diamonds models. It can be very challenging for a men’s watch to get away with having diamonds and still look tasteful. One good way to ensure that is to not add elements to the watch with diamonds but rather to use diamonds for important elements (such as the hour markers). In this instance, the presence of the diamonds merely replaces the standard hour markers, offering the shimmer of precious stones without the pretense of superfluous spectacle. This is how to make a luxury watch while still making sure that everyone agrees it is a tasteful timepiece. For those who don’t want diamonds (or who don’t want to pay for them), Czapek offers the same watches as the Polar Sky versions without the diamonds.
For the most part, the rest of these watches are the same as other Antarctique pieces including the presence of the exclusive micro-rotor-based automatic mechanical movement known as the caliber SXH5. This movement operates at 4Hz with 60 hours of power reserve and is quite lovely to look at through the rear of the case through the sapphire crystal. Note that because they both use the same movement, the cases of the 38.5mm and 40.5mm versions of the Antarctique are both 10.6mm thick (and water resistant to 120 meters).
One interesting added element to the watch is the included strap. The watches come standard on steel bracelets, but the Antarctique has always had an interchangeable strap system and often comes with a strap. In this instance the included blue strap is rubber, but it has a fabric-style texture. It also has some small shiny inclusions and is meant to match the beautiful glistening of the deep blue aventurine dials. The texture of the straps and the fact that they are actually sporty rubber is what interests me the most.
Czapek is focusing most of its production on the Antarctique and Antarctique S Polar Sky models with 99 and 77 pieces among those two versions respectively. Price for each of those (same for both case sizes) is 26,000 CHF. The diamond-dial Antacrtique Flying Diamonds watches are comparatively much more limited being produced as a set of only 18 pieces each for both the smaller Antarctique S Flying Diamonds and the larger Antacrique Flying Diamonds. Czapek’s price for those watches is 38,000 CHF and 42,800 CHF respectively. Learn more at the Czapek website.
