WatchTime New York kicking off this coming Friday, October 22, is often one of the best events in the world to see some of the rarest new watches available, and this year is shaping up to be no different. For example, avant-garde Swiss watchmaker Czapek will be showcasing its now sold-out Antarctique Rattrapante, making the event one one of the only opportunities to see the watch live outside of a private collection.
The Antarctique Rattrapante was launched at the end of last summer as the priority launch for Czapek at Geneva Watch Days. The luxurious timepiece is, notably, Czapek’s first non-unique skeletonized split-seconds chronograph, with the brand introducing the complication to its regular catalog as a follow-up to the even rarer Antarctique Rattrapante “Sunrise” unique piece commissioned for the prestigious Only Watch auction.
The Rattrapante also expands the brand’s Antarctique collection, which kicked off with a limited edition in 2020 to widespread praise (pictured below, alongside the “Sunrise” edition), and has grown since via a successive series of other limited editions. The Antarctique Rattrapante represents a novel evolution of the original design into new high-horology territory, significantly adding a distinctive skeletonized design to the growing collection.
The classically styled, bracelet-integrated steel watch is slightly larger than the 40-mm original Antartique; this new Rattrapante version features a 42.5-mm case, finished throughout with an expertly executed combination of radial and straight-brushed finishing, along with accents of luxurious polishing on the bracelet, bezel, and pushers. The pushers themselves, used to operate the split-seconds chronograph displayed in openworked fashion on the dial, are integrated into the case, the shape of the right-side pusher flowing seamlessly into the the extended lip of the crown guard.
Under the sapphire crystal lies a complex, skeletonized dial that displays the time and dual-chronograph capabilities of the timepiece; both the dial- side and sapphire-exhibited back side of the movement have been exquisitely finished. An outer minute ring provides the outline for the dial, with the various elements of the split-seconds movement visible within its border, in addition to other timekeeping elements, like the 30-minute chronograph counter at 4 o’clock and the small seconds at 7 o’clock, balancing it symmetrically. The style overall is meant to create a visual link to the company’s “spiritus rector,” 19th-century watchmaker François Czapek, who used vertical symmetry as an aesthetic guide.
Inside the watch — and, of course, visible via the skeletonized dial — is the Czapek Caliber SHX6, a propriety mechanism produced in collaboration with movement manufacturer Chronode. The movement has been meticulously conceived, designed, and constructed, the partners developing it specifically to keep the watch’s case at a size not to exceed 42.5 mm.
The Czapek Antarctique Rattrapante was previously available through the brand’s boutique in Geneva, official retailers, and online in a limited edition of 77 pieces for €43,400 (about $51,189), though it has since sold out. WatchTime New York 2021 will be one of the last times to see the watch as presented by the brand, so be sure to buy your tickets, today!
To learn more about the watch, visit Czapek, here.
To learn more about WatchTime New York 2021 and purchase tickets, click here.
