Czapek & Cie 

This brand’s name is based on the work of François (Franciszek) Czapek, the Polish-born master watchmaker who partnered with Antoni (Antoine) Norbert Patek in 1839 to establish Patek, Czapek & Cie – which became today’s Patek Philippe. That partnership ultimately dissolved, and Czapek reformed with a new partner in 1845.

One hundred seventy years later, in 2015, the company relaunched with de Roquemaurel as CEO, becoming a compelling example of how to properly crowdfund more than two million Swiss francs. Today, all this company’s employees are “shareholders.”

The origins of Czapek & Cie are a source of never-ending inspiration for de Roquemaurel, which is why the first watch collection was called Quai de Bergues – in appreciation for the Geneva boulevard where Czapek established his first atelier. Over the following decade, Czapek & Cie has advanced to excellent manufacturing capability, ultimately making about 50% of its watch – including total control over design and assembly – in house thanks to an agile team that never makes more than 999 watches in one year.

In November 2025, Czapek & Cie celebrated its ten-year anniversary with the limited-edition Time Jumper powered by the firm’s tenth unique calibre.

Czapek & Cie Antarctique 

The Czapek & Cie Antarctique model made its debut in May of 2020, at the height of the pandemic. “It was the expected unexpected,” says de Roquemaurel, looking back at that time’s trend watches: “integrated” sporty chic stainless-steel timepieces with stainless-steel link bracelets attached to the cases.  

“It was expected because everybody was talking about ‘integrated watches.’ And I remember a very well-known collector who was then a ‘shareholder’ of the company telling me, don't do it. It's too crowded…with everybody copying designs from Gérald Genta. But the collector community validated the Antarctique and found it interesting because it was original.” 

Czapek & Cie’s Antarctique line is its key to balancing trends and new techniques while remaining traditional in its high-end watchmaking capability. Here, the company often incorporates whimsical decorative elements, regularly in the form of rare and unique dials. “Head in the stars, feet on the ground. This is a way to be creative, but also to keep continuity,” said de Roquemaurel. 

Today, the Antarctique, which is powered by in-house Calibre SXH5, is key model in Czapek & Cie’s collection with a strong appeal among collectors. Automatic Calibre SXH5 with its 60-hour power reserve produced by a single spring barrel was entirely conceived and assembled in house. 

Bucherer Exclusive: Czapek & Cie Secret Reef Antarctique 

The brand-new 18-piece limited-edition Bucherer Exclusive Secret Reef Antarctique is uncommonly vibrant thanks to its compelling chrysocolla dial.  

“The name chrysocolla is actually Greek and means ‘gold glued’,” de Roquemaurel explained. “It has some elements that are mixed together that shouldn't be mixed together. That's surprising. You have metal that is mixed with the stone creating this effect: it's blurred, it's clear, it's everything together. It's deep and not deep. You feel you could dive into the dial. What is fantastic about making dials with stones is that each dial is different. It's unique. You will never have the same shape, the same design on two watches. They are expressions that have a lot of elements in common, kids of the same family, but they will all be different. So, it's also the pleasure of knowing that you own a piece of our beloved earth and it's only for you.”  

Chrysocolla is a vibrant, ever-changing copper-bearing mineral, and in antiquity it was often used as a material to solder gold, which is where its Greek compound name comes from: chrysos (gold) and kolla (glue). It is not a particularly hard stone, measuring only between 2.5 and 7 on the Mohs scale depending on the copper and silica content. Which means that cutting, grinding and polishing this stone to the size and shape of a dial with all the appropriate drillings is rather finicky work and probably results in more than one broken slice of stone per successful paper-thin dial of 0.4 mm thickness. This makes the fragile, soft stone relatively rare in watchmaking.  

Czapek & Cie’s name for this Antarctique model came about rather naturally. “The stone gives the impression of snorkelling in a reef and seeing different perspectives that stones give underwater,” said de Roquemaurel. The “secret” part of the name, “Comes from finding some secret snorkelling spots in Corsica…or from the very personal relationship I have with my watches…I don’t exactly know which, probably a mixture of both,” he laughed. Important is, “The incredible pleasure of finding a secret spot to snorkel and the very personal relationship one can have with a watch whose dial is unique. It’s a marvellous stone!” 

The interplay of colour between various degrees of blue and green fascinates the eye just as much as a colourful reef underwater might. This dial is akin to a natural artwork created by geological processes that take millions of years to form. And wearing comfort is guaranteed by the 40.5 mm stainless-steel case secured to the wrist by an integrated bracelet with micro adjustment capability. 

De Roquemaurel deeply appreciates his easy partnership with Bucherer when it comes to creating. “It's beyond watches; it's about people. It's the fact that we feel we speak the same language when we think about excellence.”