Independent watchmaker Czapek finds new expression in mother-of-pearl
Is mother-of-pearl compatible with a sporty watch? The material’s delicate nature and luminous appearance have long made it a favourite among dressy and diminutive timepieces. But how does it translate to a more robust, everyday silhouette?
If the Antarctique S from independent watchmaker Czapek & Cie is anything to go by, the marriage is happier than one might first imagine. An iconic design of the marque, the Antarctique’s integrated and sporty silhouette first found mother-of-pearl expression in the Antractique S La Carte des Nuages (translated to the Cloud Map) from 2023.
Although it shared the same sporty architecture as the rest of the collection, the timepiece leaned decidedly dressy, thanks to its diamond-set bezel and diamond-adorned dial. It’s well worth noting, then, that Czapek & Cie has once again returned to mother-of-pearl with two timepieces that elevate the material through a dazzling display of technical flair.
The first sees the independent watchmaker find an exquisite balance between the visual effect of mother-of-pearl with a sporty silhouette. The newly released Antarctique S Ice Cloud, with its patterned light-blue, mother-of-pearl dial evokes the image of a cloudy sky in an icy landscape.
This effect is achieved through a meticulous and delicate decorative process known as nacre brouillée, or scattered mother-of-pearl. A base of white mother-of-pearl is first thinned to just 0.2mm before a lightly tinted varnish is applied by hand to the underside of the dial using a horsehair brush. The irregularity of each brushstroke creates soft, cloud-like formations that appear suspended within the material itself.
Once the desired effect is achieved, the dial is fired at high temperature to permanently set the pattern, a stage after which no further correction is possible. The result is a dial that feels organic and atmospheric, while remaining firmly integrated within the Antarctique’s sporty appeal.
Housed in a 38.5mm stainless steel case, the limited-to-10 timepiece is powered by Czapek’s automatic in-house Calibre SXH5 that features an off-centre micro-rotor and offers a 60-hour power reserve.
While the Antractique S Ice Cloud plays on the subtlety of mother-of-pearl, the second release—the Promenade Midnight Pearl—takes a more layered approach. Rather than working within a single material, Czapek employs a patented sandwich construction that combines Tahitian mother-of-pearl with an ultra-thin layer of blue aventurine glass.
The base layer of Tahitian nacre is selected for its naturally darker tone and subdued iridescence, before being thinned to approximately 0.2mm. This is then overlaid with a similarly thin sheet of aventurine, whose fine metallic inclusions introduce a restrained, star-like sparkle.
Assembling and machining these two fragile materials requires careful handling, particularly when cutting the dial apertures and creating the recessed small-seconds display at 4:30 without compromising overall thickness or structural integrity. The result is a dial that shimmers with depth, with the mother-of-pearl base’s muted glow filtered through the flecked aventurine above.
Housed in a 38mm stainless steel case and powered by the Calibre SXH5.1, a refined version of Czapek’s in-house movement adapted for a small-seconds layout, the Promenade Midnight Pearl offers a 60-hour power reserve and is limited to 38 pieces.
