A Polish émigré born in Bohemia, Franciszek Czapek (later renamed François Czapek) was a talented watchmaker who in 1839 established a six years partnership with fellow Pole Antoni Patek under the name of Patek, Czapek & Cie. Czapek was head of watchmaking while Patek led the sales and the Company operating in Geneva. Approximately 200 watches were produced yearly.
At the end of the sixth years, the partnership came to an end and each man went his own way. Patek associated with Adrien Philippe and created Patek, Philippe & Cie. while Czapek founded Czapek & Cie on May 1, 1845, with a new partner, Juliusz Gruzewski.
François Czapek kept his atelier on Quai des Bergues, and opened a boutique in Paris, on Place Vendôme, and another in Warsaw. Napoleon III, Emperor of France granted him the title Horloger de la Cour Impériale (Court Watchmaker).
After years of successes, the firm changed hands around 1869, possibly as a consequence of the illness or death of Czapek, whose date of death is unknown. The business continued for some period after Czapek's departure but then stopped operations.
In 2011 a group of entrepreneurs and watch enthusiasts started working on the comeback of the brand and established Czapek & Cie, the same name of the company created by François Czapek & Cie in 1845.
Today the resurrected brand presents its first collection of timepieces called Quai des Bergues, in memory of the address where François Czapek had his workshop.
The new watches are directly inspired to style elements that can be found in some of the most renowned creations of Francois Czapek: a grand feu enamel dial with elongated Roman numerals, slim forged hands, and the unusual positioning of the two subdials, one that marks the small seconds at 7:30, the other, at 4:30, that marks the power reserve and the calendar days at the same time.
Czapek pocket watch reference 3430 - 1850
Housed in a 42.5 mm classic case, the Czapek Calibre SXH1 was developed by Chronode, the Le Locle-based company of Jean-François Mojon (also known for his collaborations with MB&F, HYT, Urban Jürgensen and others).
Finely decorated and aesthetically true to the movement of the 1850 inspiring pocket watch original, this manually-wound movement has two barrel springs and runs at a rate of 21,600 vibrations per hour with a power reserve of 168 hours, or seven days.
The new Czapek Quai des Bergues is available in rose gold with Fleur de Lys hands (Ref.N33), in rose gold with blued hands (Ref. N31), and in white gold with blued hands (ref. N29) with prices starting at Swiss Francs 23,900.
The stainless steel version (ref. N25) is priced at Swiss Francs 9,900.
Initially privately funded by its founding partners, Czapek will support the expansion through a crowd funding campaign that will allow watch lovers and be involved in the project. czapek.com