Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Czapek Time Jumper, A Double-Digit Jumping Hour Guichet Watch for the 10th Anniversary
A retro-futuristic 24-hour, double-digit jumping hour montre a guichets…
A name with strong historical importance, François Czapek was once the business partner of a certain Antoine Norbert de Patek. However, it’s mostly since the rebirth of the brand in 2015 that the name Czapek became popular among watch enthusiasts. This year, the independent brand is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its revival by unveiling a limited-edition timepiece to commemorate this milestone. Inspired by Czapek’s historical pocket watches, the Czapek Time Jumper is an unusual montre à guichets, with a patent-pending 24-hour jumping hours and dragging minutes display. Its hinged protective lid is engraved with an exclusive guilloche pattern centred around a loupe. Flipping the cover open unveils the intricacies of the new in-house Calibre 10.01.
If the Czapek Time Jumper clearly draws inspiration from 19th-century pocket watches, this unusual montre à guichets (a style that is undergoing a strong revival recently) is far from being in nostalgic reinterpretation of Czapek’s yesteryear creations. As explained by the brand’s CEO, Xavier de Roquemaurel, the idea “was to rethink the expression of time and bring something new and fresh to the table.”
The anniversary watch merges heritage-inspired details with a contemporary, futuristic touch. While its smooth pebble case shape is inspired by a flying saucer, it features a hinged guilloche lid that partially covers its display, reminiscent of a classic pocket watch. A round opening at its centre reveals the jumping hours (24 hours on two digits, more on this later) through a bubble-shaped loupe, while the minutes are indicated by a dragging disc at 6 o’clock through an arched aperture. Thanks to a pusher between the lugs, the cover can be opened to reveal the intricacies of its movement.
At 40.5mm in diameter, the case is made of steel, while the guilloche insert of the cover is in white gold. The distinctive pattern of the latter was created with Metalem, and it is exclusive to Czapek. An evolution of the vortex-like Singularité guilloché created for the Antarctique Tourbillon, it creates the optical illusion of curves being drawn into a deep centre. A yellow gold version with a matching guilloche cover is also available.
The Czapek Time Jumper also marks the debut of the in-house calibre 10, a new automatic movement whose adaptable architecture will serve as a base for future developments. Visible through the back of the watch, it features a centrally mounted recycled 950 platinum, skeletonised rotor and bridges creating an interplay of concentric circles. The variable inertia balance wheel is fitted with 4 gold inertia-blocks and operates at a 4Hz frequency. Its single barrel delivers 60 hours of power reserve.
The Time Jumper comes equipped with the 10.01 iteration of the movement, featuring a 24-hour jumping hour mechanism and dragging minutes. This complex, integrated mechanism can be admired by flipping open the watch cover. The jumping hour is a rare, complex and exacting complication. Hours and minutes need to jump and fly back precisely on the hour. The mechanism needs to accumulate power before releasing it all at once with one swift movement, but with no extra bounce. Czapek takes it a step further with a patent-pending solution, and its 24-hour display is driven by two distinct discs. Indeed, jumping hours usually rely on one disc – the Cyrus Etheral Twin Orbital Tourbillon being another rare example of a double-digit jumping hour, but with a display on a 12-hour base.
The hours are marked on two sapphire discs – one for single digits, one for the tenths. The minutes are laser-engraved on the surface of a large wheel rotating on the periphery of the movement. Both the hours and minutes indications are filled with luminescent material for enhanced legibility in the dark. Last, as you have come to expect from Czapek, modern, high-end finishes add depth and life to the movement.
The Czapek Time Jumper comes on a blue rubber strap with a steel pin buckle. The watch is released in a limited edition of 100 pieces, priced at CHF 42,000 (excl. taxes). The 3N yellow gold edition is limited to 30 pieces and priced at CHF 64,000 (excl. taxes). New editions will be unveiled in the future, and additional bespoke orders will be made. 180 Time Jumpers will be manufactured in total.
For more information, please visit www.czapek.com.
