Czapek Antarctique Terre Adélie Owner Review : Robust, solar and luminous

Czapek Antarctica Terre Adélie Secret Alloy: Breathtaking Reflections During 2020, with my finances permitting and my "collecting mania" in full swing, I had the idea of treating myself to a beautiful sporty chic watch, with independent brands pulling out all the stops to offer us their own interpretations of this type of watch... After opening several threads on various forums and giving it a lot of thought, I came across a video by a YouTuber reviewing a Czapek Antarctica Terre Adélie Secret Alloy. As the saying goes, nothing beats the experience of seeing a watch in real life, especially how it plays with light. This was around the time Czapek launched its 99-piece subscription series as a prologue to the Antarctica collection with the Terre Adélie and its famous hand-lamé dial available in four colors: burgundy, blue, black, and Secret Alloy. In this case, it was the latter that was illustrated in the YouTube video review. I was captivated by the way the watch captured the light and played with it. I then decided to inquire with Czapek. Luckily, a customer who had seen the first renderings of the Drake Passage's "Stairway to Heaven" guilloché dial had decided to cancel his order for a Terre Adélie Secret Alloy in favor of the Drake. So I paid the deposit to wait about a year for the beauty to be delivered to me in person in Geneva, to the showroom on Rue de la Corraterie. On June 30, 2021, I took my train to Geneva and found myself in front of the Czapek boutique (after a customs check, which I fortunately escaped with nothing on my wrist). A royal welcome from Messrs. de Roquemaurel and Millasson (followed by lunch), a memento of the time I met the big boss at the last edition of the Salon Belles Montres in Paris, where Czapek made his comeback, a look at my new toy, and the resizing of the strap and rubber band—I was in heaven! The piece, like any watch, was even more captivating in real life than in the video or any photo. It was incredibly comfortable to wear, as it was very light (and even more so on a rubber band). A contemporary diameter of 40.5mm (the Antarctic is also available in 38.5mm). A modest thickness of 10.6mm (but mainly due to its slightly curved sapphire crystal, the case middle itself being very thin). A screw-down crown guaranteeing water resistance to 120m. A "quick change" system allows for rapid switching between leather and rubber straps. A dial designed by Metalem (Philippe Dufour's dial maker, no less!), hand-laminated (hence its very fine striations), obtained from this clever blend of gold, silver, platinum and palladium with breathtaking reflections, ranging from champagne to a light tobacco, combined with perfectly faceted indexes accentuating the play of light. And an SXH5 movement designed in-house by Czapek and created by Chronode, highlighting its openworked bridges with 6 internal angles, its hand-chamfered edges, its micro-rotor in recycled platinum and its dark sandblasting combined with gold gears for an aesthetic halfway between a tribute to the pocket watch calibers dear to François Czapek and something more futuristic, a sort of clever neo-retro cocktail. The advantage of the SXH5 from Terre Adélie was also its "Chronometer" certification by Time Lab, the Geneva Observatory, and this, as standard. The "Chronometer" certification of the Czapek can still be done on simple request before their design, but in exchange for a small check in addition... What impresses me with this caliber is the absence of teething troubles in its reliability process. 4 years after my acquisition, quite simply RAS! The timekeeping is simply excellent, the drift being almost painless. The 60h power reserve is maintained! We are therefore on a technical mastery that has been cleverly thought out from the beginning and which is very advanced, with a real desire to build something robust from the start. Another "kiss-cool" effect: each time the watch goes into after-sales service, the brand takes the opportunity to update its movement and upgrade it to the latest version in the catalog! Moreover, if you follow Monsieur de Roquemaurel on Instagram (@czapek_in_my_eyes), you will realize that he is a fairly experienced snowboarder who does not hesitate to test the resistance of his watches on the slopes of the Dents du Midi and Mur Suisse region, a bit like what Richard Mille's friends do! The bracelet, for its part, could be contested both for the little play at the level of its fall and for its somewhat rough feel to the touch due to the articulation of the "C" shaped links... Criticisms heard by the brand which made it evolve towards a better integration with a new end-link and which also proposed a clever and sliding micro-adjustment using small pushers on either side of the clasp. Otherwise, the bracelet provides quite striking light effects reminiscent of those of a Royal Oak. The central articulated "C" links are polished (but it is possible to have them brushed on request), the rest of the bracelet is vertically brushed. The overall finish is therefore very good, leading me to say that the criticisms made are more related to its design than to its finish per se. Personally, I keep it as is and do not wish to change it for very specific reasons. My piece is the very first Antarctica, the one from the initial subscription series. It therefore seems important to me to keep it in its original configuration because I am convinced that over time, these small design flaws will become qualities, and that we will appreciate finding in ten years or so an original Antarctica in its original state, having improved like a fine vintage, with its minor flaws as well as its immense qualities... One flaw, however, but more related to Czapek in general than to Antarctica: I find that with a current production of nearly 1,000 watches per year, it's almost too much, and the price is suffering, having formed a bell curve. They should maintain limited production, especially from Antarctica, to preserve its desirability and try to freeze in time a demand that exceeds supply. What is rare is all the more coveted and inspires fantasies, dreams. When Czapek had to close the Antarctic lists due to excess demand, they were producing much less, even though it was the Covid period and the industry was slowing down. Articles in the specialist press had appeared wondering, at the height of the wave of enthusiasm for the Antarctic, if it was the new 5711... In my opinion, by responding favorably to demand by reopening the lists, making all sorts of limited series and increasing production, Czapek took a small risk even if, of course, production remains low; we are not in an almost assembly-line Haute Horlogerie production like what is done for the Big 3 Patek/Audemars/Vacheron. Producing less would have allowed us to preserve the dream, the popularity, and ensure a fairly constant flow of requests, even if they would probably have taken longer to fulfill (and who's complaining? It's even a hallmark of the greatest to boast about having lists spanning several years. This is what happens at Grönefeld, Voutilainen, or the Rexhepi brothers, whose prestige is well-established, and customers wait because they really want their watches!). The luxury and prestigious artisanal watchmaking sector must play the exclusivity card to differentiate itself from mass-produced products! Therefore, in my opinion, we must be careful not to "commoditize" ourselves! So, as you can see, I am a very close friend of Czapek. Being a very big Patekophile, with nevertheless well-founded objections linked to the release of the Cubitus (more linked to the price positioning and the multiple communication errors than to the product itself which does not really deserve such hatred, especially after having put it on the wrist) and criticisms on the pricing policy of the brand with the Calatrava Cross, the Antarctic, in all its variations, because of the coat of arms it bears, manages today to somehow fill the void left by a truly successful sports watch with the Calatrava Cross. Indeed, Czapek, because of the history of its name, nevertheless keeps a small link with Patek, although the two brands are independent of each other. One might then dream that Czapek would develop and sell an iteration of the SXH5 to Patek for a future release (for example, for a reissue of the Nautilus 3700, with the illustrious sports car's 50th anniversary approaching?!), thereby reviving an exceptional collaboration that has forever marked the history of watchmaking. But would Thierry Stern, wallowing in his ivory tower with his ego and impervious to any suggestion that might please fans, even consider such a thing?! I highly doubt it!