Czapek & Cie – Place Vendôme Complicité – “Courage Every Second” Only Watch 2023 Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
ONLY WATCH UNVEILS CZAPEK'S LATEST CREATION, COMPLICITE -A SURPRISING COMBINATION OF OPEN-WORKED ESCAPEMENTS AND OUTSTANDING ENAMELLING.
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Geneva, June 2023 — For the 10th edition of Only Watch, Czapek & Cie is delighted to donate a new, one-of-a-kind timepiece to the 2023 charity auction, which will take place in Geneva in November.
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Since the Czapek name was revived in 2016, the Geneva-based watchmaking Maison has been committed to supporting the auction and, at Czapek's humble Only Watch debut in 2017, a delicate Quai des Bergues featured the enamelling mastery of its cherished partner, Donze Cadrans, with a one-off enamel dial featuring a hidden 'secret phrase' in the form of Czapek's special words: 'Courage every second'. Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
Since then, Czapek has combined the Only Watch rules —to play creatively with a special colour or design for each edition — with its secret phrase, which has become its motto for Only Watch and is now directly visible on the minutes track. Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
This creativity has resulted in a growing impact on the charity, as the prices bid by collectors have increased consistently with each auction. The charity organisation behind
Only Watch, the Association Monegasque contre les Myopathies (AMA) has particular resonance for
Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of
Czapek & Cie, whose extended family, friends and shareholders have been directly impacted by
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy or ALS.
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"The sands of time are not always kind to us, and we can all find ourselves living through very difficult situations that sometimes feel hopeless," he says. "Duchenne's can hit anyone, anywhere — a child, a nephew... 'Courage every second' is our way of sharing our feelings and offering our support and encouragement to everyone going through painful and challenging times."
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Playing the
2023 Creative Game For Czapek, the 2023 Only Watch brief presented a pinnacle of complex creativity: the visual branding for this
10th edition, created by
Only Watch's founder,
Luc Pettavino with design partner
Johan Pizzardini, was inspired by
Hexa Grace, the famous multi-coloured work by artist
Victor Vasarely that decorates the roof of the Monaco Convention Centre. This year's visual incorporates the colours of all past editions with the addition of green — meaning that any or all of the colours could be incorporated into the
2023 watches. The graphic form is very angular, with strong colour blocks.
Playing the 2023 Creative Game
For Czapek, the 2023 Only Watch brief presented a pinnacle of complex creativity: the visual branding for this 10th edition, created by Only Watch's founder, Luc Pettavino with design partner Johan Pizzardini, was inspired by Hexa Grace, the famous multi-coloured work by artist Victor Vasarely that decorates the roof of the Monaco Convention Centre. This year's visual incorporates the colours of all past editions with the addition of green — meaning that any or all of the colours could be incorporated into the 2023 watches. The graphic form is very angular, with strong colour blocks.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO 
In response, Czapek has played with all of the ingredients, uniting outstanding enamel work with an exceptional new dual-escapement movement featuring a massive differential gear at 12 o'clock — and even taking the opportunity of Only Watch to reveal the first execution of the timepiece that will become the newest addition to its collection — the Place Vendome Complicite.
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The one-of-a-kind
Only Watch piece is cased in steel (rather than the precious metals that will be used for the production models) and the dial is encircled by a strikingly colourful champleve enamel ring created by its partner
Donze Cadrans.
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Bringing together all of the
Only Watch 2023 colours, the lozenge pattern of the enamel work was inspired by ripples on the surface of Lake Geneva, while also giving a subtle nod to the
Only Watch graphics. While the 'Courage every second' motto discreetly signs the dial on the minutes rail-track, a second aphorism — 'A friendship story' — engraved on the wheel bridge on the reverse side, invites the reader to search and later discover the story behind this watch.
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"Since its inception, Only Watch has been an extraordinary human story of sharing and collaboration — values that are fundamental to the way we approach everything at Czapek," says Xavier de Roquemaurel. "It unites the entire watch industry in a spirit of creativity and common cause, as well as bringing together people from all over the world beyond our industry. We are honoured to participate once again and wish this 10th edition even greater success than ever."
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About Czapek & Cie
François
Czapek was a Czech-born Polish watchmaker who fled to Geneva in 1832
after fighting in the Polish uprising. He immediately started his own
atelier and in 1839 entered into a partnership with Antoine Norbert de
Patek, introducing him to the world of watchmaking. In 1845, at the end
of their partnership, he created Czapek & Cie and achieved
considerable success. He became the official watchmaker of Napoleon III
and opened, what was most likely the first watchmaking boutique on the
Place Vendome in Paris.
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He wrote a book about watchmaking, but
unfortunately, he died before publishing a second one. Czapek & Cie
has been revived in 2015 with an exceptional collection, whose leading
model won the Public Prize in the Grand Prix de l’Horlogerie in Geneva
in November 2016. This collection takes its inspiration from an 1850’s
Czapek time piece. It features a beautiful enamel dial and a 7-day
proprietary movement perfectly combining craftsmanship with design and
exclusivity with rarity. The Company second collection, a suspended
Tourbillon with a second time-zone, was launched one year later in 2017,
while the first Czapek chronograph Faubourg de Cracovie was unveiled at
Baselworld 2018. The company is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
#wecollectrarepeople
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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Model name: Place Vendôme Complicité – “Courage Every Second”
Specificities:
— Unique architecture for a double escapement with differential at 12 o'clock
— Open-worked
— Champlevé enamel ring created in collaboration with Donzé Cadrans
— Only Watch 2023 colour palette
— “Courage Every Second” inscribed on the réhaut
CASE
Stainless steel case with a mix of brushed and polished surfaces
Diameter: 41.8mm
Case height: 12.4mm
Lug to lug: 42.2mm
Cutaway lugs
Domed sapphire crystal glass-box with anti-reflective treatment ARDur©
Sapphire crystal case-back with anti-reflective treatment
Water resistance: 120m
DIAL
Champlevé enamel ring created in collaboration with Donzé CadransColor palette of Only Watch 2023
Circular satin-polished brass flange (réhaut) with Czapek’s Only Watch “Courage every second” signature
Entirely open-worked
Grainé finish
Partially skeletonised sword hands with Super-LumiNova tips
MOVEMENT
Czapek Calibre 8, created in collaboration with Bernhard Lederer
Open-worked
Double escapement with differential
Screwed balance wheel
Power reserve indication (72 hours)
Two sapphire glass bridges
Hand-bevelling (anglage) on bridges and main plate
18 inward angles
6 golden settings (chatons)
FUNCTIONS
Hours, Minutes, Seconds & Power reserve indicator
Open-work Double-escapement with differential gearing at 12 o’clock
BRACELET
Alligator strap with pin buckle
🔰Edition
Limitation: Unique piece for Only Watch 2023
🔴Prices Lot 19 Estimated at CHF 80,000 - CHF 100,000 💰
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Press Release - 2023
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Czapek & Cie – 2, Rue Saint-Léger, 1205 Genève Suisse
Contact presse: Valeria Garavaglia Pedroni
Email: valeria@czapek.com | jane@czapek.com (UK)
