Czapek Antarctique Flying Tourbillon Photon Sphere

Explore the next generation of sporty, haute horology Reflecting Czapek’s unwavering pursuit of beauty, the purity of the mechanism became the main design driver for Calibre 9 – the new in-house movement powering this spectacular Antarctique Flying Tourbillon. The fundamental principle was that the three key elements – tourbillon, gear train and barrel – should be revealed on the dial side, perfectly aligned on the vertical axis and appearing as airy and light as possible. The open-worked flying tourbillon appears to hover between the main plate and dial, directly connected to the gear train, which floats in the centre of the dial beneath an extremely long and finely curved minutes bridge. The barrel dominates the upper section of the dial, floating in an aperture beneath an open-worked bridge. Czapek has named the new dial pattern Singularité – from the astronomical term singularity, meaning those places in the universe where the standard laws of physics break down, making space and time infinite and undifferentiated – best exemplified by black holes. The pattern may look deceptively simple but is very difficult to execute: unlike a classical guilloché pattern, in which the guillocheur cuts lines at different angles that always start from a single point, in Singularité, the starting point moves with each passage of the lathe. The case has been redesigned to echo the curvilinear aesthetic of the mechanism and dial. Taking the curved glass box principle of the Antarctique Rattrapante as the starting point, the front and back sapphire crystals have been subtly raised. On the reverse side, this creates the impression that there is no bezel and, indeed, the engravings that would normally appear on a caseback bezel are done inside the crystal by metallisation – executed in mirror style so as to read ‘true’ from the outside. This launch marks the beginning of the 10th anniversary year since the revival of Czapek & Cie, which coincides with the 180th anniversary of the namesake watchmaking Maison founded in 1845 by François Czapek, whose spirit continues to guide the company today. Perfectly fitted to the case is an integrated bracelet, which now is equipped with a special micro-adjustment system, unique to Czapek. An additional strap is provided, as Czapek has developed an exclusive quick-change system allowing the wearer to switch from one strap to another at a moment's notice.  Specifications Functions Hours, Minutes, Seconds Flying Tourbillon Movement Calibre 9: Czapek's in house Flying Tourbillon movement Hands Luminescent, steel "Sword" hands Case Stainless steel case 40.5 mm diameter Height: 10.6 mm Sapphire crystal glass-box with anti-reflective treatment ARDur© Sapphire crystal case-back with anti-reflective treatment Water-resistance: 50 meters (5 atm) Screwed-down crown Bracelet Integrated stainless steel bracelet with Czapek exclusive "Easy Release" system Additional calf leather or rubber strap Dial "Singularity" engine-turned guilloché