Czapek & Cie presents the new Quai des Bergues “Sursum Corda” – a unique piece created to celebrate the 175 year anniversary of the company...
The timepiece is based on the Quai des Bergues calibre and gold case – the company’s first collection. The Sursum Corda dial features the best of metiers d’art: a world map in cloisonné enamel enclosed within a brushed white gold ring, and an outer hour ring with beautiful hand engraved waves. Laser blasting, cutting and soft sandblasting are employed to create a velvet effect.
The Czapek Quai des Bergues “Sursum Corda” - Image Credit: Czapek & Cie
The base plate of the dial was cast by Precinox in La-Chaux-de-Fonds and is made from a special white gold alloy in order to facilitate all these techniques. The cloisonné world map is made by Donze Cadrans. The continents are displayed in a blue/grey finish and softly blasted to feature the terrain. Each continent is then contained within thin (0.1 mm) walls of white gold, barriers against the five seas which are finished in turquoise. The ring encompassing the world bears the Latin inscription “Sursum Corda” - along with its English translation “Lift Up your Hearts”. Additionally, the motto is also shown in the three main Swiss languages, French, German and Italian. Finally, hand-engraving of the outer ring was executed by master engraver Michele Rothen, following a design by Adrian Buchmann. The hand-engraving of the dial took more than 40 hours to complete. Other dial features - such as the small seconds sub-dial, inscriptions ring and hour ring, were manufactured by Metalem.
Once more, Czapek put into practise its “We collect rare people” motto by combining the work of expert artisans in order to create a dial masterpiece.
The Czapek Quai des Bergues “Sursum Corda” - Image Credit: Czapek & Cie
“The Sursum Corda took more than a year of development and to date displays the most complex dial we have ever produced”, says CEO Xavier de Roquemaurel. “It was exciting to co-ordinate the three ateliers involved - all located less than 300 meters from each other! Everything has been created in the Le Locle area, highlighting the strengths of the Swiss high-end watchmaking community”.
Stats:
Size: 42mm
Movement: Manual wind calibre SXH1
Functions: Hours, minutes & seconds
Case: White gold round
Straps: Dark matt blue alligator strap
Availability: Piece unique
Price: 60,000 CHF
First Impressions
The Czapek Quai des Bergues “Sursum Corda” - Image Credit: Czapek & Cie
This watch is beautifully sporty yet incredibly high end and well built. Sure the map of the earth in the centre of the dial is the main attraction, but I can’t get past how beautiful the hand engraving on the outer ring is. Czapek always creates stunningly beautiful dials and it’s no change here. A wonderful-looking watch that’s as beautiful as it is unique.
To find out more head over the Czapek website here.
