I feel like every time I look at Czapek, they’re doing something great. This time, they’ve released a new limited variant of the Antarctique, the Antarctique Purple Storm, with an otherworldly purple dial produced by Swiss dial maker Metalem. The Antarctique has been one of the great success stories of the indie watch world in recent years, and Czapek has managed to iterate on the watch beautifully, offering up a consistent stream of new and interesting executions on the model without losing any of what makes it so compelling.
This latest release pairs a familiar steel execution of the independent brand’s signature integrated bracelet sports watch, with a new version of the hand-varnished dial first seen in the 10-piece limited edition Antarctique Orion Nebula. While that watch was meant to evoke very specifically the look of galactic bodies in astral photography, almost looking like it could have come straight from the Webb telescope, more recent implementations of the technique have had a more lava-lamp-like quality; ethereal and non-corporeal.
The Purple Storm fits into the latter group presenting onlookers with colors ranging from dark blacks to vibrant purples and every shade in between. Each of the 18 dials in this series is completely unique, and the celestial-inspired dials are entirely sterile — though the Czapek logo is present, it looks to be printed on the underside of the sapphire crystal (an increasingly common, but nonetheless appealing technique). Besides that floating logo, the dial is only interrupted by the presence of the Antarctique’s standard handset, but there are no markers here, the dial itself does all the talking.
The Antarctique Purple Storm is offered in the 40.5mm Antarctique case, with a matching bracelet. The bracelet’s intermediary “C” links can be either polished or brushed, depending on preference, and the watch comes with a complementary strap in either purple alligator, or rubber (which is available in any number of hues). Czapek, on their website, recommends this Antarctique for those with wrists larger than 6.5”, but I’ve known plenty of collectors with smaller wrists who have had no trouble with the fit, but your mileage may vary.
As usual, the Antarctique Purple Storm is built around the Czapek in-house caliber SXH5, a micro-rotor automatic movement with a 60-hour power reserve, and a variable inertia balance wheel. It’s a great looking movement, with a sufficiently modern look to match the rest of Czapek’s design language.
The Antarctique Purple Storm is available to pre-order today for CHF 25,000 from Czapek’s website.
