Czapek starts the new year at a new location at Rue de la Corraterie 18 in the centre of Geneva, the town where François Czapek opened his own store on the Quai des Bergues. The new premises will henceforth serve as the company’s headquarters and a space where collectors will be able to discover the brand and its watches. The move consolidates three three years of business during which Czapek & Cie. has developed three in-house movements and earned a prestigious Public Prize awarded by the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
The new premises opened during the week of Geneva shows in January 2019. The design and sales concept will be unlike anything experienced at the stores of the major luxury brands found on the nearby Rue du Rhône. Visitors to Czapek & Cie. will genuinely feel at home, with furniture that is more akin to that of a private house than retail store and an approach to sales that will reflect the collaborative relationship that the brand has from the outset cultivated with its customers.
In taking the important decision to open this boutique, the board members of Czapek & Cie. felt that the brand could no longer rely on a purely wholesale model to develop at the pace that it wants to. “We cannot simply wait for the retail industry to discover the independents,” explains CEO Xavier de Roquemaurel. “Our headquarters are much more in line with our spirit located inside an open boutique, than inside a private office”.
The new premises will also help Czapek & Cie with its preparations to produce watches in accordance with the exacting standards of the prestigious Poinçon de Genève (Geneva Hallmark) in the long term, the availability of a workshop in Geneva is essential to meet the geographical requirements of the Poinçon. There is already room for expansion at the new location, with the first floor of the new building due to become vacant in 2020.
The emphasis in the new boutique will be on dialogue between the brand and its customers. Conference-style seating will replace the more traditional arrangement where a customer sits opposite a sales executive. It is the perfect environment to discuss new models and personalization options with collectors familiar with the brand, as well to extend a warm welcome to watch fans who are looking for something different and unique. “Our aim is to open up independent high-end watchmaking to watch lovers who wish to embark on this fascinating world,” explains Xavier de Roquemaurel. “We are open to everyone sharing this passion and we keep our prices highly attractive given the level of quality and finishing that we offer”.
Czapek & Cie.’s new premises are located at Rue de la Corraterie 18 in the centre of Geneva, close to the city’s banking district and the Old Town and will is open for collectors on weekday afternoons by appointment.
To commemorate this milestone in the company’s history, Czapek & Cie. are presented a limited-edition model with a stainless-steel case and an aventurine dial. It has the special engravings “Limited Edition” at 2 o’clock on the dial, “1 out of 18” at 4.30 and the boutique’s address “Corraterie 18, Genève” at 6 o’clock. Naturally enough, only 18 models will be produced.
