In January 2019, on the occasion of the opening of its first boutique in Geneva, Switzerland, Czapek & Cie launched the limited-edition “Midnight in Geneva”, part of the Quai des Bergues collection. This model features a 42.5mm stainless steel case and a fascinating dark blue aventurine dial that inspired its name.
In fact, aventurine, from the Italian word “avventurina”, is one of the most popular Murano glass techniques, distinguished by its special look of sparkling particles captured inside translucent glass, as in a starred night. It was first mentioned in a document in the XIV Century as "a kind of stone with gilt stars inside", mesmerizing people with the unusual and attractive look. The technique owes its name to the fact that its discovery happened thanks to a lucky coincidence: a glass artisan is said to have accidentally dropped some metal shavings into the glass mixture. Italians say it happened "all'avventura", which means "by chance". "Being made of glass, aventurine is perhaps the most improper and fragile material one could use to craft a watch dial", says Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie, “not to mention the level of complexity involved in making welded subdials. Yet watchmakers love complication and brain teasers. That's why we chose to accept the challenge to create our original Quai des Bergues dial design with welded subdials in aventurine, first in a 42.5mm case and now in a smaller and therefore even more challenging version”.
Following the successful launch of the Midnight in Geneva, Czapek received many requests from fans and collectors to create a smaller version of the timepiece. However, due to the tiny space between the external edges of the subdials at 4:30 and 7:30 and the bezel, this seemed to be impossible. One year and many attempts later, the goal has been accomplished and the new genderless timepiece is released in a limited edition of 18 pieces.
Besides its rare and stunning dial, the Midnight in Geneva S features titanium Fleur-de-Lys hands finished with silver powder, matching with the rail track and the hour markers. Like all the models in the Quai des Bergues collection, this watch is powered by Czapek SHX1 proprietary calibre, a hand-wound movement with two spring barrels and a power reserve of 168 hours (7 days). Developed in collaboration with Chronode, the movement is finely decorated with open ratchets, blued screws, bevelled edges and sand-blasted bridges.
The Quai des Bergues Midnight in Geneva S is available at Czapek official retailers, at our flagship boutique in Geneva, rue de la Corraterie 18, and on Czapek.com.
