Jacopo Mazza came to motor racing late, at fifteen, almost by chance: a free test in a real racing kart, offered by someone who saw something in him. He never looked back. He later moved up to racing cars, and they are now his profession too: the young Swiss driver is an instructor at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi and at Dubai Autodrome, and races in European GT championships. His record includes race wins and several podiums in the Gulf Radical Cup (UAE), the Ligier European Series and the GT4 Cup class of the Italian FX GT4 Championship. Yet, when he talks about his sport, he rarely talks about winning. He talks about qualifying laps built corner by corner, about the anxiety before putting on his helmet, which he has learned to treat almost as a friend, and about the one opponent that matters. “It’s me versus me,” he says.
His story and Czapek’s crossed long before this piece. The Mazza family has been part of the Czapek circle for years, as collectors and as shareholders of the company. When Jacopo asked for help to support his racing journey, the maison, with the means of a small independent brand, was naturally at his side. That is what Czapek means by We Collect Rare People. Their community is made of people who share a certain way of living: collectors who become friends, friends who become partners, and people who give themselves completely to something, long before anyone is watching.
“Jacopo’s family believed in us early” says Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek & Cie, “and it felt natural to support him in return. That is what We Collect Rare People means to us: a circle where support goes both ways.” The Faubourg de Cracovie Crossroads Lightning is dedicated to everyone in that circle, and to all those who live the same way.
A chronograph born on the track
The racing world is written into every part of the Lightning. Its palette of black, silver and red comes straight from Jacopo’s helmet. The tachymeter scale, historically the tool of drivers measuring speed over a known distance, frames the dial in black with a dégradé red accent. And the dial itself carries a pattern that could have been taken from the grid.
The Crossroads guilloché is made by hand at Metalem, with whom Czapek developed the design. Its straight lines, set wide apart, recall the tread of a racing tyre and change with the light as the wrist moves. It is cut into Alloy 401, a blend of gold, platinum, palladium and silver, here coloured a deep black. The chronograph counters sit at 3 and 9 o’clock, small seconds and date at 6. Applied baton indexes, a double index at 12 o’clock and rhodium plated arrow hands carry Superluminova for legibility in any light.
Built for the tenth of a second
In racing, a tenth of a second can separate a pole position from a forgotten lap. Jacopo knows it better than anyone. “Every single lap is crafted,” he says. “Corner by corner, braking zone by braking zone. It’s a piece of art. You can lose a tenth in a single corner and spend the rest of the lap trying to get it back.”
The Calibre SXH3 approaches time the same way. Created in 2018 by Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier for the Faubourg de Cracovie, and executed to Czapek’s own specifications, this integrated automatic chronograph beats at 5 Hz, ten times every second, fast enough to read elapsed time to the tenth. Press the pusher and a column wheel sets the sequence in motion with a clean, precise feel under the finger. A vertical clutch engages the chronograph without the slightest jump of the hand, so the very first instant is measured as faithfully as the last. Press again to reset, and a linear hammer sends every counter back to zero in a single movement. For all its speed, the calibre keeps going for 65 hours, and each piece is certified as a chronometer by the COSC.
Turn the watch over and the sapphire case back shows the work behind the performance: anthracite bridges, sandblasted and diamond blasted, framed by snailed trottoirs. The 41.5 mm stainless steel case is fitted with a box sapphire crystal, and worn on an Alcantara or calf strap with deploying clasp.
The Lightning was inspired by the track, but it was never meant only for drivers. As Xavier de Roquemaurel puts it: “It belongs to anyone who has ever given everything to a dream.”
The timepiece, limited to 18 pieces, will be available at the Czapek boutique, 27 Quai des Bergues, Geneva, on czapek.com and through the official retail network.
