The location of Czapek’s new boutique on Quai des Bergues 27 is almost too good to be true. A modern cave de horlogerie covering some 80 square meters, including a basement chambre separée, this address is where it all started. On what today is Quai des Bergues 29, only meters away, Mr. Czapek and then partner Antoine Patek made and sold watches in the 1830s and 1840s.
“To be here at Quai des Bergues is a dream step for us. Here we have a real link to the past, and our legacy is important in the history of watchmaking,” said Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO of Czapek a few days before the opening. Around him builders, painters, and decorators were still working on the final touches including walnut furniture and Czapek-blue Alcantara vitrines.
The ground-level store space with rugged stone walls is approximately 80 square meters, and it also features an office space and a basement chambre separée, where collectors can be greeted.
Mr. de Roquemaurel has the same experience as a majority of people who ever partook in a complex building project. “It has been a positive nightmare. A nightmare that ends well, he said before telling me about the test phase. “I got stuck in the WC a couple of days ago, when testing the electrical open and closing,” he continued with a chuckle. “Idiot proofing is the most important part of being CEO.”
The boutique opening celebrated with friends from around the world also comes with new watches. This includes , as expected, a limited edition of 18 pieces in the Quai des Bergues collection. “This is the third and last edition of Quai de Bergues Midnight in Geneva,” Mr. de Roquemaurel said, handling the hand-wound 40.5-millimeter watch with an aventurine dial inside a stainless steel case. “Aventurine is a quite special, it is an expensive material, made of glass – and we are lucky to have a demand for aventurine timepieces,” he said, before meandering on his favorite design details on the watch. “the minute and hour train has a powder silver color which is also used on the Fleur-de-Lys hands which has become one of our signums. This silver aspect is wonderful and slightly off, it makes the watch pop, it makes it extremely modern while remaining classic.”
This third edition of Midnight in Geneva has a case size of 40.5 millimeters. The previous were 42.5 and 38.5. Judging from de Roquemaurel’s experience 40 millimeters might be the new sweet spot after some years of downsizing. “This size is the most appreciated among or collectors today,” he said.
What about the functions? The left subdial is for the small seconds, whereas the right one is home to a weekday indicator and power reserve. The proprietary movement has a generous power reserve of a whole week, thus the unusual combo on this subdial makes perfect sense.
Mr. de Roquemaurel couldn’t be more pleased with the result: “This watch and the boutique put Czapek within the history of watchmaking, but without becoming old fashioned. We are modern, but we are not forgetting our roots, nor our history.”
Quick facts Quai des Bergues Midnight in Geneva
Case: 40.5-millimeter stainless steel case with a thickness of 11.9 millimeters. Diameter. Water-resistance: 50 meters (5 atm)
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, weekdays, and power reserve.
Movement: Hand-wound calibre SXH1 with a power reserve of 168 hours (7 days) in two barrels. Frequency: 3 Hz – 21,600 VpH
Dial: Dark blue aventurine domed dial coupled with silver powder-coated steel Fleur-de-Lys hands
Price: 20,400 CHF plus taxes. (Price from September 2026.)
FAQ
What Is Aventurine?
Aventurine is a glass-based material with sparkling inclusions, prized in watchmaking for dials. Czapek uses a dark blue aventurine domed dial on its Quai des Bergues Midnight in Geneva, a material the brand's CEO calls costly but in steady demand.
What Is Power Reserve in a Watch?
Power reserve is the amount of time a mechanical watch keeps running after being fully wound. The hand-wound Czapek Quai des Bergues Midnight in Geneva stores this energy in two barrels, delivering 168 hours, or a full week.
What Is Czapek?
Czapek is an independent Geneva watchmaker named after its 19th-century founder, who made and sold watches with partner Antoine Patek on Quai des Bergues in the 1830s and 1840s. The brand now has its own Geneva boutique.
What Is the Czapek Quai des Bergues Collection?
The Quai des Bergues collection is Czapek's tribute to the address where the brand began in the 1830s. Its latest piece, Midnight in Geneva, is a third and final 18-piece limited edition featuring an aventurine dial.
