Immaculately Tailored: Czapek and Cie unveil Promenade Plissé
A NEW DIAL INSPIRED BY TEXTILES
PRESS RELEASE | 540 words | 4 MIN READ
Geneva, 11th February, 2025: Czapek & Cie has unveiled its latest creation, the Promenade Plissé, a timepiece that draws inspiration from the world of fashion, blurring the lines between haute horlogerie and haute couture. This striking new fashion-inspired dial, revealed at Watches and Wonders 2024, plays with light and shadow, creating a mesmerising illusion of movement reminiscent of flowing fabrics.
Chic, Modern, and Gender-Neutral: The Promenade Collection
The Promenade collection, launched in 2024, represents Czapek's ambition to create more than just a timekeeping device – a statement piece, a canvas for artistic expression. The journey to this collection wasn't a linear one. Initial ideas of a women's watch with a high-quality mechanism evolved into a broader vision: a chic and modern watch appealing to discerning individuals, regardless of gender.
Image Courtesy: Czapek and Cie - Promenade Plissé Rose
"We have always believed that gender divisions in watchmaking are largely artificial," explains Xavier de Roquemarel, CEO of Czapek & Cie. "Beauty and creativity unite men and women; making a beautiful watch cannot be reduced to a gender split. A beautiful watch will please men and women equally, in the same way that a beautifully tailored smoking [tuxedo suit] looks equally wonderful on men and women.”
Image Courtesy: Czapek and Cie - Promenade Plissé Ivory
The Promenade's slim 38mm case exudes a relaxed yet confident sophistication, imbued with a sense of playfulness. Its signature asymmetrical design, radiating from the small seconds dial at 4:30, creates a dynamic tension that captures the eye. For 2025, Czapek introduces the captivating Plissé (pleats) dial in three elegant colors.
Image Courtesy: Czapek and Cie - Promenade Plissé Pearl White
From Runway to Wrist: The Plissé Story
The Plissé dial takes its cues from the world of fashion, evoking iconic images from Marilyn Monroe's pleated dress to Issey Miyake's avant-garde pleats and Yves Saint Laurent's timeless "le smoking" – a symbol of androgynous style. These influences translate into a unique dial design that captures the essence of flowing fabric.
Image Courtesy: Czapek and Cie - Promenade Plissé Rose
The creation of the Plissé dial involved a complex stamping process, developed in collaboration with Metalem, Czapek’s long-time partner. This technique gives the impression of fabric being gathered and pleated by the weight of the sub-dial, creating an intriguing interplay of light and shadow. The resulting illusion of movement across the dial is akin to a dance on the wrist.
Image Courtesy: Czapek and Cie - Promenade Plissé Ivory
Integrating the applied indexes within the contours of the pleats presented a significant challenge. The Plissé dial is available in Ivory, Pearl White, and Rose, with the Rose version complemented by a Milanese mesh steel bracelet. Each color variation will be limited to a production of just 18 pieces, adding to their exclusivity.
To allow the intricate dial decoration to take center stage, the timekeeping elements are kept minimal: fine, semi-skeletonized arrow-shaped hands and applied indexes with diamond-cut angles that catch and reflect the light.
Image Courtesy: Czapek and Cie - Promenade Plissé Pearl White
A Sleek Case Housing a Sophisticated Calibre
The Promenade's slim 38mm case, a key design element, necessitated a micro-rotor movement. Czapek adapted its in-house calibre SXH5, leveraging its strengths and re-engineering its architecture to achieve the desired dial aesthetics within the Promenade's distinct identity.
Image Courtesy: Czapek and Cie - Promenade Plissé Rose
The Promenade case itself is a modern interpretation of Czapek's iconic Quai des Bergues model, recognizable by its recessed and sand-blasted case sides, curved crown protection, and slim, rounded bezel.
Image Courtesy: Czapek and Cie - Promenade Plissé Ivory
The Promenade Plissé will be available through Czapek’s official retailers worldwide, the Czapek boutique in Geneva, and online at Czapek.com. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2026.
Image Courtesy: Czapek and Cie - Promenade Plissé Pearl White
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
-
PROMENADE
Plissé – Pearl White
Steel case, stamped dial with a ‘Plissé’ (Pleated) pattern, in-house SXH5 Caliber with micro-rotor.
Limited edition of 18 pieces
FUNCTIONS
• Hours, minutes, small seconds at 4:30
MOVEMENT
• Caliber SXH5.1 : Czapek's in house self-winding mechanical movement with small seconds
• Diameter: 30 mm – 13 lines ¼
• Height: 4.2 mm
• Number of parts: 127
• Jewels: 26
• Swiss lever escapement, variable-inertia balance fitted with four gold inertia-blocks
• Frequency: 4 Hz – 28800 VpH
• Power winding system: microrotor with a recycled platinum mass
• Power-reserve: 60 hours on a single barrel
• Barrel torque: 8 Nmm
FINISH
• Open ratchets, sandblasted black bridges, bevelling, straight-grained sides, six hand-chamfered inward angles
CASE
• 38mm stainless steel case
• Height : 10.8 mm
• Lug to lug (12h to 6h) : 42 mm
• Sapphire crystal glass-box with anti-reflective treatment
• Sapphire case back with anti-reflective
treatment on the inner side
• Water resistance: 5 atm
DIAL
• Stamped brass dial, pearl white color obtained with galvanic treatment.
• Applied indexes
• Exclusive and registered flinqué ‘Plissé’
(pleated) pattern
• Created in collaboration with Metalem
BRACELET
• Nubuck leather strap in grey
• Alternatively, Milanese mesh bracelet in stainless steel
RETAIL PRICE (before taxes)
• 16’000 CHF
-
Plissé – Ivory
Steel case, stamped dial with a ‘Plissé’ (Pleated) pattern, in-house SXH5 Caliber with micro-rotor.
Limited edition of 18 pieces
FUNCTIONS
• Hours, minutes, small seconds at 4:30
MOVEMENT
• Caliber SXH5.1 : Czapek's in house self-winding mechanical movement with small seconds
• Diameter: 30 mm – 13 lines ¼
• Height: 4.2 mm
• Number of parts: 127
• Jewels: 26
• Swiss lever escapement, variable-inertia balance fitted with four gold inertia-blocks
• Frequency: 4 Hz – 28800 VpH
• Power winding system: microrotor with a recycled platinum mass
• Power-reserve: 60 hours on a single barrel
• Barrel torque: 8 Nmm
FINISH
• Open ratchets, sandblasted black bridges, bevelling, straight-grained sides, six hand-chamfered inward angles
• 38mm stainless steel case
• Height : 10.8 mm
• Lug to lug (12h to 6h) : 42 mm
• Sapphire crystal glass-box with anti-reflective
treatment
• Sapphire case back with anti-reflective
treatment on the inner side
• Water resistance: 5 atm
DIAL
• Stamped brass dial, ivory color obtained with galvanic treatment
• Applied indexes
• Exclusive and registered flinqué ‘Plissé’ (Pleated) pattern
• Created in collaboration with Metalem
BRACELET
• Nubuck leather strap in taupe
• Alternatively, Milanese mesh bracelet in stainless steel
RETAIL PRICE (before taxes)
• 16’000 CHF
-
PROMENADE Plissé - Rose
Steel case, stamped dial with a ‘Plissé’ (Pleated) pattern, in-house SXH5 Caliber with micro-rotor.
Limited edition of 18 pieces
FUNCTIONS
• Hours, minutes, small seconds at 4:30
MOVEMENT
• Caliber SXH5.1 : Czapek's in house self-winding mechanical movement with small seconds
• Diameter: 30 mm – 13 lines ¼
• Height: 4.2 mm
• Number of parts: 127
• Jewels: 26
• Swiss lever escapement, variable-inertia balance fitted with four gold inertia-blocks
• Frequency: 4 Hz – 28800 VpH
• Power winding system: microrotor with a recycled platinum mass
• Power-reserve: 60 hours on a single barrel
• Barrel torque: 8 Nmm
FINISH
• Open ratchets, sandblasted black bridges, bevelling, straight-grained sides, six hand-chamfered inward angles
• 38mm stainless steel case
• Height : 10.8 mm
• Lug to lug (12h to 6h) : 42 mm
• Sapphire crystal glass-box with anti-reflective treatment
• Sapphire case back with anti-reflective treatment on the inner side
• Water resistance: 5 atm
DIAL
• Stamped brass dial, pink colored
• Applied indexes
• Exclusive and registered flinqué ‘Plissé’ (Pleated) pattern
• Created in collaboration with Metalem
BRACELET
• Milanese mesh bracelet in stainless steel
• Alternatively, nubuck leather strap in pink or grey
RETAIL PRICE (before taxes)
• 16’000 CHF
For more information, please visit czapek.com
