Czapek’s Time Jumper goes fully funky for the manufacture’s 10-year revival anniversary
Borna Bošnjak- Czapek celebrates 10 years post-revival with a flying saucer-like creation, the Time Jumper, limited to 100 pieces in steel, 30 pieces in yellow gold, and priced at CHF 42,000 and CHF 64,000, respectively.
- Sporting a newly designed calibre with jumping hours and dragging minutes, the Time Jumper features a hinged cover with a magnifying glass that sits atop the open dial.
- The Calibre 10.01 signals a new era for Czapek, built to become a base for future, fully integrated complication solutions – and also 10 fully bespoke pieces.
Czapek & Cie turns 10 years old! Wait a second… That’s not right, now is it? Well, it’s only half-right, as the Czapek watchmaking name dates back to 1845. The new Czapek Time Jumper celebrates a decade since the revival of the brand, though that’s also only half true (making the first statement a quarter true?), as the brand’s first modern effort was the 2011 Chronograph Design Study before a full-scale launch four years later with Xavier de Roquemaurel at the helm. With a mandatory “but I digress”, the Time Jumper is very much a departure from the usual style we’re used to from Czapek, which has followed the vintage-inspired revival trend pretty closely thus far, and is more in line with the free-spirited and fun Antarctique Rattrapante R.U.R. we saw during Geneva Watch Days. Here’s everything you need to know.
Unlike most releases these days, there isn’t one singular focus to start off with, as the Time Jumper is quirky and interesting all over, so let’s take it from the top, starting with that hunter-like cover. It features a guilloché pattern emanating from the magnifying loupe in the centre (executed by Metalem, as per usual when it comes to Czapek), with an aperture at 6 o’clock allowing easy reading of the minutes. Viewed side-on, it quite literally takes on the appearance of a cartoonish flying saucer, sized at 40.5mm in diameter, 42.4mm lug-to-lug, and 12.35mm if you measure it to the top of the magnifying crystal (or 10.5mm without).
The one thing that detracts just a tad from the overall appearance of the AB Concept-made case is the 3 o’clock crown – just like with any other disco volante design, I’m just waiting for a brand that would hide it away for a fully seamless look.
Click the button below the minutes track, and the hunter cover flips open to reveal a fully open front of the new Calibre 10.01, with its overlapping, jumping hour discs and peripheral minute track. As you can probably tell, there’s quite a lot going on here, making the decision to include the guichet-style cover a good one both from a design and legibility perspective.
Interestingly, the hours are displayed in a 24-hour format, which is fairly unusual for a jumping hours display. All the hour and minute markings are laser-engraved and filled with lume, and I can’t wait to see some shots of this thing after dark.
Flipping the case around, let’s talk about the movement. The Calibre 10 is a new development for Czapek, designed and assembled in-house, with only 25% of the manufacturing being done by partners (though Czapek doesn’t fully list who they are). That said, I find there to be little to complain about from a visual perspective: the 10.01 variant in the Time Jumper follows the brand’s usual approach with highly contrasting surfaces in rhodium and black plating, also applied to a skeletonised, platinum rotor.
The gear train wheels feature a new finishing approach, with curved, bevelled spokes that match the bevelling of the curvaceous bridges. Spec-wise, the Calibre 10.01 comprises 275 parts, beats at 4Hz, and has a 60-hour power reserve, with a height of 6.13mm and a diameter of 30mm, making the 10.5mm height of the case an impressive packaging feat.
What’s more interesting to me is that Czapek is committing to producing only 180 examples of the Calibre 10, as a nod to the original manufacture’s founding in 1845. With the 130-piece run of the Time Jumper (100 in steel and 30 in yellow gold), that leaves 50 left over.
According to Czapek, 40 of these will be dedicated to special projects, “completely redesigned and re-engineered so that every complication is fully integrated – an entirely different philosophy from adding modular functions to a simple base”. The final 10 are reserved for bespoke pieces “that can be ordered immediately by contacting the Czapek boutique” – seems like a good time to be a Czapek fan.
Czapek Time Jumper pricing and availability
The Czapek Time Jumper is a limited release, with 100 pieces in steel and 30 pieces in yellow gold available. Price: CHF 42,000 (~A$80,500, steel) CHF 64,000 (~A$123,000, yellow gold)
| Brand | Czapek |
| Model | Time Jumper |
| Case Dimensions | 40.5mm (D) x 12.35mm (T) x 42.4mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel and white gold 3N 18k yellow gold |
| Water Resistance | 30 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back, loupe magnifier on cover |
| Dial | Open |
| Lug Width | 19mm |
| Strap | Blue fitted rubber strap, case-matching pin buckle |
| Movement | Calibre 10.01, in-house designed, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 60 hours |
| Functions | Jumping hours, trailing minutes |
| Availability | Limited edition of 100 pieces in steel and 30 pieces in yellow gold |
| Price | CHF 42,000 (steel) CHF 64,000 (yellow gold) |