The Place Vendôme “Lumières” is driven by the proprietary, manually wound SXH2 movement beating at 21,600 vph (3 Hz). The single barrel spring delivers a solid 60 hours of power. The 34.8-millimeter diameter is relatively large, but the height of 9.8 millimeters allows the watch to be discreet and elegant in spite of the many functions. The traditional satin-brushed bridges and openworked ratchet are back again. In the back of the watch is an inscription: Tourbillon suspendu – Ici et Ailleurs, a reference to the second time zone, a gift to global travelers that Czapek himself never knew.

From a technical standpoint, the watch represents an evolution from the more staid, romantic Quai des Bergues. A day-night disc turning counterclockwise has inserted itself between the two subdials, which now carry the tourbillon on the left and the second time zone on the right. The power reserve indicator migrated and now peers out of the clock face at 12 o’clock. “François Czapek was a modern thinker with a deep sense of traditional watchmaking” says de Roquemaurel. “This watch is no doubt he would have dreamt of, and it connects his thoughts about watchmaking esthetics and techniques to the future.”

The Place Vendôme series, named “Lumières”, is a limited edition which comes in fifteen pieces in Platinum and ten pieces in Rose Gold. It refers to both the reflections flashing off the beveled edges of the bridges visible on dial side as well as to the Age of Enlightenment, which ultimately produced the tourbillon, the ultimate balance between science and mechanical poetry. Since 2018 a new series of 25 pieces as been released featuring the contemporary “Revolution” case in titanium. In 2020 it has been associated with ADLC coating for the new model “Dark Matter” .