Place Vendôme
Titanium “Ombres”
Show price
CHF 88’000
(International price excl. VAT)
Tourbillon & GMT function
Smoky grey brass champlevé dial
Limited edition of 25 pieces
Technical Details
- 25 pieces limited edition
- Movement with off-center tourbillon
- Hours/minutes located at subdial at 12 o'clock
- Second time zone, day/night and power reserve indication
- Hours and minutes on separate dial located at 12 o’clock
- One-minute tourbillon located at 8 o’clock
- Second time zone on subdial at 4 o’clock, turns counter-clockwise
- Disk day/night indicator located at 6, turns counter-clockwise
- Power reserve: off centre disk, located at 12, turn on 90° on 60h, winding counter clockwise
- Calibre SXH2: Haute Horlogerie proprietary
- Mechanical hand-wound movement developed by Chronode and Czapek & Cie
- Power reserve: 60 hours with one barrel spring
- Frequency: 3 Hz (21,600 VpH)
- Diameter: 34.8 mm – 15 ½ lines
- Height: 9.8 mm
- Front: anthracite sand-blasted plate, steel bridges with sandblasting, blue screw on tourbillon
- Case back: open ratchet with circular bevelling, sand-blasted bridges, final “anglage” main
- Titanium grade 5 case
- 43.5 mm diameter
- Sandblasted strechers on case flanks
- Curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides
- Sapphire crystal case back with anti-reflective treatment on both sides
- Water-resistance: 30 meters (3 atm)
- Alligator strap with Titanium buckle
- Smoky grey brass champlevé dial, “Grand feu” Black Enamel ring
- Arrow hands in white gold and superluminova
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Place Vendôme
The Place Vendôme Tourbillon Suspendu collection is named after the Parisian square where François Czapek opened a boutique in the mid-19th Century, assumed to be the first Haute Horlogerie boutique ever on this world famous square. The two limited-edition models feature a one-minute suspended tourbillon, together with a second time zone for today’s world travelers, a day/night disk, and a power reserve indicator. Even with the new functionalities, Czapek lovers will easily recognize the watch’s unusual look with the two subdials at 7:30 and 4:30.
The Place Vendôme is the second phase in the Czapek Renaissance. It highlights the travel through time from past to present and now from present to future.

MOVEMENT
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.

DIAL
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.”

CASE
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.

HANDMADE ENGRAVING
The Place Vendôme in platinum can be also requested with special hand-engraving of acanthus leaves on the case and crown done by one of the top artists in her field, Michèle Rothen Rebetez.
The acanthus leaf, a classic in Roman art, was already featured on the limited-edition Quai des Bergues in platinum. The current version represents the epitome of this art on a watch case. The Czapek original design is inspired from the Assisi Cathedral paintings, whereas the technique comes more from the sculptures and bas-reliefs of the Cathedral of Orvieto, in Umbria. This example of Haute Horlogerie craftsmanship is only available on special order, making each watch a unique piece.

LEATHER BRACELET
Using exceptional leathers, all our straps are handcrafted with peerless dexterity of master leather craftsmen and are the fruit of approximately fifty fundamental, yet intricate steps.
Each strap consists of two parts: the Tip part (the longer part with holes to adjust your strap) & the Element part (the part with the buckle at the end). Czapek offers you 2 options to choose from:
– 115/75mm (Man M)
– 125/85mm (Man L)