Q&ACzapek’s CEO On Creating Value, Beauty And The Brand’s Dynamic Collaborative Spirit
Xavier de Roquemaurel, CEO and one of the three cofounders of modern-day Czapek, recently visited India, and spoke to us about how he and his partners interpret the creations of François Czapek and the original brand that these 21st-century visionaries draw inspiration from. Here are excerpts from the interview
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The Origin Story Of Modern-Day Czapek
What were the circumstances that led to you and your partners establishing this brand?
It was around 2013. I was looking for a job. I met a friend from Audemars Piguet at an event, who introduced me to Harry Guhl, a former art consultant, who was working on a project my friend thought I could be a part of—the revival of Czapek. Harry and I sat down, and something clicked. He needed someone who could assume the role of a CEO, since he was not confident about handling operations. We knew we needed a watchmaker, since we didn’t have that expertise. I met watchmaker Sébastian Follonier, who was searching for something challenging and fulfilling, and that’s how we all came together. Harry was the one who wanted to re-establish the brand, first in 2008, and he started working towards it in 2012. We all came together by 2013, and we became the three co-founders. And that was very important for us. Even though we came later, we all wanted it to be an equal partnership—in the spirit of true collaboration.
Read the story of the original Czapek founded by François Czapek in the 1800s
What were your past experiences like, before Czapek happened?
Up until then, I hadn’t spent enough time in watchmaking. It’s a very slow business, where you need to have 10 years of experience before you exist for anyone in the space. I had come from the fashion industry, having worked in marketing with Ermenegildo Zegna and then Louis Vuitton. I learned a lot from these two experiences, which inform my approach to Czapek. Our success is based on openness and past experiences. For instance, at Zegna, you’d get a custom-made suit in four weeks, and we follow a similar timeline for a custom-made watch at Czapek. And like with apparel and accessories, a watch’s life must begin from the time it is first worn by the owner, so it can’t wear out before it’s even bought.
The Approach To Building Modern-Day Czapek
What was the general strategy you had when you three started out?
Our strategy was based on three primary decisions.
The first major decision—sharing value: We didn’t want the brand to be a toy of a billionaire. Having a billionaire owner never works well as a starting point. Because it becomes a little dispensable in the hands of such an owner, for whom it would probably just be about 0.01 percent of their total business. They are likely to make decisions based on their ego. We decided that we didn’t want that, and that we wanted to share the company. And sharing value would lead to us creating more value. There was already some interest in the brand, and we are now a crowd-funded equity, with 200 shareholders across several countries. We’re probably the most microscopic multinational company you can come across. We sell in 50 to 100 markets, but we are microscopic even in our turnover.
The second major decision—staying true to Czapek, and making beautiful creations: The second decision was to stay true to Czapek. If you want to create beauty, you cannot pretend to be the new Christian Dior or the new Gabrielle Chanel. You have to have a vision for the direction in which you are going, and remain low-key. It’s not very complex to explain. We wanted to make beautiful watches, and that specifically needed technical strategy for the products. François Czapek was all about making beautiful products. He was very opulent for his time. If you had to compare one of his pocket watches with any of its contemporaries, you’d see the difference. And then there’s the ephemeral quality—the spice, the excitement and the aspects that are hard to grasp. When you want something to be beautiful, it can’t be banal—expected. If something is just as you’d expect it to be, it can’t be beautiful or exceptional. Czapek’s work was a quest for beauty through timekeeping instruments. And to discover that came from a methodological approach to understanding his work. We had to try to understand what the watchmaker wanted to express with each product.
The third major decision—to start simple, but emblematic, and take it from there: The third decision was that in order to attract crowdfunding, we had to start with a watch that would be a classic, in how it would represent Czapek. And that was the manual-winding watch with a seven-day power reserve (the original Czapek 3430). The idea was to then go into more complex features, such as a chronograph, tourbillon and so on. We didn’t exactly follow that path, since we did a tourbillon before a chronograph. And the Antarctique, which came after, is a three-hand automatic. Now we also have a split-second chronograph, and a minute repeater is in development.
Which complication best represents Czapek’s watchmaking?
That’s a good question. I think I would have to say: the power reserve indicator of the Quai des Bergues, because it’s an early complication we did, and it links us to the past. The aesthetics that we give to the movement is also a part of the signature aspect of this complication. And I would also pick the latest one—the rattrapante chronograph seen in the Antarctique, which links us to the future.
The Principles Of Czapek
Talk about the collaborative spirit of Czapek that you mentioned earlier.
As we are crowdfunded, we have to be transparent. And because of that, the people and the companies we work with are open to collaborate. You know, very few people truly know the meaning of collaboration. To collaborate is for no one to be above any other. It’s to work as a team, and to have a sense of humility and the ability to accept one’s mistakes when something goes wrong, and working together to find solutions. This is the collaborative spirit that we abide by. It’s now a part of our identity. Within the company itself, we have only 12 people, of which, only seven or eight people are full-time employees. There’s also this sense of family not just with such a small team, but also with our shareholders and manufacturing partners. Czapek is all about collaboration.
Who do you make watches for—who is a Czapek owner, in your opinion?
We strive towards reaching out to people who are interested in watches, those who perhaps go for the more conventional, popular brands. And we appeal to their appreciation for finer craftsmanship. We also want to grow the galaxy of independent brands, and we want to be the bridge for people who cannot necessarily afford something by Max Büsser (of MB&F), but are keen on the qualities of independent watchmaking that we also bring to the table.
And how do you target such individuals? What establishes this positioning?
Our watches are mostly for collectors. What attracts them to our watches is the aesthetic aspect and the beauty, which is real and practical, and not simply a concept. The details in the products are what make them interested in these watches. We also want to create an echo amid collector groups. We like to approach newer collectors who don’t have very diverse or expansive collections, and are looking for watches that not everyone has and that also offer something special. It’s also something that will make other collectors take notice of the products we have to offer. But that’s as far as we go with ‘targeting’ a customer, which is more of a marketing word. We don’t really invest in advertising, because for now, we have our hands full with the existing demand as it is, so advertising to increase demand would be counterproductive. And most people who know about the brand are those who have discovered the brand themselves.
The Products Of Czapek
What is the significance of each of the key pillars of modern-day Czapek?
Quai des Bergues: It was the first one we made, drawing directly from François Czapek’s reference 3430. It was something different and represented a new brand daring to exist. I think people were recognising the good work we were doing, in adapting the pocket watch that we were using as an inspiration.
Place Vendôme: While the idea behind the Quai des Bergues was ‘from the past to the present’, with the Place Vendôme, the brief was ‘from the present to the future’. The Place Vendôme is our high-complication line. And now we’re also about to offer an edition with a half-hour GMT (particularly useful for India), which we were able to adapt quite seamlessly from our existing Place Vendôme, with a tourbillon and GMT feature. And we’re happy to be able to deliver something that was the market’s demand.
Faubourg de Cracovie: With the Faubourg de Cracovie, we use a different guilloche pattern called guilloche resonance. It’s a sporty guilloche, which sounds like an oxymoron, but it is designed for a chronograph display, which is the sporty element. The Faubourg de Cracovie extends the brand’s DNA into the chronograph function.
Antarctique: When it came to conceiving the Antarctique, we chose the more complex route of creating a watch with an integrated silhouette, instead of making lugs. It also struck us that none of the premiere sports watches—Patek Philippe’s Nautilus, Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual, etc—has an open caseback. And a wearer can’t enjoy a view of the watchmaking in any of them. So we decided to offer that.
And there’s a micro-rotor unlike what you’ve seen before—thicker and more distinctive—and not just on the surface of the movement. This is the most popular model we have, launched in different colours. The dark blue is now a bestseller. And we have the glacier blue version, with an icy blue hue that goes with Antarctica. The dial pattern seen on most Antarctiques is called ‘Stairway to eternity’.
What is the significance of the locations and places that these pillars are named after?
Quai des Bergues is named after the place where it all started—François Czapek’s first boutique in Geneva. The collections are named after places or locations—including Paris and Warsaw—which were relevant to the brand’s origins. Place Vendôme and Faubourg de Cracovie were where François Czapek had other boutiques.
Then we were out of such places, and we were looking for new name. We wanted something that would anchor us to the present and the future, since we had already paid tribute to the past. And one of our shareholders had just been to Antarctica, and it struck us as a name that represented the exploration of new territory, so we went with that for the Antarctique collection.
Czapek’s Dials And Colours
The exquisite dials are a big part of these Czapek watches. What are some of the techniques that are used?
There is grand feu enamelling. The domed shape is natural, which comes from the surface tension of the enamel in its liquid form. If you see a drop of water on a table, it’s not flat, it forms a dome. So the enamel in liquid form retains the domed look when it’s baked. It’s not always perfect. Three out of four enamel domed dials are rejected. There’s something very appealing about it. If you don’t know what it’s about, you’ll still simply see it with your eyes, and you’ll love it, even if you don’t know the painstaking effort that goes into making it so beautiful. We’ve repeated the enamelling in our ricochet guilloche dials. We made a guilloche [art of engraving on precious metal] with a special alloy of gold, platinum, palladium and silver, which allows us to make really nice cuts as well as create a domed effect. This is not something you’d see commonly. The ricochet guilloche pattern is inspired by the ripple effect on the water when a stone skips on a lake.
And what are the colours that work best for you?
We like to play with colours, which could also be because of the fashion influence that I bring. And we sell a lot of coloured dials. Black, for some reason, doesn’t sell as well, not even the enamel dials in black. We sell more blue dials with flinqué enamel work. You see, at the end of the day, a CEO is more of a gardener than an expression of the brand itself. The CEO will just help the brand grow as it will. A brand becomes a living entity of its own, and there will be natural evolution and growth that can’t be controlled beyond a certain extent.
Past To Present, Present To Future
Six years ago, when you started out, did you envision where you are today with this brand?
You make plans and things don’t always work according to them. We expected things to grow, but not so steeply, especially not after a slow start. The acceleration is crazy now. We did envision things becoming more demanding, and we decided to take things as they come, believing in what we were trying to accomplish. You have to have faith in what you’re doing, even though it isn’t exactly what you might have planned for. It’s a journey. It’s like climbing a mountain, reaching the top, and finding that there is an even bigger mountain to climb!
How far do you think you’d go away from François Czapek’s work? Is it the idea to eventually have your own identity, detached from him?
Like I mentioned, we’ve brought the past into the present, and we’re taking the present into the future. Even though there are three partners presently, there are always four seats at our table, the fourth one being for François Czapek. With every product decision we make, we always ask ourselves the question: what would François Czapek do in bringing the brand into the present day and taking it into the future? We try to answer that question ourselves as best we can. And we try to stick with his principles and his watchmaking values. And no one can say that these modern-day Czapeks are not truly Czapek watches.
Shop The Story
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Czapek Quai Des Bergues
1029
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Czapek Quai Des Bergues
1233-2
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Czapek Place Vendôme
1399
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Czapek Faubourg De Cracovie
1413
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Czapek Faubourg De Cracovie
1412
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Czapek Antarctique
1512
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Czapek Antarctique
1510
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Czapek Quai Des Bergues
1242
