I’m sure everyone reading this is wondering when we’ll be doing our collaborative follow-up to the Christopher Ward Shoreline. Don’t worry, news on that in due course – but for now, the collabs don’t stop coming, the latest of which is a particularly lovely number from our friends over at Fratello: the Fratello x Czapek & Cie Promenade Transparencies Viridian Green.
Green is apparently this pair’s colour as Fratello and Czapek & Cie’s first collaboration was on the gorgeous Antarctique Passage de Drake, with it’s gorgeous, scaled dial and integrated bracelet. While the colour here is the same Viridian Green though, that’s the only similarity.
For one, the dial, the focal point of the Antarctique has been removed almost completely. Almost, because the sapphire covering the open movement has been given a green tint, allowing a look at the micro-rotor movement underneath like through water. It’s a novel twist on the elegant, 38mm Promenade case, which is certainly home to some of Czapek’s more novel dials.
Perhaps most unusually, the smokiness of the dial emanates from the small seconds subdial at 4 o’clock. We’ve seen gradients from 6 o’clock before, but not this. It’s not ground-breaking, but it is a fun twist on fumé, drawing the eye to a particular focal point.
The movement underneath all that green smoke is Czapek’s signature SXH5 movement, the in-house calibre inside a good chunk of their stable these days. That means a 60-hour power reserve, 4 Hz frequency and a platinum micro-rotor, unusually made from recycled precious metal. It’s finished to the degree you’d expect from a proper prestige watch – enough that you can see why you’d want to open up the dial.
Speaking of prestige, we’re used to seeing most collabs fall into the accessible category, but Czapek & Cie are anything but. So, it shouldn’t come as too big a surprise that the Fratello x Czapek & Cie Promenade Transparencies Viridian Green will set you back EUR 32,000 (approximately £26,500) for one of the 50 pieces. It’s a pretty steep amount but then this is a gorgeous collab that fans of Czapek & Cie will undoubtedly leap on.
Price and Specs:
Model:
Czapek
× Fratello Promenade Transparencies ‘Viridian Green’
Case:
38mm
diameter x 10.8mm thickness x 42mm lug to lug, stainless steel
Dial:
Green
Water resistance:
500m
(5 bar)
Movement:
Czapek
calibre SXH7.1, automatic, 25 jewels
Frequency:
28,800
vph (4 Hz)
Power reserve:
60h
Functions:
Hours,
minutes, seconds
Strap:
Green
Cordura with Czapek pin buckle
Price:
€32,000
ex. VAT (approx. £36,500)
More details at Fratello.
Oracle Time