Welcome to the next edition of the Wind Up, our regular series where we take you through the new watch releases of the last seven days. This week featured a handful of new and exciting watches, including a beautiful little number by one Jean-Claude Biver and a special piece from micro-brand Norqain. Happy reading and have a great week ahead fellas.
Czapek & Cie Antarctique S Mirrored Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition
- Brand: Czapek & Cie
- Model: Antarctique S Mirrored Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition
- Reference: Ref. 1535
- Diameter: 38.5mm
- Thickness: 10.6mm
- Movement: SHX5 self-winding in-house mechanical calibre
- Power Reserve: 60 hours
- Water-Resistance: 120 metres
- Availability: Limited to 38 pieces
- Price: SGD$48,800
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Asian luxury watch specialist Sincere Fine Watches, Swiss maison Czapek & Cie has unveiled a dazzling new variation of its hit Antarctique model. The special edition Antarctique S Mirrored Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition is a stunning new take on the classic timepiece complete with a distinctive mirrored dial and a case and bracelet crafted from a blend of steel and yellow gold. Importantly, Ref 1535 marks the first time the brand has used a mirrored finish silicon wafer dial and bimetallic combination in any of its pieces.
This unique addition saw Czapek & Cie, along with designer MD’Art, polish a very thin disc of crystalline silicon to create a perfectly smooth and shiny surface. From here, the manufacturers applied a fine PVD coating of platinum to amplify the reflective qualities of the silicon wafer. As Czapek’s CEO, Xavier de Roquemaurel explained, the process allowed the brand to use the material in a new an inventive way, perfectly aligning with its commerative efforts.
“To celebrate Sincere’s Platinum Jubilee, we aimed to use platinum in an unexpected way,” says Czapek’s CEO, Xavier de Roquemaurel. “By combining Sincere’s concept of a mirrored dial with MD’Art’s exceptional technical skills, we’ve created something truly remarkable. This collaboration highlights the creative partnerships that define Czapek’s strength.”
Inside, the Czapek & Cie Antarctique S Mirrored Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition is powered by the calibre SXH5, the manufacture’s first entirely in-house movement. It’s distinctive architecture features seven skeletonised bridges inspired by the pocket watch calibres of the renowned 19th-century watchmaker, François Czapek. In essence, the new Antarctique S Mirrored Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition is simply stunning, just don’t expect to get your hands on one. The timepiece is limited to just 38 examples worldwide and available exclusively at Sincere Fine Watches boutiques in Singapore.
Hublot Big Bang Unico Sailing Team
- Brand: Hublot
- Model: Big Bang Unico Sailing Team
- Reference: Ref.441.QX.1149.NR.ARA24
- Diameter: 42mm
- Thickness: 14.5mm
- Movement: HUB1280
- Power Reserve: 72 hours
- Water-Resistance: 100 metres
- Price: AUD$37,600
To celebrate Swiss professional sailor, Alan Roura, avant-garde watchmaker Hublot has released a stunning limited edition Big Bang. The new timepiece is limited to just 100 examples worldwide, with each model boasting the same black and yellow colours as Roura’s IMOCA vessel, which in itself is a nod to the colourway of the very first Hublot Classic Original of the 1980s.
This time around, Hublot’s efforts have resulted in the new Big Bang Unico Sailing Team, a 42mm carbon fibre model set on a fabric strap made with an ultra resistant black, one piece polyurethane coating. Rugged, robust and ready for anything, the sailing-inspired timepiece plays the perfect foil to Roura’s seafaring adventures and it has the movement to match. Hublot’s new wonder features the latest generation of the Unico Manufacture calibre, the HUB1280 self winding chronograph. Boasting a power reserve of three days, 354 components and a rate of 4Hz, the design of which is reminiscent of the winches used by Alan Roura to trim his sails.
“This is the third year running that I’ve worked with Hublot. I’m impressed, as always, by their ability to constantly push their own limits,” Roura said. “I have been sailing with a Big Bang Original since 2022, but this Unico Sailing Team is even lighter and more robust. In racing, everything comes down to precision and reliability. I need to be able to count on my equipment 200 per cent. It’s the fusion of the skipper and his equipment that makes the difference.”
Breguet Type XX 2067 in Rose Gold
- Brand: Breguet
- Model: Type XX 2067 in Rose Gold
- Reference: Ref. 2067RK/Y9/9WU
- Diameter: 42mm
- Thickness: 14.1mm
- Movement: Calibre 728 self-winding
- Power Reserve: 60 hours
- Water-Resistance: 100 metres
- Price: AUD$60,700
When Breguet unveils a new timepiece, the world takes note, and while the Type XX 2067 might not be entirely new, its dazzling rose gold finish certainly is. The latest iteration of the iconic watchmaker’s sporty offering arrives with a fresh new hue to go along with a bi-directional ring made of ceramic, a material used for the first time in Breguet collections for this first new generation Type XX.
Drawing on the version released last year, the latest Type XX features a 15 minute counter is located at 3 o’clock, the 12 hour counter at 6 o’clock and the running seconds at 9 o’clock. Functionally, the 42mm timepiece is fitted with a fluted bi-directional graduated bezel, with a straight-line crown that can be set in three different positions: Neutral winding, Date setting and Time setting.
Being a Breguet, much of the emphasis here is on the inner workings and the brand hasn’t disappointed. The new Type XX in rose gold features the same calibre 728 flyback movement that we noted on last year’s military model, which serves up a stellar 60 hours of power reserve and is held in place via an innovative cross-through bridge. It is a stunning piece of work that, while not groundbreaking by Breguet’s lofty standards, is still an incredible return.
Norqain Independence Skeleton Chrono
- Brand: Norqain
- Model: Independence Skeleton Chrono
- Diameter: 42mm x 13.90mm
- Movement: Calibre NK24/1
- Water-Resistance: 100m
- Power Reserve: 62 hours
- Price: From USD$61,90
Norqain has come out with its own flagship chronograph in the new Independence Skeleton Chrono. Available in stainless steel or titanium, the Independence Skeleton Chrono boasts an aesthetic that is very typical of the maison’s, but at the same time super stealthy and discreet if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking at.
It features a semi-openworked dial (finished in dark grey with gilded hands and indices for the steel model, purple for the titanium), a case finished really well with mirror-polishing and satin-brushing found throughout, and an overall nicely balanced look. I think it is important to note that while the movement is an ebauche calibre, it has been upgraded with a column wheel and has undergone extensive skeletonisation by Norqain, and it has COSC certification, too.
Biver Automatique
- Brand: Biver
- Model: Automatique
- Diameter: 39mm x 10mm
- Movement: Calibre JCB-003
- Water-Resistance: 80m
- Power Reserve: 65 hours
- Price: From CHF75,000
Jean-Claude Biver’s eponymous brand is back with its latest endeavor in the Automatique. Crafted in either platinum or rose gold and with a variety of dial materials (gold or mineral stone dials), the Automatique is an expression of technique and watchmaking mastery that extends beyond the dial, which in itself is a thing of beauty.
Beating below the surface is the JCB-003, a gorgeous calibre developed in partnership with Dubois Depraz. The micro-rotor is superlatively finished in 22k gold, with the bridges and balance cock finished in clous de Paris guilloche, wave-like shapes engraved into the wheels and black polished or straight graining on the steel components. The interesting feature of this calibre is that when you pull out the crown to set the time, the seconds hand actually automatically resets to zero, ensuring supremely accurate time setting.
