Czapek’s Promenade line has quickly become one of the brand’s most expressive platforms, balancing classical proportions with contemporary dial craft.
The new Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue continues that direction with a translucent fumé sapphire dial, a fully visible movement and a compact 38mm stainless steel case.
It’s a watch for collectors who like open mechanics, but don’t necessarily want the starkness of a fully exposed skeleton dial.
At a glance
- Czapek has introduced the Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue as a 38-piece stainless steel limited edition.
- The watch uses a translucent sapphire dial with blue fumé metallisation and hand-applied light blue Super-LumiNova markers.
- It is priced at CHF 28,800, EUR 31,700 or USD 40,300 before taxes.
A sapphire dial with a measured blue fade
The most compelling part of the Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue is that its dial isn’t simply blue or simply transparent.
Czapek uses a sapphire disc treated on its underside through vapour deposition, creating a graduated smoked effect with microscopic metallic dots.
Those dots grow denser toward the outer edge, leaving the centre more transparent and the periphery more saturated.
The result gives the movement room to show through without turning the watch into a visual maze.
For this Aqua Blue edition, Czapek has moved away from metallic applied indices and chosen hand-applied blocks of light blue Super-LumiNova.
They glow blue in the dark, adding a more playful technical note to what remains a relatively elegant case shape.
The Promenade case keeps the spectacle contained
The case measures 38mm across, 10.8mm thick and 42mm from lug to lug, which should make it one of the more approachable canvases for this level of openworked watchmaking.
Curved lugs and hollowed case flanks help the watch feel more sculpted than slab-sided.
Sapphire crystals are used front and back, both treated internally with anti-reflective coating, so the transparency is central to the experience rather than a dial-side novelty.
Water resistance is rated at 50 metres, appropriate for a refined daily-wear sports-adjacent piece, though this is clearly more about architecture than rugged utility.
The SXH7 calibre is built to be seen
Inside is Czapek’s Calibre SXH7, an in-house automatic movement derived from the SXH5 and reworked specifically for two-sided display.
The seven openworked bridges stretch across the movement and echo the multi-bridge construction associated with François Czapek’s 19th-century pocket watches.
To make the movement work visually from the front, Czapek reversed the escapement and rearranged elements including the crown and keyless works.
The small seconds sits at 4:30 and is driven directly by the fourth wheel, giving the dial its distinctive asymmetry.
Automatic winding comes via a micro-rotor with a mass made from 100 percent recycled platinum.
The finishing mix includes openworked ratchets, sandblasted rhodium-plated bridges, straight-grained flanks and hand-chamfered angles.
The movement runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour and offers 60 hours of power reserve from a single barrel.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Czapek |
|---|---|
| Model | Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue |
| Case size | 38mm diameter, 10.8mm thick, 42mm lug-to-lug |
| Case material | Stainless steel |
| Crystal | Sapphire front and back with internal anti-reflective treatment |
| Water resistance | 50 metres |
| Dial | Blue fumé metallised translucent sapphire crystal |
| Hour markers | Hand-applied light blue 3D Super-LumiNova, glowing blue |
| Movement | Calibre SXH7 in-house self-winding skeletonised mechanical movement |
| Movement dimensions | 30mm diameter, 4.2mm thick |
| Components | 152 components, 25 jewels |
| Frequency | 28,800 vibrations per hour |
| Power reserve | 60 hours |
| Winding | Micro-rotor with 100 percent recycled platinum mass |
| Functions | Hours, minutes and small seconds at 4:30 |
| Strap | Dark blue nubuck leather strap |
| Alternative option | Stainless steel Milanese mesh bracelet |
| Availability | Limited edition of 38 pieces |
| Price | CHF 28,800, EUR 31,700 or USD 40,300 before taxes |
The Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue works because it doesn’t treat transparency as an all-or-nothing exercise.
It gives Czapek’s open architecture a softer frame, combining the crispness of sapphire with a colour treatment that feels precise, modern and wearable.
