Czapek Introduces the Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue

Czapek & Cie unveils a 38-piece limited edition with a smoked sapphire dial revealing the fully skeletonised in-house Calibre SXH7 from both sides.

Czapek & Cie has unveiled the Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue, a new limited edition that takes the concept of mechanical transparency in an entirely different direction.

Limited to just 38 pieces, the new model combines a 38 mm stainless-steel case with a smoked sapphire dial that gradually reveals the architecture of the movement beneath it. At its centre, the sapphire remains highly transparent, while a blue fumé effect becomes progressively denser towards the edges.

Two years after the original Promenade Transparencies Viridian Green, Czapek returns to the same concept with a completely different colour palette and several technical refinements.

The result is a watch designed around one central idea: allowing the wearer to look directly into the mechanics.

The Promenade Transparencies Concept

The Promenade Transparencies collection was created around the idea of mechanical visibility.

Rather than placing a traditional metal dial between the wearer and the movement, Czapek uses sapphire crystal to create a visual connection between the dial and the calibre underneath.

The Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue continues that philosophy while introducing a new approach to the coloration of the sapphire.

The dial is not painted, lacquered or tinted throughout the thickness of the crystal. Instead, its blue fumé appearance is created using a sophisticated metallization process.

How Czapek Creates the Blue Sapphire Dial

The Aqua Blue’s dial is made from sapphire crystal and treated on its underside using metallization, a vapour-deposition process that applies a metallic coating to the crystal.

The coating consists of microscopic dots measuring approximately eight microns in diameter. Their density changes progressively across the surface.

Towards the outer edge of the dial, the dots become increasingly dense. Moving towards the small-seconds display at 4:30, their density decreases.

This creates the graduated blue appearance without using conventional pigment.

The effect is particularly interesting because the sapphire remains largely transparent at its centre while becoming progressively more opaque towards the perimeter.

In other words, the blue effect is created through the density of the coating rather than by changing the transparency of the sapphire itself.

The result is a dial that maintains the mechanical transparency at the heart of the Promenade Transparencies concept.

Light Blue Super-LumiNova® Indexes

Czapek has also changed the treatment of the hour markers compared with the original Promenade Transparencies Viridian Green.

Instead of metallic hour markers, the Aqua Blue features hand-applied blocks of light blue Super-LumiNova®.

The indexes are attached directly to the sapphire crystal dial and emit the same light blue colour in the dark.

This creates an especially coherent visual identity, with the luminous elements complementing the blue fumé sapphire and the exposed mechanical architecture underneath.

The In-House Calibre SXH7

At the heart of the watch is the Czapek Calibre SXH7, an automatic movement that has been fully skeletonised to make it as visually compelling from the dial side as it is through the caseback.

The movement is an evolution of Czapek’s Calibre SXH5, but it has been extensively redesigned specifically for the Promenade Transparencies concept.

Its architecture is dominated by seven openworked bridges, which extend from the outer edge of the movement towards the gear train.

Their design references the multiple-bridge architecture found in the 19th-century pocket watches created by François Czapek.

This historical connection gives the modern skeletonised calibre a direct link to the brand’s watchmaking heritage.

Designed to Be Seen From Both Sides

The SXH7 is not simply a conventional movement with its components exposed.

Czapek’s engineers redesigned the calibre specifically to ensure that its architecture would work from the dial side as well as from the caseback.

The entire escapement was reversed, while the small seconds were relocated to a sub-dial positioned at 4:30.

This allows the small seconds to be driven directly from the fourth wheel.

The crown and keyless works were also redesigned so that they could be correctly positioned on the dial side.

The result is a movement that has been conceived as a visual object rather than simply a mechanism hidden behind a traditional dial.

A Recycled Platinum Micro-Rotor

The automatic winding system uses a micro-rotor machined from 100% recycled platinum.

The rotor is engraved on both sides, meaning that it contributes to the visual experience whether the movement is viewed through the sapphire dial or the caseback.

Because the calibre is intended to be visible from both sides, Czapek applies its decoration and hand-finishing throughout the movement rather than concentrating the finishing exclusively on the back.

This substantially increases the amount of manual work involved.

A Slender 38 mm Stainless-Steel Case

The Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue uses the 38 mm stainless-steel case shared with the wider Promenade collection.

The case features curved lugs and hollowed flanks, helping maintain a relatively slender profile.

At just 10.8 mm thick, the watch should sit comfortably on the wrist despite the visual complexity of the skeletonised movement.

Both the dial-side crystal and the caseback are made from sapphire crystal.

Each is treated with an internal anti-reflective coating, reducing glare and helping maintain visibility of the movement from either side. Water resistance is rated at 50 metres.

A Watch Built Around Transparency

The name “Transparencies” is more than a reference to the sapphire dial.

The entire watch is designed around the tension between what is visible and what remains hidden.

Czapek & Cie CEO Xavier de Roquemaurel describes this concept as an exploration of the excitement created by seeing some mechanical details while leaving others to the imagination. That idea is central to the Aqua Blue.

The sapphire does not simply reveal everything at once. Instead, the fumé treatment gradually obscures the movement towards the edges, creating layers between the dial and the mechanics.

The result is a watch that changes depending on the angle, light and viewing position.

Blue Shades and the Promenade Design Language

The blue colour also connects with one of the defining characteristics of the Promenade collection: its off-centred small-seconds display.

Positioned at 4:30, the small seconds provides an important visual anchor within the otherwise symmetrical movement architecture.

The blue tones are designed to originate visually around this area, creating a link between the colour of the dial and the signature layout of the Promenade collection.

It is another example of how Czapek combines symmetry with an element of surprise.

Limited to Just 38 Pieces

The Czapek Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue is limited to only 38 pieces, making it an exceptionally exclusive addition to the collection.

The watch will be available to order exclusively through Czapek authorised retailers worldwide, the brand’s flagship boutique in Geneva and the official Czapek website.

Orders open on 20 August 2026.

Rather than treating transparency as simply an aesthetic feature, Czapek has used it as the foundation for the entire watch — from the metallised sapphire dial to the skeletonised movement and its finishing on both sides.

Technical Specifications

Final Thoughts

The Czapek Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue is an intriguing continuation of Czapek’s exploration of visible mechanics.

The combination of a smoked sapphire dial, microscopic metallization, light blue Super-LumiNova® and the fully skeletonised Calibre SXH7 creates a visual effect that is difficult to replicate with a conventional dial. But the watch is more than a transparent showcase.

The reversed escapement, relocated small seconds, redesigned keyless works and micro-rotor in recycled platinum demonstrate how extensively Czapek engineered the movement around the idea of being viewed from both sides.

With its compact 38 mm case, 10.8 mm thickness and 60-hour power reserve, the watch also retains the practicality expected of a modern mechanical timepiece.

Limited to just 38 pieces, the Promenade Transparencies Aqua Blue is ultimately a highly technical interpretation of transparency — one that combines Czapek’s historical design language with contemporary movement architecture and an unusually sophisticated approach to sapphire.

For more information, please visit the official Czapek website.

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