Czapek
Czapek Antarctique 40 mm Salmon 18k
Photography on request
Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Czapek · Antarctique
Czapek Antarctique 40 mm Salmon 18k
Reference 54362OR.82
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Czapek
- Collection
- Antarctique
- Model
- Czapek Antarctique 40 mm Salmon 18k
- Reference number
- 54362OR.82
- Year / era
- 1980 · 1980s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Tourbillon
- Movement
- Manual-winding, hand-finished
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Dial type
- Salmon
- Strap / bracelet
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.1 mm
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Bezel
- Smooth polished
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Salmon
- Hands
- Skeletonised sword hands, white luminescent
- Indexes
- Diamond-set hour markers
- Bracelet / strap
- Alligator leather with folding clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Triple-folding clasp with safety catch
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 18B — Manual-winding, hand-finished
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 55 hours
- Number of jewels
- 37 jewels
- Complications
- Tourbillon
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1980 – 1990
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Czapek Antarctique 40 mm Salmon 18k sits within Czapek's Antarctique line, introduced in 1980. It carries the house codes established since 1845 — 18k yellow gold case, salmon dial and manual-winding, hand-finished — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
The House
Czapek
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1845
- Founder
- François Czapek
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Swiss & Independent
- Major collections
- Antarctique, Quai des Bergues, Place Vendome, Faubourg de Cracovie
- Signature technologies
- Certified chronometer regulation · Shock-absorbing movement mounting · Anti-magnetic silicon escapement
- Famous movements
- Micro-rotor automatic · Manual-winding, hand-finished · Satellite-hour automatic · In-house automatic
- Notable watches
- Czapek Antarctique 40 mm Salmon 18k (1980) · Czapek Antarctique 36 mm Blue Carbon (1958) · Czapek Antarctique 36 mm Ice Platinum (1966) · Czapek Antarctique 44 mm Ice Carbon (1963)
Brand history
Czapek has spent more than 181 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Antarctique, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
François Czapek established Czapek in 1845, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Czapek calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1845
François Czapek founds Czapek in Switzerland.
1885
Czapek earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Czapek to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Czapek enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Czapek continues to produce Antarctique, Quai des Bergues, Place Vendome and other icons in limited numbers.