Independent watchmakers


Independent watchmakers

Watch Q&A with... Xavier De Roquemaurel – Czapek & Cie

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By Serge Maillard
June 2023


Watch Q&A with... Xavier De Roquemaurel – Czapek & Cie

“Keep up the pace of production with horizontal manufacturing and in-house capabilities”

W

e recently interviewed a broad selection of managers, active in a variety of segments, to help us identify the major trends within the watch industry.

Our Q&A with Xavier De Roquemaurel – Czapek & Cie.

Europa Star: What are your strategic priorities for 2023?

Xavier De Roquemaurel: We have three main strategic priorities for this year. First, we will keep investing in research and product development to create our haute horology timepieces for the years 2025-2030. At the same time, we will be further strengthening our supply chain and fostering agility within the manufacturing division. The combination of the second and third priorities should enable us to achieve faster, more robust and higher quality production, based on both our “horizontal” manufacturing and our in-house capabilities.

Xavier De Roquemaurel
Xavier De Roquemaurel

Which new products or lines will be your main focus this year?

I would certainly mention the Antarctique Révélation, the first skeletonised model in our Antarctique range, which we launched at Watches and Wonders in March in a limited yearly series (it has already sold out for 2025). Not only did we open up (or “reveal”, as the model’s name suggests) the beating heart of the Antarctique, the SXH5 movement, but by doing so we ended up creating a whole new calibre, the SXH7, with a three-dimensional take on an insane level of finish. Another major launch involving our Place Vendôme line will happen at the Geneva Watch Days, as well as a collaboration with an exceptional master watchmaker and friend... but I can’t say any more for now!

Czapek & Cie Antarctique Révélation
Czapek & Cie Antarctique Révélation

The emergence of the secondary market represents a major new development. Are you taking any steps to build a presence in preowned?

We’re not taking any specific measures in this respect, but we are in the secondary market anyhow. Speculation is extremely dangerous, and even the major players have shown that there’s very little they can do about it, despite their power. From our side, we are implementing an “anti-flipping” policy to prevent the resale of a Czapek watch less than 12 months from the purchase date. The goal is to identify and discourage flippers, as well as encouraging and fostering a positive spirit of collecting.

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