First Look – Inspired by a Cult French Novel, Czapek Unveils the Promenade L’Ecume des Jours

Inspired by a Cult French Novel, Czapek Unveils the Promenade L’Ecume des Jours Two memorable motifs from Boris Vian’s surrealist novel L’Écume des Jours are artistically recreated on the Promenade dial. Czapek launched the Promenade collection in 2024, an elegant line of compact, time-only dress watches that, in the words of CEO Xavier de Roquemaurel, serve as a “canvas for creative expression.” The latest addition to the family is the Promenade L’Écume des Jours, a tribute to the 1947 novel by French author Boris Vian, translated into English as Froth on the Daydream. The new Promenade L’Écume des Jours flaunts a Grand Feu enamel dial featuring the brand’s hypnotic waterdrop design with a series of artistic features that evoke two of the most memorable motifs from Boris Vian’s surrealist novel. Despite his short life, Boris Vian (1920-1959) was a brilliant polymath, engineer, author, jazz trumpet player and composer in postwar Paris. His novel, L’Écume des Jours, recounts the tragic love story between Colin and Chloé. Tinged with surrealist elements, the two features of the novel that have been incorporated on the dial of the Promenade relate to Colin’s invention of a ‘pianocktail’, which mixes a custom cocktail depending on which melody is played on the keyboard, and to his wife Chloé’s illness provoked by a water lily growing in her right lung. The brand’s signature Goutte d’Eau, or waterdrop, design, produced by Donzé Cadrans, is recreated here in deep shades of blue. Inspired by the rippling effect created when a drop of water breaks the surface of calm water, the blue Grand Feu enamel background radiates from the small seconds counter at 4:30. Entrusted to MD’Art, a specialist in métiers d’art dials, the small seconds display has been transformed into a delightful water lily. The jade base, designed to resemble the floating green leaf of a lily pad, is laser-etched to create the seconds track. A hand-painted lily flower sits at the centre of the green pad, laser-cut from lightweight titanium, swirling in time to the passing seconds. The second motif from the novel is the ‘pianocktail’, suggested here by a keyboard encircling the dial. To insert the keyboard, MD’Art uses a laser to create a recess, then inserts the white mother-of-pearl ring to evoke the white keys, with hand-painted black keys. Sharing the same dimensions as other creations of the Promenade family, the compact, polished steel case measures 38mm in diameter and 10.8mm thick, with stylish recessed flanks highlighted by sandblasted interiors. A domed sapphire crystal protects the dial, while the caseback features a sapphire window to view the brand’s automatic in-house calibre SXH5.1. Equipped with a platinum micro-rotor, the movement delivers a 60-hour power reserve. The skeletonised bridge securing the 4Hz balance is one of the seven bridges that pay tribute to François Czapek’s 19th-century pocket watches. The Promenade L’Écume des Jours is a limited edition of 18 pieces. It is paired with a dark blue nubuck strap but can be ordered with a steel Milanese mesh bracelet. The watch retails for CHF 26,800, EUR 28,800 or USD 37,700 (excluding taxes). More information at czapek.com.