History of Czapek
Franciszek Czapek was born in 1881 in Semonice, Bohemia, which is nowadays the Czech Republic. At a young age, he emigrated to Poland with his family. He was forced to flee to Switzerland in 1832 following the collapse of the Polish uprising of which he was a member. By this time, he was already a talented watchmaker and soon opened his first watchmaking company, “Czapek & Moreau,” with a local partner, and changed his name to François.
In 1836 Francois Czapek met a fellow Polish emigrant, Antoine Norbert de Patek, an encounter that changed both of their lives. Together they founded the company Patek, Czapek & Cie on May 1, 1839. Their partnership lasted six years, during which time they created exceptional timepieces. They dissolved their partnership in 1845, but both men continued producing watches. Czapek founded Czapek & Cie with a new partner, Juliusz Gruzewski, and Patek founded Patek.