The collaboration between Czech-Swiss watch brand Chronotechna and one of the world's best climbers, Marek Holecek, has given birth to the limited edition SeaQuest Dive Nanga Parbat, which was presented today for the first time in Prague at the Salon Exceptional Watches exhibition. The watch boasts a dial made of hand-cut titanium that glistens and shimmers in the sun like the frosty face of the Czech climber's fateful mountain. Only 20 pieces will be produced.
If the black dial of the Chronotechna watch evokes the mysterious depths of the world's deepest oceans, what would its counterpart look like - a dial that pays homage to the freezing, rugged and snowy peaks of the world's highest mountains? Our design team, in collaboration with one of the world's top climbers, Mark Holecek, found the answer in the form of a dial made of hand-cut titanium that reflects the age-old human desire to climb the highest peaks on Earth with its rawness, coldness and unmistakable shine.
The limited edition of 20 SeaQuest Dive Nanga Parbat is named after the 9th highest mountain in the world. The eight thousand Nanga Parbat is the shining diamond of the western Himalayas, towering like a solitaire above the surrounding peaks. For Mark Holecek, a two-time winner of climber’s most prestigious award, the Piolet d’Or, this mountain is more than a peaked peak. In 2012, he climbed the west face and stood on its highest point. However, it is still calling him back. His two subsequent attempts to make the first ascent from the south side of the so-called Rupal are proof of this. To give you an idea, the elevation from the base to the summit alone is over 4600 meters, the highest elevation and the highest wall of all mountains. It is also one of the most difficult alpine challenges. Previous failures have not discouraged Marek; as he says, sometimes you must wait for the right time for the gears of fate to turn in the right direction. On his next expedition, the SeaQuest Dive Nanga Parbat watch will already be on his wrist and become part of new challenges.
That's why the watch needs to retain all the features that made you love it underwater - a solid 316L stainless steel case, a sapphire crystal, an extremely precise Swiss Sellita SW200-1 movement with COSC certification, a layer of SuperLuminova luminescence on all hands and lunette for great readability in the dark and, of course, water resistance to a depth of 300 metres.
"We have just as much time as the universe has allotted us and there is no room to waste it. At the top, one feels as free as a bird, though the satisfaction of reaching the world's roughest peaks is like a twinkle in the eye. Desire on the walls often turns into a mere effort to survive. But one thing is certain. The hands on the dial will always turn in the right direction," says climber Marek Holecek, who became the second Chronotechna brand ambassador after freediver David Vencl.
Marek's primary motivation is discovering new climbing directions in the world's highest and most deserted mountains. He rejects the conventional idea that the culmination of all mountaineering endeavors is to reach the highest possible altitude. The difficulty of the ascent and the style of reaching the peak has become equally important. Despite the different goals in the Himalayas, the Americas, or even Antarctica, he says, expeditions to the mountains have a common denominator: "To seek out difficult climbing terrain with two or three people at most and carry only what your back can, or to gain knowledge and form an idea. Then choose the execution logistics, and prepare yourself mentally, physically, and skill-wise. And if luck and the almighty give their permission, a new path will be created."
The Czech climber has become known for challenging first ascents in the alpine style. He has received numerous awards from the Czech Climbing Association, foreign festivals, and honors. However, he has been nominated for the most valuable global award Piolet d'Or several times and twice took the main prize home. His rich series of first ascents include Baruntse (7,162 m), Chamlang (7,319 m), Talung (7,348 m) in the Himalayas or the Karakoram on Gasherbrum I (8,080 m), or the Cordillera Blanca on Huandoy Norte (6,360 m), but also in Antarctica, where he was able to name previously untouched peaks.
"We wanted to show that Chronotechna isn't just about super-black dials - we want to introduce a new design and colour range for our dials in the future, and this is the first taste of what's to come in the months and years to follow. What I like most about the titanium dial is that it never looks the same during the day, the sun's rays play beautifully with it and change the whole face of the watch," adds CEO of Chronotechna, Pavel Kalouš.
The SeaQuest Dive Nanga Parbat watch is available exclusively at www.chronotechna.com for a price of EUR 1420 ex. VAT and will be delivered to the first customers in early November 2022.