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Zenith takes to the air
New Models

Zenith takes to the air

Wednesday, 08 February 2012
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Christophe Roulet
Editor-in-chief, HH Journal

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3 min read

Watchmakers have demonstrated no end of imagination to equip those magnificent men in their flying machines with suitable timepieces… the “pilot watches” that are a horological speciality in their own right. One such manufacturer is Zenith, now giving its vintage models a new lease on life.

No sign of a flight simulator, miniature runway or the carcass of a World War Two plane, yet this year Zenith is training the spotlight squarely on a particular brand of watchmaking: that of instruments whose purpose is to provide pilots with invaluable information. Says Juliette North, international marketing and communication director at Zenith, speaking during the week of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva: “We have all the legitimacy we could possibly want in this segment. For example, Zenith manufactured numerous aircraft counters in the first half of the twentieth century. Louis Blériot always wore a Zenith on his wrist during his flights. The brand also owns the rights to the Pilote name. Continuing in this vein, these early months of 2012 will see Zenith launch new models of pilot watch.”

Aficionados can rest assured. “We won’t be overegging the cake but will stay close to our roots,” Juliette North continues. “This is why we’ve opted for an imaginary world for the communication, and have asked two comic-strip artists to represent different aspects of the pioneering days of flight. We certainly aren’t looking to seduce daredevil flying aces with six-pack stomachs. No. We’re addressing people who enjoy wide-open spaces and discovery, modern-day explorers from all horizons. We are offering them a new poetry of aviation.”

The first Zenith women's watch that isn't a variation on a men's model.
Flying high

This delving into the past has produced the El Primero Chronomaster 1969. It flies the three colours of the original El Primero chronograph, a piece of horological history which measures tenths of a second thanks to a movement beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour. Zenith has added what has become a visual hallmark, namely an opening in the dial so that the wearer can admire the beating of the movement beneath. In this instance, the new El Primero Calibre 4061 automatic chronograph movement, developed by Zenith. This model is joined by three other newcomers, to be revealed at Baselworld: the Aéronef Type 20 with an impressive 57mm diameter, a tip of the hat to the “whoppers” from the early days of flight, the Pilote Doublematic Chronograph Alarm GMT and the Pilote Grande Date Chronograph. All three are driven by the historic 5011 Calibre which Zenith developed in the 1950s. The brand is also presenting the Cosmopolitan Open with Roman numerals, the first Zenith women’s watch that isn’t a variation on a men’s model.

Aficionados will have to wait until autumn for Zenith’s next incursion into the upper echelons of horology with, in all likelihood, a new interpretation of the Christophe Colomb with fusee and chain. The reason being that the company is giving its production facilities a complete makeover. Zenith is one of the few manufacturers to still have all its specialisations under one roof… a roof which just happens to be the original one. Staff should be able to return to the site over the course of the summer recess. Meanwhile, Zenith is dotting the i’s on its strategy for the coming year, after growing in every region where the brand is represented. “We also still have plenty of markets to develop, such as the US, Latin America and Eastern Europe, ” concludes Juliette North. Which could explain why flight is high on the agenda this year!

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