Baselworld 2016: Five New Zenith Watches From The Pilot, El Primero, Elite And Academy Collections

From racer spirit to classic, from moonphase to tourbillon with fusée and chain transmission system, Zenith brings us five new timepieces as varied and distinctive as the wrists that will wear them. The luxury watch brand that makes all its movements in-house, winner of 2,333 chronometry prizes since its founding in 1865, is creative with competitive pricing.

Whether you’re a biker for real or just in your dreams, the Heritage Pilot Café Racer inspired by the ‘Café Racer’ bikers’ movement from the 1920s evokes the speed, originality and freedom so close to your heart. Its new aged stainless steel 45 mm case provides a powerful vintage look for the original pilot’s watch attributes – large oversized luminescent Arabic numerals and a wide fluted screw-lock crown. On a slate grey dial with grained motif we see 2 display counters and facetted hands and numerals with beige luminescent coating, topped by a domed sapphire crystal. The back of the case in solid titanium, water-resistant to 100 meters, is engraved with the inscription ‘Café Racer Spirit’.

Inside, the automatic El Primero column wheel chronograph Calibre 4069 beats at 36,000 vibrations per hour, driving central hours and minute hands, small seconds at 9 o’clock and chronograph functions, with a power reserve of over 50 hours. Completed with an oily nubuck rubber-lined wristband with titanium pin buckle, this timepiece is priced at CHF 7,400.

Zenith will be joining classic car enthusiasts this year at more than 50 events around the world, and their second model presented at Baselworld – the El Primero 36’000 VpH Classic Car, pays tribute to classic cars and their precision, reliability and endurance.

This new model comes with a 42 mm brushed steel case with fluted crown and two round pushpieces. Its anthracite dial with a ‘Brushed Engine’ pattern shows the three iconic counters in anthracite, blue and light grey, with a tachymeter scale on the inner bezel ring, completed with a slim red central sweep-seconds hand and luminescent facetted hands and hour-markers. Powered by the El Primero 400B automatic chronograph caliber, with integrated column-wheel construction and 36,000 VpH, this 326-part movement with an oscillating weight adorned with Côtes de Genève drives central hours and minutes, small seconds, chronograph and date function, and has more than 50 hours of power reserve.

Completed with a rubber-lined perforated chestnut brown calfskin strap with steel triple folding clasp. Water resistant to 100 meters. Priced at CHF6,900.

Two new timepieces from the Elite collection are introduced this year.

The first, the new Elite Lady Moon Phase, is soft and feminine with an 18K pink gold or stainless steel 36 mm case, ultra-thin and pebble-shaped, with a fluted crown to make smooth moon-phase adjustments. The bezel, diamond-set or polished, surrounds a gorgeous mother-of-pearl dial with a star-studded deep blue moon disc at 6 o’clock. Slender leaf-shaped hands point the hours, minutes and small seconds on engraved hour-markers or slim Roman numerals, depending upon the version. An exhibition case-back reveals its mechanism and oscillating weight with ‘Côtes de Genève’. The automatic Elite Calibre 692 beating at 28,800 VpH with 50 hours of power reserve, drives the hours, minutes, small seconds and moon phases. Water resistant to 50 meters.

Fitted with a glossy black or brown rubber-lined alligator leather strip with stainless steel or pink gold pin buckle. In five versions, priced from CHF5,700 in steel to CHF13,500 in rose gold with diamonds.

The second – the Elite 6150 – is presented this year in rose gold. Its distinctive ultra-thin pebble-shaped 42 mm case houses the new Elite 6150 calibre – an automatic twin-barrel calibre beating at 28,800 VpH boasting more than 100 hours of power reserve. The movement drives central displays of the hours, minutes and seconds, with gold leaf-type hands indicating the time on the silver-toned dial that features stylized engraved hour-markers to create a sense of depth. Visible through the sapphire crystal case-back, the mechanism is wound by an oscillating weight adorned with ‘Côtes de Genève’. Water resistant to 50 meters, completed with a brown alligator leather strap lined with rubber with a rose gold pin buckle, this year’s new rose gold version is priced at CHF12,900. In steel at CHF6,900.

With its fifth timepiece, Zenith pays homage to founder Georges Favre-Jacot. The Academy Tourbillon Georges Favre-Jacot, presented in a new 45 mm black ceramic case, houses the new El Primero Calibre 4805 that combines two iconic complications from the Manufacture: a tourbillon and a fusée and chain transmission system linked to the barrel for constant force, united for the first time in a Zenith high-frequency movement.

Dial-free, the new hand-wound caliber provides a perfect view of the mechanism and its architecture. With 807 parts, the movement that beats at 36,000 VpH is constructed with modern, structured lines, with the tourbillon – rotating once every minute – at 6 o’clock and the fusée and train transmission system between 10:30 and 1:30. Secured to the mainplate with polished screws, three blackened bridges support the fusée and barrel arbors.

The central hours and minute functions are shown on a ring swept over by luminescent black facetted hands and hour-markers, while the more than 50 hour power reserve is displayed between 4 and 5 o’clock by a red-tipped hand. Visible on both the display side and through the sapphire crystal case-back, the mainplate and bridges are coated with a deep anthracite colour, adorned with sandblasted, hand-chamfered and straight-grained finishes.

Water resistant to 50 meters, this exceptional timepiece is fitted with a perforated rubber strap with PVD-coated titanium triple folding clasp. Also available in a rose gold version, in limited editions of 150 pieces each. Priced at CHF79,000 for the ceramic version; CHF89,000 in rose gold.

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