Spellbound
1343
Polishing and refining
Polishing and refining is all very well if the designs that are being refined are stunning designs that have transformed into the realms of iconic. But the Captain line has always been pleasant, but not achingly desirable.
I just wish Zenith would focus on making the most beautiful watches in the world. How hard is it to design an achingly beautiful 3 hand watch? Laurent Ferrier and H. Moser as well as A Lange & Sohne and ofcourse the larger houses like JLC, IWC all have a beautiful 3 hand watch. One of the ingredients that could work for Zenith would be a domed sapphire crystal to extend right to the outer edge of the bezel. Not practical, but who cares if it makes for a gorgeous watch. I personally think they should scrap the Captain line right now, and start again from scratch, with new designs that have the potential to be iconic rather than bland. They successfully reinvented their pilot line with the Type 20 design which is fast becoming iconic.
Anyway, of the three, definitely the middle for me, although I understand a date window is more in demand. I am not usually critical of date windows, but just do not like the design of this one.
Anyway, I am a tad disappointed this year, but still like the general direction that JFD is steering the ship.
Warmest,
Dean
Any compelling novelties from Zenith this year?
For me this year, I must say I am a little disappointed with the Zenith novelties. But there were three that stood out. Firstly the new Captain Central Seconds offered a slight refinement in design on the existing versions. It makes for an attractive 40mm...
I really like the Captain Central Seconds ...
And agree that if they would have skipped the date window, it would have been perfect! Best Blomman
It was a year of polishing and refining...
with little breakthrough pieces, which is probably the reason why the Type 20 Grand Feu was presented - as a show piece. Overall, I liked how Zenith applied little changes and improvements to the collections, particularly to the Captain collection . As Ol...
Polishing and refining
Polishing and refining is all very well if the designs that are being refined are stunning designs that have transformed into the realms of iconic. But the Captain line has always been pleasant, but not achingly desirable. I just wish Zenith would focus o...
I think the company is at a turning point.
Zenith's reboot under the post-Nataf management is complete, and I think this year's novelties represented something of a refractory period. Clearly, the initial work of redesigning the models, realigning the collections, and repositioning the watches in ...
The Annual Calendar
A very perceptive and accurate commentary Tim as always. For me, the Annual Calendar, whether in the Type 20, or the Captain, could be improved upon. I have always liked a perfectly balanced dial, so the position of the day/month window at 3:00pm, and the...
I have to admit I would 'need' a fourth version...
the one on the very left: I just fear that one would need a new movement… Cheers, Magnus ...
I don't 'understand' Zenith
here you have a company with the 'best' (arguably) auto chrono movement in the world, yet consistently 'odd' or off-beat designs... There is nothing absolutely classic in the line up except the El Primero re-issues, redux's, etc, however they too kind of ...
Better still
Maybe a fifth version, a handwound central second with no date. Now, that I would go for without hesitation. Sadly, automatics have been phasing out manual winding for decades now, and I fear it won't be long before they will remain in the domain of just ...
"the domain of just a handful of niche watchmakers"
that could be a very interesting niche, and a niche that I think would be very profitable to fill. And, Zenith considers itself a watchmaker . But in order to substantiate this claim the company needs to gear up a bit. The El Primero is four decades old, ...