Zenith Heritage Pilot Extra Special Chronograph Watch

Zenith-Heritage-Pilot-Extra-Special-Chronograph

If you are eager to have a special watch, the zenith you are full of a whole line of aviation-themed watches, including new – for – 2017 zenith legacy pilots especially in bronze chronograph. It seems a long way to go: the case of bronze, the huge onion crown and the promoter, the huge luminous figure, a reliable high-beat El first movement. Its price is tempting.Zenith-Heritage-Pilot-Extra-Special-Chronograph

 

Zenith has been a bit all over the place lately but something we all appreciated was its getting more creative with its pilot watches as well as bronze as a case material. Consequently, it was – we had hoped – only a matter of time before these came together in a Zenith watch in a way that made sense. At 45mm wide, the Zenith Heritage Pilot Extra Special Chronograph is big, but not as unrealistically and ridiculously so as, say, this bad boy from two years ago. For a chronograph, the case is a manageable 14.25mm thick, and it features a domed sapphire crystal with AR coating on both sides, sports a solid titanium case back with the Zenith flying instruments logo, and has two large pushers and a massive onion crown to go with the aviation theme, all crafted from bronze.Zenith-Heritage-Pilot-Extra-Special-Chronograph

 

We have discussed pilot’s watches so many times that, at this point, we feel comfortable with simply saying that Zenith appears to have really nailed it with this latest piece – finally. The Super-LumiNova C1 Arabic numerals and the long and wide, gold-plated hands all enforce the aviation theme while a fun fact to bear in mind is that Zenith I recall to be the only watch brand to have trademarked the use of the word “Pilot” on its watch faces. Whether that trademark is still in effect or not we’ll ask Zenith, at for long Zenith has been the only one to call a pilot watch just that on the dial.Zenith-Heritage-Pilot-Extra-Special-Chronograph

 

On a side note, this particular Zenith Heritage Pilot Extra Special Chronograph perpetuates what seems to be a recent trend in luxury watches and that is doubling up on names and other bragging rights. While there really isn’t much text on the dial, 2 out of 4 lines are dedicated to convincing us that this really is a “Montre d’Aeronef” or “Pilot” watch. We get it, Zenith.Zenith-Heritage-Pilot-Extra-Special-Chronograph

 

In Zenith’s images, the dial either shows up satin dark or, as in the image above, as a surface with some finely grained, partly reflective coating on it. The way this works with the rest of the dial elements as well as the bronze case could really make or break the overall design, which is yet another reason I personally am looking forward to seeing this watch in the metal at BaselWorld soon.Zenith-Heritage-Pilot-Extra-Special-Chronograph

 

Bronze, rather than frequently used materials for the pilot watch in general, is undoubtedly a popular these days, materials, as rugged and relatively untreated on the surface, it really looks like the best use when practical design The Water resistance is one of the most popular 100 meters (it should be the industry standard in any observation that costs more than $ 300 but it is not, so we stress it) so if you take this swim you only need to consider the case of oxidation, Worried about the water.Zenith-Heritage-Pilot-Extra-Special-Chronograph

 

The movement is the 4069 variant of the El Primero, it measures 30mm wide, is 6.6mm, has 254 components including a column wheel and, but of course, runs at 5Hz for approximately 50 hours. It’s decorated in the usual Zenith fashion, but you won’t see that for the solid titanium case-back.Zenith-Heritage-Pilot-Extra-Special-Chronograph

 

Sold on an oiled green nubuck leather strap with rubber lining, the Zenith Heritage Pilot Extra Special Chronograph will be priced at $7,100 – that’s $1,500 less than this 38mm Zenith El Primero Original 1969 watch in steel that has a pretty much identical movement but with a steel case. That massive price difference clearly indicates Zenith scaling back on pricing, and that’s a good thing.