As ever a forerunner in its chosen field, Zenith became right from the early 20th century one of the first companies to produce flight instruments to equip the planes and airships of the first aviation pioneers. The Manufacture thus earned the status of a must-have companion for these skyborne adventurers who reached what then seemed unreachable stars. Louis Blériot had his Zenith watch firmly strapped to his watch when he flew over the Channel in 1909, as did Léon Morane who a year later became the first pilot ever to fly at a speed of more than 100 km/h.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the Montre d’Aéronef Zenith Type 20 equipped a number of aircraft, including the famous Caudron Simoun C.635 planes used by the French airforce for training purposes, and by the Air Bleu postal company for international and transatlantic routes. Decades later, the contemporary Pilot Montre d’Aéronef has learned lessons from the past to represent a modern-day embodiment of precision and reliability.
The new Pilot Montre d’Aéronef Type 20 “40 mm Lady” is no exception to the rule. It features a generous 40 mm case equipped with a ratcheted crown evoking historical aviator watches, while the Zenith Flying Instruments logo engraved on the case-back serves as an unequivocal reminder of the origins of this timepiece.
The models comes in four versions: a full-set version, in rose or white gold, and a case-set version, in rose gold or steel. In the full-set versions, the dial, bezel and lugs are adorned with 491 diamonds (approx. 3 carats). The Pilot Montre d’Aéronef Type 20 “40 mm Lady” showcases the original large Arabic numerals made from blocks of SuperLuminova to ensure optimal readability in even the most extreme situations.
Beneath this composition water-resistant to 100 metres beats the automatic Elite 681 movement driving a small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock. A beige or black satin strap fitted with a pin buckle sets the finishing touch to these models.
