Captain Power Reserve

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The purest expression of the Zenith watchmaking heritage
Captain: the very name calls up flights of fancy! It evokes long-distance travel, untamed seas, but also the fabulous fortunes made trading in distant outposts… The status of captain was, in the past, reserved for officers who commanded a royal vessel. Nothing of the art and skill of navigation at sea could remain a mystery to the man who aspired to this position. Captain is also a collection that embodies the highest expression of Zenith'S watchmaking heritage. It encompasses an expertise that, like navigation at sea, is passed on from one generation of watchmaker to the next within the Locle Manufacture. The new collection is enriched with three models with complications: Power reserve, Moonphase and Second time zone.

The three new models are inspired by the Captain line created in 1952, a leading collection of Zenith automatic watches. The 2011 collection holds true to the course of the original models. All the expertise of watchmaking– technique, chronometric performance, and aesthetics – is integrated into these three creations that make clear allusions to historic timepieces, with dauphine hands, facetted with rhodium-plating and long markers that are hand-set. The case is enlarged to its present-day size of 40 mm. The development of this collection has been led by technical and chronometric achievement – just as it was 50 years ago. Equipped with Elite calibers, the models of the new generation benefit from an additional half-century of watchmaking experience. The manufactured movements, decorated with Côtes de Genève and circular-graining are visible through a sapphire case back.

Captain Power Reserve

The power reserve was one of the vital functions of marine chronometers upon which the precise calculation of longitude depended. On board, this instrument was treated with exceptional care; the survival of the whole crew depended on its precision. For the person in charge of its maintenance, the power reserve function meant that the rewinding could be optimized by knowing the precise tension of the barrel spring. This useful function appeared very early in the history of the Zenith Manufacture, which registered an initial patent as early as 1910 to protect this exclusive system. The Captain Power Reserve is equipped with an ultra-thin movement only 4.675 mm thick, with the power reserve indicator positioned at two o'clock and the date at six o'clock. This timepiece is available in three versions with a silver or black “Clou de Paris” guilloché dial, in a steel case or with a silver dial in an 18-carat rose gold case.

-Timeless aesthetics for measuring time-Ultra-thin automatic watch with power reserve and date indicator-Genuine Manufacture movement developed and produced in-house by Zenith

-All the qualities of performance, reliability and precision in an elegant assembly with 179 parts in less than 5 mm with 28,800 vibrations per hour

The three Captains
Designed for men with distinguished taste, each of the three Captains offers an additional useful function. The Captain line associates a stream-lined design and a strong identity; it expresses a very masculine elegance and takes its place in Zenith'S family of “Classical” timepieces. A watch for the high seas, a captain's watch.


Technical dataMovement:
Elite 685, Automatic
Caliber: 11 ½ ``` (Diameter: 25.60 mm)
Height: 4.67 mm
Parts: 179
Jewels: 38
Frequency: 28,800 V/h – (4 Hz)
Anti-shock system
Regulator assembly with fine adjustment
Power reserve of over 50 hours
Automatic winding in both directions
Instant date change
Rapid date reset
Stop-seconds system for setting the time to the nearest secondDecoration:
Circular-graining on plates
“Côtes de Genève” or circular-graining and chamfering on the bridges
Strokes drawn on the hammers, levers and conveyorsOscillating weight:
Central rotor on ball bearings
Metal oscillating weight with guilloché work in a “Côtes de Genève” motif and revelation of the ZENITH star through skeleton workFunctions:
-Central hours and minutes
-Small seconds at 9 o'clock
-Power reserve indicator at 2 o'clock
-Date indicator at 6 o'clockCase:
Diameter: 40 mm
Crystal: Sapphire glass treated with anti-reflection on both sides
Case back: Transparent sapphire glass
Water resistance: 5 ATM / 50 metersAvailable models:
Available in steel and 18-carat rose gold with a silver or black guilloché dial and a brown or black alligator-skin strap