Introducing The Zenith Pilot Montre DAeronef Type 20 GMT 1903, A Tribute To The Wright Brothers

January 07, 2014

Zenith Pilot Montre DAeronef Type 20 GMT 1903 Zenith has quickly built up its current Pilot collection of watches after starting with only one provocative 57.5mm model. What youre looking at here is the latest Zenith Pilot, which pays tribute to the Wright Brothers first heavier-than-air flight on Kitty Hawk beach in 1903. It is limited to (not surprisingly) 1,903 pieces, and Zenith has dubbed it the Pilot Montre DAeronef Type 20 GMT 1903. We anticipate a shortened nickname in the near future for that mouthful, but for now were going with 1903."A 48mm titanium case with DLC coating houses Zeniths own automatic Elite Dual Time Calibre 693. The five-times sandblasted dial stares up at you through a box-shaped sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides. Youve got hours, minutes, and small seconds in the sub dial at 9 oclock. A red-tipped 24-hour second time zone indicator runs around the dials perimeter once per day. Flip it over to see a caseback decorated with the Zenith Flying Instruments logo and the Wright Flyer I in midflight. There is the obvious oversized crown, and a pusher at 10 oclock to adjust the second time zone on the fly. The whole thing is attached to a meaty bund-style strap of beige-colored suede. Closer Look At The?Pilot Montre DAeronef Type 20 GMT 1903's Dial The 1903s strap, even if it wont be protecting your wrist from extreme temperatures, really goes well with the ensemble and makes the overall watch appear rather a little bit rock n' roll. Eric Singer, the Zenith-collecting drummer for KISS, is definitely a fan. Erics been a collector of Zenith for decades, has close to a dozen pieces in his collection, and particularly loves the three Pilot watches he owns, including that first 57.5mm beast.When they came out with that giant one last year, that one definitely peaked everybodys interest, he told HODINKEE. I mean, as soon as I saw it it was like, Wow, Ive gotta get this watch! This watch is just too cool! Its not practical to wear because its so giant, but its just an awesome-looking watch.We know the idea of putting on a 57.5mm watch may horrify certain lovers of tastefully conservative proportions, and Singer gets it. A lot of the time I look at watches like art, you know? Sometimes watches arent just about telling time always, sometimes theyre about enjoying the aesthetics of itwhich seems crazy to some people that you wouldnt buy a watch to wear it, because most people think you should wear everything, and I can see their point. But for me, sometimes you can buy it just because you enjoy it. Patinated Numerals And Vintage Style Hands Zenith gets this and theyve playfully mixed modern techniques and materials with vintage styling and targeted distressing throughout the 1903. The stylized Arabic hour markers look particularly sharp. Even though modern Superluminova is used in the process, they come out looking like weathered radium numerals. The process creates a nuanced kind of antiquing thats unique to each numeral, and so no two dials will be exactly alike.After getting drawn in with that first piece, Singer quickly picked up some of the "smaller" 48mm pieces that were added to the family. I went to Basel(world) this year, so I saw the other new Pilots, and I was just really impressed that they decided to make them a little more user-friendly, in the sense that the size is a little more practical. Hes equally enthused about the prospect of that case being mated to a rugged-looking bund strap. While a Pilot watch may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Zenith, a little more recognition is probably deserved. If youre chatting with someone who knows little about watches, you would probably want to introduce them to Zenith by going straight for all your El Primero talking points. Valid and interesting these would be, no doubt. Dont forget, though, that Zenith was involved with aeronautics decades and decades before the El Primero came upon the scene in all its self-winding glory. Zenith made gauges to go in planes, watches to go on pilots wrists, and was of course involved in the obligatory historical aerial adventures. They are the real deal, not just a company trying to cash in on one isolated historical event or newspaper clipping that can be leveraged into creating an entire family of watches. Singer sums it up nicely for us: People dont realize theyre the only company thats allowed to put the word Pilot on a dial of a watch. For the money its a great value watch just in generalit looks great, great quality, in house movement. To me, its kind of a blend of contemporary and vintage all in one.The 1903 seems to be a well-conceived limited edition piece that will help round out the Pilot family of watches. Well reserve final judgment until we see the actual price from Zenith, which they say will be announced sometime in January. Of the 1,903 pieces, our friends in Le Locle wont say exactly how many are destined for the US, but inside sources estimate around 10% will wind up on our shores. For more details, visit Zenith online.