COLOUR IS BANG ON TREND

Zenith specialises in vintage-style pilot timepieces and has unveiled a range of watches with colourful straps and dials in far more “reasonable” sizes than their predecessors.

Unisex sizes and colour ranges are two major trends that rocked 2017’s BaselWorld. Zenith is nailing the trends with a smaller version of its famous pilot watch which usually comes in large sizes (e.g. the 45mm Pilot Type 20 GMT and Pilot Ton-Up, 48mm Pilot Type 20 Annual Calendar and 60mm Pilot Type 20 Tribute to Louis Blériot).

The new kid on the block is the Pilot Type 20 Extra Special 40mm and, as the name suggests, it has a vintage steel 40mm case. The size is ideal for both men and women and is bound to please fans of the Pilot Type 20.

The Pilot Type 20 Extra Special 40mm is a collection in itself as it features four trend-setting models in four colours: burgundy, saffron, khaki and royal blue. They may be classics but they’re bold statements in the otherwise black and white (anything from glistening silver to ivory) world of watchmaking.

The new Zenith case houses the Elite 679 calibre. The self-winding mechanical movement made in the brand’s Le Locle workshops fuels the “simple” functions (hours, minutes and seconds in the centre of the dial) and a power reserve that lasts over 50 hours.

Three of the grained dials on the Pilot Type 20 Extra Special 40mm quartet match their nubuck straps whilst the saffron model has a slate grey dial. Otherwise, the timepiece is true to its pilot watch roots (e.g. the fluted ball crown at 3 on the case side): large Arabic numerals coated in beige Super-LumiNova and “cathedral” hands with a sandy luminescent coating.

Price: 5,900 CHF zenith.com

By Sharmila Bertin