by Kyle Stults on October 22, 2011
Many a watch come along that I feel strongly compelled to own, but this new Zenith Captain Winsor is now at the top of my wish list. The exciting aspect of this exciting new watch lies in its architecture — the piece is a collaboration between Zenith and the Musée International d’Horlogerie (MIH). Yes, this is the same MIH as in “the MIH watch” — a little-known favorite of many a serious watch collector. While certainly not a grand looking (nor grandly priced) watch, the MIH watch is reputed for its supremely simple annual calendar module designed by Master Watchmaker Ludwig Oechslin. Oechslin’s annual calendar module uses a simplified disc mechanism comprising only 9 moving parts — typically added on top of the ETA 7750 caliber. Genius! However, for the Zenith Captain Winsor Annual Calendar watch — instead of a run-of-the-mill ETA 7750, Oechslin built his annual calendar module on top of Zenith’s legendary El Primero movement. Double Genius! In short — I agree with Hodinkee’s Ben Clymer all the way on this one!
Price-wise, the Zenith Winsor Annual Calendar will set you back $8,700 for the steel model (silvered or midnight blue dial), $18,800 in rose gold — a nice price for such a compelling combination. One steel case/silver dial model, please!
Zenith Captain Winsor Annual Calendar
42mm steel or rose-gold case, automatic mechanical El Primero 4054 caliber, oscillating weight with côtes de genève pattern; ; fitted on black or brown alligator strap with protective rubber lining and matching buckle
Looking closely at the dial, you can see nicely contrasting finishes – a centre section of guilloché and a broad, satin-finished outer ring. Note also the 2-chronograph sub-dials, “annual calendar” notation at the top of the dial, and the calendar functions (day, date, month):
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