Zenith - A Horological Tribute to Christopher Columbus
WORLDTEMPUS - 30 September 2010
Greenwich, just outside of London, is a spot on this earth that many horological enthusiasts have made a pilgrimage to: not only is the Royal Observatory there the home of the Prime Meridian; its wonderfully curated museum also houses all four of John Harrison's majestic H series chronometers—timepieces that were destined to change the course of navigational and horological history.
Jean-Frederic Dufour, CEO of Zenith, chose this spot fraught with horological history to present the culmination of five years of work masterminded by the venerable brand's head of movements Yves Corthesy. Though the idea of this project was originally introduced two years ago under the auspices of former CEO Thierry Nataf as the Defy Xtreme Tourbillon Zero-G, it was not brought to full working fruition. Dufour and Corthesy picked up the idea and reworked it to produce this more classically styled version housed in a traditional 45 mm case outfitted with a decidedly untraditional sapphire crystal. The latter features excrescent domes on both sides at the 6 o'clock position to accommodate the gyroscopic escapement module. This double-axis regulating organ comprising a cage of 166 components, ten conical gear wheels, six spherical wheels, and six ball bearings is gimbaled like a marine chronometer of yore to ensure perfect horizontal positioning regardless of the position of the wearer's wrist. The result is much like that of a theoretical tourbillon: the escapement remains in optimal position defying gravity to ensure an even rate and thus better-than-chronometer accuracy. In fact, in all six regulated positions, Caliber Academy 8804, which beats at Zenith's hallmark frequency of 36,000 vph, the timing confirmed by rate-counting machinery proves that there is no change in rate. In five of the positions, it is regulated to -1 second per day, while in the sixth position it is regulated to a zero delta.
The name of this extreme collector's piece limited to just 25 pieces worldwide and retailing for 209,000 Swiss francs was not chosen arbitrarily: Christophe Colomb. Dufour explained that at the beginning of the twentieth century, Zenith had already produced a Lepine pocket watch chronometer containing an escapement found by the company's historian to be named the Echappement Colomb (Columbus Escapement). This chronometer was awarded three first prizes by the Neuchâtel observatory and a Class A certificate from the Kew observatory in Teddington. Columbus having been a pioneer fits into Dufour's grand master plan for the immediate future of Zenith, which—having remastered the classic history of the brand in addition to its high-speed chronographs within the last eighteen months—will now build a third line called Legends that takes modern-day pioneering feats into consideration. "Pioneers have allowed humanity to move forward," Dufour enthusiastically explained. "And I always need to move forward as well."
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