Zenith

Last year I was lucky enough to aquire my first 1964 Zenith, a 9ct gold cased 40T hand wind. I was so impressed by the quality of the movement that I have been on the lookout for an automatic Zenith from the same year ever since.

A couple of weeks ago I found exactly what I was looking for, a 14kt gold cased reference 710A with the reknowned 2542pc automatic movement inside.

Although the 2542pc movement was only made from 1964-1969 it was made in large numbers so is quite a common movement from the period. It has 25 jewels and a beat rate of 21,600 or 6 beats a second.

The movement runs faultlessly with a good power reserve and excellent accuracy.

The case is what really drew me to the watch. it is 33mm wide, pretty standard for the period, has a snap back 'waterproof' case and very unusual lugs. you may be able to see from the pictures that the lugs have an art deco style, but what you cant see is that they don't take regular spring bars. each of the lugs has a short bar where you would normally have a hole for the spring bar. the spring bars the watch came with have hollow ends which fit over these bars making a very secure fitting. I did initially think that this case might have had solid strap bars, but there is no indication that these bars have been cut short in anyway. its the first time I've seen this on a watch.

The dial is very simple, gold with date at 4.30 and an applied star above the Zenith script.

The watch is not perfect as it has a non original crown and the date changes at exactly 6 am. I'll send it for a service and all should be fine.

 

anyway, I have typed enough detail so I will let you enjoy the pictures of a welcome edition to my main collecting theme.

 

But here, for sure, Zenith was never a major player (Omega ruled here during the 40-60's).

Yours looks good. Nothing that a visit to your watchmaker cannot fix.
.
Congratulations and now you need a El Primero.

Cheers,

NIlo

Thanks Nilo,

I agree that i would like a chrono, but an el primero would mean breaking the theme.
I have done it for other watches so never say never, but i would prefer a chrono from 64 i think.
I've had an el primero in the past and they are great watches, just made too late :)

Best
G

I must admit i can't keep count of your 1964 watches .. time for me to come over and admire your collection once again.

Yep the bezel is gold as is the rest of the case.
I dont have a pic of the side of the lugs, but will take one just for you my friend.

G

Here you go, as requested, a pic of the side of the lugs.
Lighting is poor, but it is good enough to see the detail.

Best
G

.. find the nice stuff, i love those lugs !

I'm not sure its knowledge Bim, its more the luck of the gods.
I now have 50 from 1964 and not planning on stopping :)

G

No message body

Wear it in health.

Thanks Joe and no prizes for guessing who the purist with the S58 was :)

I think they are a great brand, but with one hand wind and one auto i'm about done unless i find a nice chrono from 64.

There are other brands i dont have such as IWC, Heuer et al so i just need the funding and i'm home and dry :)

Best
G

No message body

Thanks watchlux,
I have a theme i try to stick too and its nice when i find such good pieces to fit into it.
Lots of good things were made or started in 1964 :)

Best
G

Seriously ,,,,you have impecable taste ,,,these watches are stunning,did the lizard straps come w/ the watch???? Please enjoy ,,,they are sooooooo appealing,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Mark

Hi Mark,
Generally i will buy a lizard strap for my dressier watches, but the auto zenith is on the strap it came on. I cant actually remember what the 40t is on.

I like to think i have taste although the year i collect has a vast range of dressier gold watches so the taste comes with the age i think :)

Best
Graham

G99.............Finally we have proper proportion of watch to wrist size ,,,,,,meaning ,,in my opinion ,your watch ,,besides being exquisite, and absolutely Stunning, you have a watch that actually fits the proportion size of a wrist.....Congratulations on this wonderful Masterpiece....I LOVE it....Mark

I have an 18kt cased Olympic chrono dating from 1940 with lugs that have short gold spigots to hold hollow spring bars.   One of the spigots broke off and it was not an easy welding task for the specialist case repairer.   The repair was made more difficult because the gold lugs were hollow to save gold in manufacture.   The case repair was also a gamble because the case was quite thin and may have collapsed in the necessary heat.   Any way it paid off and the guy did a ssplendid job and made a new spigot.   Just have to be extremely careful changing a watch strap.   I was told that similar spigots were not that uncommon.   Drilling out the lug for a modern spring bar was not an option.

thanks for the information.

Graham