In 1888, watch manufacturer Zenith filed a trademark for the French term “Pilote”. Fifteen years later it followed suit in English with the word “Pilot” in 1904. The quick history lesson is to showcase how far back the watchmaker’s history with the aviation world goes.
Over the past century-and-a-bit Zenith would become one of the preeminent makers of specialized watches and dashboard instruments for pilots. Flash forward to today and the luxury Swiss brand has unveiled the latest generation of its iconic Pilot collection.
Entirely redesigned from scratch, the all-new Pilot collection foregoes the vintage aesthetic for something that draws inspiration from the entire span of aviation – past and present.
Incorporating the essential features of durability, legibility and intuitiveness, there are plenty of nods to the earlier design codes, but now revisited in a more contemporary context.
The Pilot Automatic is the template for the new generation of Zenith Pilot watches.
Revisiting the collection’s aesthetic codes in an outstanding silhouette full of subtle details, it comes in a surprisingly reduced 40mm case – in either stainless steel or black ceramic. The all-new case design features a distinct flat-top round bezel fixed on top of the rounded case, and th
The key design takeaway is the oversized crown – a defining feature of Pilot watches – which takes on a more modern, angular form, but remaining easy to operate (even with pilot gloves on).
The Zenith Pilot collection simply wouldn’t be complete without a chronograph reference. And for this latest iteration, ZENITH has gone a step further by developing a new version of its El Primero 3600 calibre, with a host of new functions that have been specifically conceived for the Pilot.