Only super-collectors, historians and industry experts in the hallowed halls of Swiss horology will even recall the existence of Zenith’s Calibre 135-O movements.
They were developed as part of the production of Calibre 135 movements, which were used in Zenith watches in the mid-20th century.
But the O made them special.
The O movements were never used in commercial timepieces.
They were produced for the sole purpose of winning chronometry competitions, which were instrumental in driving up watchmaking standards at the time.
The Calibre 135-O is the most decorated movement in Zenith’s vaunted history, winning no fewer than 230 chronometry prizes, more than any observatory chronometer calibre in the history of watchmaking.
Fast forward to the 2020s and Philips’ Phillips auctioneer’s heads of watches, Aurel Bacs and Alexandre Ghotbi, had an idea.
“Wouldn’t it be great to do a sort of super limited edition with Calibre 135?” Mr Bacs mused.
Since he is close to Zenith CEO Julien Tornare, a plan started to form.
“I’ve known Aurel Bacs and Alexandre Ghotbi for years. We’ve had discussions about Zenith’s patrimony and what were the hidden treasures that remained to be uncovered. Specifically, they asked about the Calibre 135. Then I had the idea, why don’t we collaborate with Phillips to create a special series around this movement? The beauty of having such a rich patrimony as Zenith’s is to share it,” Mr Tornare expresses.
The Calibre 135-O movements would need a master watchmaker’s skills to restore and craft them into beautiful, precision instruments.
Who better than Kari Voutilainen, the teams from Zenith and Phillips thought. And so, the three way partnership was formed that would bring the movements back to life, and install them for the first time in commercial wristwatches.
“These calibres were made for competitions. They were not made to be worn or to be aesthetically pleasing. So, if we’re going to make a wristwatch out of this legendary calibre, who should we ask to take it to the next level? Immediately we said, Kari Voutilainen. He’s an absolute master,” Mr Ghotbi recalls.
Ten movements were chosen from 1950 to 1954, when the 135-O won the competition five years in a row thanks to year-round tuning and testing at the time by Zenith’s Laboratoire de Chronométrie.
Under the loupe of Mr Voutilainen, the movements were both restored to their precise best, but also refinished and decorated with an artistry that was never part of the 135’s preparation for the 1950s utilitarian chronometry competitions.
“The persons working on these movements were the best watchmakers at the time. They had the know-how to make things precise. That precision doesn’t disappear after 70 years. Our duty was not to touch that performance,” Mr Voutilaninen says.
Zenith x Kari Voutilainen Calibre 135 Observatoire
Ten watches have been produced with the movements, all in circular 38mm platinum cases.
They have sterling silver black guilloché dials with central hours and minutes and a small seconds sub dial at 6 o’clock.
The dials were also produced at Voutilainen’s atelier.
And so, arguably Zenith’s most collectible contemporary watch, the Calibre 135 Observatoire Limited Edition was born.
Where and how the watches will come to market, and what price, has not been revealed but, one thing is certain, the world’s leading collectors will be watching in anticipation.
