Zenith Bumper Automatic Cal.133.8 9ct c1954

Zenith

Zenith is one of the oldest watch manufacturers, est.1865 and one of only a handful which has always produced its own movements. The company has an almost unparalleled record of technical achievements and notably, in 1929, Zenith won world renown at Kew Observatory (England), when a Zenith wristwatch won first prize for an accuracy of better than 0.6 seconds per day. During the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Zenith held the lead in producing the most commercially successful and technically advanced, chronograph wristwatches. Later, Zenith became the first in 1969, to develop a high-frequency automatic integrated column-wheel chronograph, powered by the legendary El Primero movement, beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour. This obsession with precision, as well as this constant quest for technical innovation, has been duly rewarded; the Manufacture has been awarded 2,333 chronometry prizes as well as eight medals, making it the most titled brand in the field of precision. The company has also provided a huge number of movements to many other manufacturers for their more technically advanced watches, including even Rolex for their Daytona Chronograph!

Description

The 1950s saw Zenith produce some of the greatest watch movements available from any manufacturer. Zenith watch movements were incredibly advanced and the watch we have here is an excellent example, having a superb Swiss made 9ct yellow gold case and the Calibre 133.8 bumper automatic movement. This military style watch is completely original, unrestored and untouched, yet remains in outstanding condition with wonderful gentle signs of ageing as can be seen in the images.

The Dial

The classic and beautifully styled light coffee dial has wonderful original mixed ‘stud’ hour indices with ‘2 – 4 – 6 – 8 – 10 – 12’ standard Arabic numerals, all matched with the original ‘lance’ hands. This is an impressive dial due to the contrast between the light coffee colour of the dial and the yellow gold of the case and dial furnishings. The dial is original and unrestored and has a wonderful, very even patina with a little light pitting and spotting, as can be seen in the images. However, we believe this adds a unique flare to this watch and looks beautiful on the wrist.

The dial carries the Zenith signature star and is signed ‘Zenith’ and ‘Automatic’ with ‘Swiss’ at the very bottom.

As mentioned above, this dial is original and unrestored and has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original untouched condition.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The original Zenith Calibre 133.8, 20 Jewel bumper automatic movement is as clean as they come. It is also nicely finished with the Geneva wave as used on higher quality movements.

A bumper self-winding movement is wound by means of an oscillating rotor that travels through a 180-degree arc, being arrested by buffer springs that then bounce the rotor back in its original direction. The bounce can just be felt if one rotates the watch slowly from side to side, but in normal use, one is seldom conscious of its ‘pulse’. Indeed it is quite an endearing character of the vintage watch. These watch movements are robust, accurate and reliable making this watch perfectly suitable for both evening wear and everyday use.

This is the original movement, which as can be seen is in sparkling condition having just been fully overhauled and serviced by our Master Watchmaker. This involves complete disassembly of the entire watch movement, close inspection of all critical parts under high magnification and then replacement where necessary, using only original manufacturer parts. Then, lubrication using individually specified lubricants for differing parts of the movement and careful re-assembly before calibration and final testing.

The watch winds and sets smoothly and is currently keeping accurate time consistently to within 12 seconds per day! This is outstanding for any vintage watch of this age and has been tested on our electronic timegrapher. We therefore we have no hesitation in offering this watch with our 12 months warranty*.

The movement is signed ‘Zenith’, ‘Swiss Made’ and ‘20 Jewels’ and also carries the Calibre number 133.8.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Watch Case