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 ’50s, Zenith held the lead in producing the most commercially successful and technically advanced, chronograph wristwatches. Later, in 1969, Zenith became the first 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
Here we have a beautiful 1960s 18ct pink gold gentlemans Zenith dress watch. The beautiful ‘dauphine’ hands and subsidiary seconds dial lend it more than a flavour of the classic 1950s style from the previous decade.
Notable features of this watch are its excellent size for the period at 35mm, the rare 18ct pink gold case and its pristine movement. This watch also has an unrestored dial which is completely original and untouched. Considering the age of the watch, this is in remarkably fine condition. This watch also comes complete with an original Zenith signed gold-plated buckle.
The Dial
The classic and beautifully styled ivory cream dial has applied pink gilt ‘baton’ hour indices, matched with original, restored gilt 1950s faceted ‘dauphine’ hands. This is an impressive dial, partly due to its size, but also because of the contrasts between the ivory cream of the dial and the pink gold of the case and pink gilt dial furnishings.
The dial carries the Zenith signature and star below the ’12’ at the top of the dial and a subsidiary seconds dial at the bottom above the ‘6’. Although the dial is unrestored, the lens has been replaced by a new original Zenith replacement part.
This dial is original to this watch and unrestored and untouched. It also remains in exceptionally good condition considering the age of the watch. Normally a dial of this age will have been subject to damage caused by a combination of sunlight, moisture and pollution, in the form of fading, staining, spotting, freckling, and pitting. The dial can also be scratched by careless removal of the hands and dial during servicing. Here however, this dial has almost none of this, with only one or two of the faintest marks, hardly visible to the naked eye.
Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we offer here. However in this instance, we decided that due to its exceptional condition and to retain its originality and charm for the many collectors who prefer this, we would leave it untouched. It also helps to offer a contrast with most of the other watches you see on our website, which have their dials restored.
If you particularly like this watch and you would prefer to have the dial restored, please contact us to enquire as this can be arranged at cost price.
The Watch Case
The 18ct pink gold, Zenith Swiss-made watch case measures 35mm, excluding the crown. When new, typical gents watch sizes were 32mm, 33mm and 34mm, so 35mm and 36mm watches were usually classed as ‘Oversize’ and much fewer of these were made. This example is doubly rare because not only is it made in pink gold, it is in immaculate condition. The watch case has been professionally cleaned before being carefully inspected and very gently hand-polished, which was all that was required to bring it back to its current tip-top condition with no scratches, dings or other marks visible to the naked eye.
The inside of the case-back is signed ‘Zenith’ and ‘Swiss Made’ with Swiss Geneva 18ct hallmarks. Externally, the case carries the serial number 664925.
Please note, as ever our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.
The Movement
The Zenith Calibre 40 movement was a development of, and closely related to the Zenith Cal.126-6 hand-wound movement. Zenith produced a total of 156,000 Calibre 40 movements between 1955-1960 and remained in use from stock until the mid-1960s. This calibre was fitted with an Incabloc shock protected balance and was highly successful for Zenith.
The example here is plated in beryllium-bronze and as can be seen, is in wonderful condition. The movement has just been fully overhauled and serviced by our watchmaker which means fully dismantling the watch and movement, ultrasonic cleaning of all parts, inspection to the critical surfaces under high magnification, with replacement as required with genuine new original parts, then careful reassembly and oiling, using all the correct lubricants to manufacturer’s specification before final testing and calibration. This watch is now running perfectly, having been calibrated and timed at +2 seconds per day! This timing is truly amazing for any watch of this age and has been confirmed 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 ‘17 Jewels’ and carries both the Calibre number and the reference number 4565485, dating the watch to 1964.
*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.
The strap fitted is a new high quality brandy Alligator strap with a Zenith gold-plated buckle. If a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige, free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown burgundy and black straps in stock, in plain, padded leather, alligator, crocodile or lizard skin.
The Box and Papers
Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating the watch to 1964.
Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.
The watch also comes complete with the high quality hardwood presentation box shown in the photographs.
In Conclusion
This is a very impressive oversized 18ct pink gold vintage Zenith dress watch, which is ready to wear and very practical for everyday use. If treated with care, this watch will make an excellent investment or heirloom piece. Zenith has always benefitted from a first class reputation for the superb quality of its vintage watch movements and just like Longines, Zenith watches have also been noticeably increasing in value of late.
A word about our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring these to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post sales care and service. This approach inevitably means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are a number of well-known stores in West London which are very successful, charging between two to three times the price you see here. We therefore consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.
We are happy to accept PayPal as this is the quickest method of payment. However, if you wish to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to pass on a 3% transaction saving to you. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or International Bank Wire Transfer, we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.
Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and unfortunately out of our control.
We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges, however attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.
For those that happen to visit the UK on occasion we are of course more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London and deliver your watch directly to you there.
Please note, we also welcome part exchanges and if you have a watch or small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.
We will be happy to Service, Repair or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.
If you have any questions, please call: 020 7727 7095. If calling from overseas: +44 207 727 7095.
We will be happy to answer any questions and offer advice about this or any of our watches listed for sale. If you would like some general advice regarding any aspect of vintage watches, including buying, selling, or collecting, we will also be very happy to hear from you. We await your call!
Finally, please enjoy some time spent viewing our other fine vintage gold watches!
Thank you.
Andrew M via feefo 
3rd December 2024 
JLC1891 
