A nice Zenith watch from towards the end of the war, this is a good find without spending too much.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
From the serial number on the movement we can date this watch to being made in the mid 1940’s. This movement design was in production between 1934 and 1953, but the serial number is more reliable to narrow that date down. It was only after WW2 that case serial numbers started to be used, and this watch does no have case serial numbers.
CONDITION
This watch has Zenith’s calibre 12-4-P movement fitted, which was also specified in the German military watches Zenith were commissioned to make (they have black dials and a stamped number on the screw down case back starting with D, so we are certain this was not a military watch.) The hand wind movement is working well and keeping good time just as it should be – this movement was developed by Blancpain for Zenith. The case is chrome plated with a stainless steel case back, which was a common combination when stainless steel was mainly heading to the military on both sides during WW2 – both the German army watches and some of the dirty dozen British military watches used plated base metal cases. The gold plated crown is a later replacement. The off white dial is very clean for a watch of this age, with just a little patina. There is no lume on either the dial or hands. The leather strap is new, and could be swapped for a different colour if preferred.
This watch will be supplied with our branded presentation box and our Certificate of Authenticity.
Please see the HD video for more detail. All photos and videos are part of the description and are of the actual watch unless mentioned. We do not photoshop any pictures, and the images are copyright of birthyearwatches.com and should not be used without permission.
SIZE
Width with crown 35.0 mm
Width without crown 33.3 mm
Between lugs 17 mm
Lug to lug length 41.5 mm
Case Thickness 11.5 mm
All sizes are approximate.
Included with this watch is a 3 month guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses. If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries. Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us. Payment can be made by most credit or debit cards, bank transfer or PayPal.
From 1st September 2021 we will be planting a tree for every watch we sell, working with the International Tree Foundation (Est 1922) to make this business positive on carbon. By buying anything pre owned you are effectively reusing what already exists, but this takes it further and makes us feel good.
