This Zenith Sporto is ideal for anyone who wants a manual wind, sporty, 1950’s Swiss watch – but from a not obvious brand.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
Dating Zenith watches is not always straightforward, but we know this movement was launched in 1953 and the serial number system used on this case stopped being used in 1963. That gives us a ten year window, but in Rossler’s book on Zenith they say the Sporto models were launched mid fifties, and quote from a 1955 advert that the Sporto model is 100% manufactured in house with tolerances of one thousandth of a millimetre. In 1958 the manual wind Sporto was replaced with the AutoSporto. so this watch must have been made between 1955 and 1958.
CONDITION
1955 was a good year for Zenith. Their calibre 135 watches were cleaning up in all the horological competitions that were held to measure how good timekeeping for different brands were, so in order to make the most of the good publicity the Sporto range was developed. This watch uses calibre 120, an 18 jewel manual wind movement that has one one unusual feature – under the case back is an exhibition case to further protect the watch, but allow people to see the movement working as a see through dust cover. The case is 40 micron plated, which is double the thickness of good gold plating, and the bezel is gold filled. It has stood up well, and this is proven by the dent on the top left lug not going through the gold plating. The crown is worn and has lost the plating though. The original dial has a bit of patina and staining, but it is not bad. The chestnut brown leather strap is new, and could be swapped for a different colour or material if preferred. The watch is signed on the dial, case and movement.
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 36.3 mm
Width without crown 33.6 mm
Between lugs 17 mm
Lug to lug length 39.1 mm
Case Thickness 10.0 mm
All sizes are approximate. The watch is photographed on a wrist of 190mm/7.5 inches.
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.
