My 'new' 57.5 mm Zenith Monte d'Aeronef Type 20

[Mercury2wo]

The Zenith watch that caused a sensation at the SIHH 2012 was the mammoth 57.50 mm Type 20 Pilot housing the historic pocket watch movement 5011 - a 50 mm gentle giant beating at 18,000 vph.
We all know that the 5011 movement has won some 1,700 awards for chronometry out of the 2,600 odd awards won by Zenith totally and was recorded as the most accurate movement every tested by the observatory at Nauchatel!

Zenith is supposed to have found a forgotten batch of some 300 of these movements and they decided to launch their flagship Montre d' Aeronef line with this movement in 2012.

Zenith produced 250 titanium watches as Limited Edition and another small batch of 11 steel and 5 DLC watches for Retailer Zegg and Cerlati, Monaco. All of these were pre-ordered and sold out pretty soon and very few of them started surfacing in the secondary market.

I managed to nab one of the 11 Limited Edition Steel versions recently, but at 57.50 mm, wasn't sure how it would look on my 7.75 inch wrist.
I know it would be BIG and could be worn only on special occasions. But HOW BIG is BIG?

I did a few accurate mock ups first -




Got a few wrist shots from the net and Forum Members to get an idea of the size and wearability



I Finally Pulled the Trigger and here are the pics!


What do you guys think?

[Psmith]

Very impressive - congrats

[Hairdude1]

Very nice

[unknown]

great watch
imo one of the most interesting pieces due to the movement

here's a youtube video showing the huge balance in slow motion :-)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvn4HPklvMc

[unknown]

and some extra info I wrote here when I bought mine :-)


https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=265179

[Mercury2wo]

Originally Posted by unknown

and some extra info I wrote here when I bought mine :-)


https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=265179

I did read this thread several times before I pulled the trigger. You had the luxury of trying it on before buying, I had to buy it long distance and hence many days of agonizing and also mock-ups by cutting a life size and pasting on cardboard and "wearing it around my wrist"
But I am happy with my purchase.

[Scapegoat]

Interesting...

[ThomG]

The movement in that watch is magnificent. The case size would be a bit over the top for me though. However I'm sure it will be a sought-after model as time goes on.

[ming the merciless]

I'm a " Zenith " fan but that's just too big for me. Great watch though and I'm sure it'll be a collectors piece in the future.

[Mercury2wo]

Yep!! It is a bit big and clearly not a daily wearer. Heck! Not even a "once a fortnight" wearer.
And due to the size, I got to treat it like butter.

But then there are days when one feels a bit whimsical - this one is for those days!

[bdex75]

Congrats. Love the story around the movement and the dial. It's just a big hoss.


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[Matt C]

Outstanding model, the Type 20 line is really cool, love the nostalgia. It's a huge watch, but it looks good on your wrist! Nice job!


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[Mercury2wo]

Originally Posted by Matt C

Outstanding model, the Type 20 line is really cool, love the nostalgia. It's a huge watch, but it looks good on your wrist! Nice job!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks!!

[droptopman]

Great story and a great watch with unique pedigree.

Too big for me butvery much appreciated the horological significance.

Big congrats!


Sent using the "Force"

[Mercury2wo]

Originally Posted by droptopman

Great story and a great watch with unique pedigree.

Too big for me butvery much appreciated the horological significance.

Big congrats!


Sent using the "Force"

I agree, it is a bit too big even for my wrists - though I am used to watches greater than 45 mm.

But the significance of this movement, the sheer limited number available (only 400 odd old movements from the 70's Zenith accidentally discovered lying around) and that every new edition Zenith makes using the remaining 5011 movement is now priced well above CHF 100K, made this piece a MUST OWN in my mind.

But yes, I don't wear it often. But when I do, it feels awesome!!

[BigAl72]

That's an awesome looking watch. I could absolutely pull off the size, not sure I could handle the price tag.

[Mercury2wo]

Originally Posted by BigAl72

That's an awesome looking watch. I could absolutely pull off the size, not sure I could handle the price tag.

This model was priced at CHF 12-13K when it was launched a few years back. But very limited quantities and all were sold out pre-launch itself.
These hardly come for sale in the secondary - and I was luck for find a pristine piece like that.

Zenith now has introduced a model every year using the remaining movements(3-10 pieces per model) but all priced exorbitantly - like 100,000 CHF +.
And even that would slowly stop cos they will run out of these old NOS movements soon.

So if you ever see the steel versions available in the wild - I would suggest you nab it.

[sea-dweller]

Looks great!

[Beauregard]

Originally Posted by Mercury2wo

I did read this thread several times before I pulled the trigger. You had the luxury of trying it on before buying, I had to buy it long distance and hence many days of agonizing and also mock-ups by cutting a life size and pasting on cardboard and "wearing it around my wrist"
But I am happy with my purchase.

That is nothing short of brilliant.

[Mercury2wo]

Originally Posted by Beauregard

That is nothing short of brilliant.

Heh! Heh!!
Thanks!!