Zenith are known for many accolades throughout their history. Not only did they produce some of the best chronograph movements in watchmaking history, they have captured the attention of many collectors during their lifetime. It is special to be able to see the breadth and abilities of the brand manifested in a single watch, and that certainly is the watch covered today.

Zenith was founded in 1865 by Georges Favre-Jacot in Le Locle, Neuchâtel in Switzerland and is known for being one of the oldest continuously operating watchmakers. Believe it or not, Favre-Jacot is known for really starting the concept of “in-house movements”. He believe that to produce watches of the highest quality, one had to control their entire production process. Favre-Jacot was only 22 at the time - talk about wisdom.

Just 35 years after being founded, Zenith ended up participating in the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition where they won their first award for chronometry. They continued to innovate throughout the 1900’s, winning top awards like the Neuchatel Observatory prizes with their Caliber 135, five year in a row from 1950 to 1954.

Part of their journey to modern day watchmaking, Zenith, like many other brands, did not produce a single style of watch. They too experimented with different designs of cases. This watch features a stainless steel, rectangular case. Zenith produced many rectangular-shaped watches throughout its history, many of them on the smaller side. The watch has a slopped-style case, where the lugs angle towards the wearers wrist. Looking at the watch from the side, the case is slightly curved, so overall the watch hugs the wrist lightly. It has fixed spring bars, something that was more common in the 20’s and 30’s.

The dial features a very sharp sector dial, with a minutes track circling the outside of the square dial. Inside the minute track are hour markers that still retain much of the luminescent material that original were on the watch. The hour markers have faded to a dark brown colour that give the watch a nice look. At 6 o’clock, the dial has a seconds sub-dial, with a similar outer track that marks the 60 seconds in a minute. The blue-steeled hands also retain much of their lume, giving it a very attractive look that matches the hours indicators.

The watch has an unsigned crown which is typical of these models from Zenith. The crystal does have a slight crack in it at 11 o’clock. The case does show signs of wear which is to be expected being an almost 100 year old watch. The watch has quite a military feel to it, given the sector dial and fixed spring bars, so the wear on the watch matches the aesthetic of the watch quite nicely.

The beating heart of this incredible watch is the caliber 8 3/4 F movement. Based on advertisements as well as historical sales of other Zenith watches, the movement appears to have been popular in the 1930’s. The serial number on the movement of this watch dates the piece to 1936. Records show that the 8 3/4 F and 8 3/4 NSI (round shaped movement) were produced between 1921 and 1955 and 40,200 movements were produced. The movement in this watch has a tonneau shape, and has a nickel-tone finish to it. Zenith also produced these movements with plane steel finishes. The name, 8 3/4 is actually the measurement of the movement in lignes.

Flipping a watch case over to see if there are more details about the watches life is always an exciting thing to do. The stainless steel caseback has an engraved dedication to “Upomika na Rodici 1937”. This likely is Slovak for “In Memory, from the Parents 1937”. Now it is extremely important to note that European history comes into play to understand the history of this watch. Eastern Europe was impacted heavily from World War I and World War II. In 1918, Czechoslovakia was declared independent from Austria-Hungry, forming their own country. During that time, they were a democratic republic and the capital was Prague. They spoke Czeckoslovak which is likely the language of the caseback engraving. Then, in 1938 following the Munich Agreement, part of the country because part of Nazi Germany and did not exist because of the occupation between 1939 and 1945. Once the war ended, Slovakia became independent once again but some parts of the country became part of the Ukrainian SSR.

Where exactly this watch was during this time is unknown. But, the inscription on the back could point to it being sold and gifted right in the heart of Czechoslovakia during one of the worst times in the history of humanity. It was also a gift from parents to what was likely their son (or daughter). What happened to these individuals during World War II is also unknown, but in a unique way the watch also carries the weight of what could have happened to them, and happened to so many others.

Watches are beautiful. You would not be reading this article if you disagreed. This Zenith has a beautiful look, feel, and personality about it. The sector dial is a wonder to look down to when it is on the wrist. What is unique about the watch though is how a simple engraving likely could point to an incredible amount of significant history the watch carries. That history is how Europe changed over 50 years of war in the region the watch likely spent most of its life. And it also is a symbol for a relationship between parents and children which are so important.

Enjoy!