Zenith Pilot Montre D'Aéronef Type 20 GMT
Taking design cues from vintage pilot watches and vintage aircraft dashboards, the oversized Zenith Pilot Montre D'Aéronef Type 20 GMT makes a statement on the wrist. If you're a fan of large vintage-style pilot watches, this is a watch not to be missed. Let's find out more. Zenith PILOT TYPE 20 Replica
A Brief History of Zenith Pilot's Watches Unbeknownst to some, Zenith has trademarked the Pilot name associated with the watch (it's the only brand that can use "Pilot" on the dial). This speaks to the long history of the Swiss watch brand in making aviation timepieces.
In 1909, Louis Blériot became the first person to fly across the English Channel in a Blériot XI wooden plane. During the historic flight, the Frenchman wore a Zenith watch on his wrist with a stainless steel case, a large onion-shaped crown that can be operated with gloves, and a watch with large hands and numerals on the black dial for optimum legibility.
The following year, Zenith began producing cockpit instruments such as altimeters and stopwatches for the nascent aviation industry, and continued for five years. In 1939, the French Air Force began installing Montre d'Aéronef 20 hand-wound clocks ("montre d'déronef" is French for "aircraft clock") on many of their aircraft dashboards. These clocks include a knurled bezel for winding and setting the clock, as well as oversized luminous Arabic numerals and hands.
To design its collection of modern pilot Best replica watches, Zenith clearly took elements from Blériot's watches and the French military's dashboard clocks.
Zenith Pilot Montre D'Aéronef Type 20 GMT In 2012, Zenith launched the limited-edition Pilot Montre d'Aéronef Type 20 watch, only 250 pieces, to commemorate its history of making military-spec aviation instruments. With its massive 57.5mm case and retro vibe, this watch sold out before it was officially released. The unprecedented success of this watch paved the way for the now regularly produced Pilot Montre d'Aéronef Type 20 watch collection, which has a slightly smaller case and offers a range of different complications. What's more, 2010 also marked the revival of the Zenith Pilot's Watch collection, which has now become a strong line-up of aviation-inspired watches in a variety of materials, sizes and functions.
The Zenith Pilot Montre D'Aéronef Type 20 GMT is one of the first models to launch the new Zenith Montre D'Aéronef collection. The watch features a 48mm stainless steel case with a characteristic knurled onion winding crown. The black dial features large Arabic numerals and an oversized cathedral-style central hand in the same style as the original Zenith car clock from the 1930s, but with the running seconds subdial placed at 9 o'clock instead of 6 o'clock.replica breitling
A dual-hour watch, the Pilot Montre D'Aéronef Type 20 GMT includes a large red-tipped skeletonized hand that points to a 24-hour scale on the periphery of the dial to indicate the second time zone.
Red-tipped pointer indicates second time zone The case pusher at 10 o’clock is used to advance the 24-hour hand by one hour, perfect for those who travel a lot.
The watch is powered by the Zenith Elite Calibre 693 self-winding movement with a power reserve of 55 hours. Protecting this movement is a sturdy steel caseback engraved with the image of a Louis Blériot monoplane crossing the English Channel.
Stainless steel case back with Louis Blériot aircraft The Pilot Montre D'Aéronef Type 20 GMT comes on a light brown calfskin strap with rubber inlays with contrast stitching and a steel deployant clasp.
The Pilot Montre D'Aéronef Type 20 GMT is retro-inspired but practical for today's traveller, a rugged yet stylish replica watches luxury made for aviation watch lovers.