Playing “Pepper” With Zenith, Blancpain, And IWC

Short sleeves, Coppertone, and Michael Bay’s annual box office onslaught mean that the heart of the season is upon us. With most of July and all of August still on deck, the best of the summer is yet to come. And it wouldn’t be summertime without baseball’s boys of summer

As MLB’s all-stars prepare for the July 15 mid-summer classic in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, we’re ready to get loose with our own game of “pepper.” Limber up and break out the glove for The 1916 Company’s quick hits:

LINED TO THIRD BASE: Zenith Chronomaster T El Primero Chronograph

Zenith is unique in that its most legendary, renown, and beloved product is a movement, not a watch. The celebrated El Primero chronograph caliber was the industry’s first integrated automatic chronograph when it debuted in 1969. Since that landmark, the Primero has landed in innumerable case designs, only a handful of which are standouts in their own right.

The Chronomaster T caliber 410 sits among those immortals. Not only is the 40mm case an ideal balance of contemporary size and classical proportions, it houses a breathtaking COSC-grade El Primero triple date/moon phase.

This extraordinary movement combines the distinctive 36,000bph heartbeat of the Primero with chronometer grade balance, drivetrain, and escapement components. Of all El Primeros ever built, only a handful of that output has been featured complications beyond the chronograph, and only a handful of that select group received COSC chronometer certification. An El Primero is distinctive, a complicated El Primero is exceptionally rare, and a chronometer-grade complicated El Primero ranks high on seasoned chronograph collectors’ wish lists.

The dial is an exquisite white enamel disc featuring apertures for the date complications, applied gold Roman numerals, and recessed chronograph sub dials with inlaid gold chapter rings. Gold dauphine hands and a tachymeter scale complete the upscale effect.

Externally, the watch features an 18K yellow gold case with matching Zenith bracelet, and strong character lines impart real presence to the timepiece. It wears like a compact chronograph, but its aesthetic impact is substantial. The case back is a sapphire display unit that permits an excellent view of the caliber 410 El Primero, complete with a degree of finish befitting the Chronomaster’s status as Zenith’s flagship line for most of the 1990s and 2000s.

For Zenith collectors and aficionados of significant chronographs, this is as good as it gets.

DRIVE TO SECOND: Blancpain Tribute to Fifty Fathoms “No Radiations”

While the Panerai–Rolex brain trust gave the world its first practical combat dive watch during the late 1930s, the modern era of the military diver was born in 1952. That year, officers from France’s Nageurs de Combat commissioned Blancpain, then doing business as Blancpain Rayville SA, to design a timepiece expressly for amphibious warfare in the age of Cold War.

The Fifty Fathoms, then water resistant to about 91 meters (hence the name), was the result. Since its launch in the early fifties, the FF has gained contemporary size, haut-de-gamme finishing, an exclusive movement, and an additional 209 meters of depth rating.

Oh yeah, and it lost its radium lume. During its late 1960s adolescence, the military Fifty Fathoms shed its gamma-emitting dial cladding as the military, and the watch industry at large, rushed to eliminate the substance from all instruments. As a result, “scrubbed and safe” examples of the Fifty Fathoms shipped from the factory with the now classic “No Radiations” logo.

The 2010 Tribute to Fifty Fathoms model available through The 1916 Company is a nod to history rather than an outright reissue watch. It embodies the style and substance of the re-born 2007 Blancpain Fifty Fathoms while adding unique references that will entertain connoisseurs of vintage dive models.

The 2007-present sapphire bezel cover protects a fully calibrated ring designed to evoke the 1960s equivalent. For the “Tribute,” Blancpain redesigned the dial itself to incorporate retro round hour indexes, a date window at 3 instead of 4:30, vintage-style markers at 6, 9, and 12, and, naturally, that delightfully anachronistic declaration of gamma-free goodness. For a full account of the aesthetic distinctions relative to series production FFs, this rose gold Fifty Fathoms serves as an instructive reference.

Inside the limited edition case, the “Tribute” shares its outstanding 1315 movement with the standard Fifty Fathoms. This caliber represents the first truly rugged modern Blancpain movement. A free-sprung, magnetically shielded, and shock insulated architectures delivers the robust dive watch performance promised by the model’s military heritage. A power reserve of 120 hours keeps the Tribute to Fifty Fathoms in the game long after others in this class have struck out.

HOT SHOT TO FIRST: IWC Portuguese Perpetual Calendar 7-Day Automatic

There are calendar watches, complete calendar watches, perpetual calendars, and then there are the perpetual calendars of Kurt Klaus. As IWC’s in-house complications powerhouse for over half a century, Klaus’ IWC designs became a point of reference within the premium timepiece industry. How good was Klaus? Jaeger-LeCoultre came to him for perpetual calendar modules – ‘nuff said.

This IWC Portuguese Perpetual Calendar 7-Day Automatic incorporates two of the Schaffhausen-based watchmaker’s greatest hits.

The Portuguese concept was the 1930s equivalent of the Hublot Big Bang. In an era when Swiss men’s watches ranged from 31-35mm, and anything over 35 was huge, the Portuguese was a 43. At a time when watchmakers had finally mastered the construction of small movements and liberated themselves from re-casing old pocket watch calibers, IWC moved in the other direction at the behest of their Portuguese importers. The resulting mammoth shocked at the time, but its bold presence has become an enduring classic.

When combined with Klaus’ perpetual calendar, the Portuguese becomes relevant well into the next century – and beyond. In addition to a full triple date and four-digit year indication, the Klaus perpetual in this rose gold Portuguese features a moon phase indication with 577.5-year accuracy. A power reserve indicator completes the set of instruments.

While many perpetual calendars are awkward to set or require watchmaker attention when restarting the watch, Klaus and IWC created a user-friendly alternative. The owner of this Portuguese is able to manually correct the calendar using only the crown. Ever mindful of long-term parts requirements, IWC equips the watch with indications for the 20th, 21st, and 22nd centuries, but updated components for centuries 23 and 24 are available now. After that, you’re on your own.

The remainder of the IWC Caliber 51613 movement incorporates the best of IWC’s contemporary in-house technology. A union of past and present best practices, the 51613 combines a 19th century Breguet overcoil hairspring, IWC’s historic 1950 Albert Pellaton pawl-based automatic winder, and IWC’s seven-day power reserve developed in the early 2000s. A sapphire display case back reveals the works.

“Probus Scafusia,” indeed.

AND BACK TO HOME PLATE

The dog days of summer are on deck, and it’s time to get into the game. All three of the watches showcased above are all-stars; you pick the MVP.