The Zeitwinkel 126° x Chronotempvs Collectors

ChronotempVs, the private Spanish watch collector’s club with an international following unveils a new collector’s edition made with reputed Swiss manufacturer Zeitwinkel. Attracted by the brand’s traditional approach of hand assembling and adjusting its automatic movements, ChronotempVs introduces the 126° watch. Equipped with Zeintwinkel’s in-house automatic ZW0102 movement, the design of the dial was proposed by the collector’s club and features contrasting materials and finishings.

Zeitwinkel and ChronotempVs

ChronotempVs originated as a private watch collector’s club in Spain in 2009 and is now an active community present in 19 countries with 15 special editions under its belt. Oris, Habring, Urwerk and Laine are just some of the brands ChonotempVs has commissioned watches from recently.

The latest collaboration is with Zeitwinkel, a small, independent producer of high-quality watches with manufactory movements founded by a group of watch enthusiasts in 2006. Based in Saint-Imier, Zeitwinkel started to think about movements long before watches and agreed that the off-the-shelf movements were unacceptable. With two in-house automatic movements, the ZW0102 and ZW0103, Zeitwinkel offers watches in 42.5 and 39mm stainless steel cases with untreated German silver plates and elaborate decorations on the movement. Assembled, regulated and tested by hand, production is necessarily low.

The 126°

The collaboration watch for ChronotempVs is available in 39 and 42.5mm case diameters with a height of 11.6 and 11.7mm, respectively. The simple yet modern case design, with prominent downward sloping lugs and a large crown, is complemented by a blend of polished and recessed sandblasted areas, which can best be appreciated on the case flanks. Both case sizes are water-resistant to 50m.

In a departure from Zeitwinkel’s three-hand models with their sober minimalist dials, the dial of the 126° is based on a ChronotempVs design using three different materials and surface decorations. The central part of the dial is made of untreated German silver (maillechort) with a horizontal brushed finishing and the brand name engraved into the metal. Using untreated German silver, the colour of the central area changes from metallic silver to a warm, almost golden shade.

The chapter ring is decorated with an elaborate tapisserie of Zeitwinkel logos based on the inverted letter “W” in metallic grey. Ten black baton markers are set on the metallic gry chapter ring with a red Arabic numeral at 12 and a grey Arabic numeral at 6 o’clock.  On the periphery of the dial is a black minutes track with baton markers picked out in metallic silver. The faceted hour and minute hands have a black or surface treatment producing changing tonalities. A particularly long central seconds hand in the shape of a Venetian stiletto dagger in a silver tone points its needle-thin top to the peripheral minutes track with exquisite precision.

ZW0102

Zeitwinkel’s in-house calibre ZW0102 can be admired through the sapphire crystal caseback. Entirely designed, developed and manufactured by Zeitwinkel in the Swiss Jura, the automatic movement features a robust three-quarter plate and bridges made of untreated German silver with its warm golden tone. Measuring 30.4mm across, the large 257-part movement relies on 28 jewels, beats at a frequency of 28,800vph and delivers a 72-hour power reserve. Bevelled and decorated by hand, the finishings are first-class – even on parts that cannot be seen. The openworked bidirectional rotor is brushed with polished bevels, the screws are chamfered and polished, while the three-quarter plate and balance cock are decorated with Côtes de Genève, and perlage is used on the interior surfaces of plates and bridges. A single watchmaker is in charge of assembling the watch and regulating and testing the watch in the workshop in Saint-Imier.

Availability & Price

The straps accompanying the 126° are handmade by JacobStraps of Jaen, Spain and are fitted to the owner’s wrist size. Presented on a textured sharkskin and nubuck leather strap, there are also straps in light blue textile or standard brown leather. Delivery of the first batch is expected for autumn 2022. The retail price is EUR 9,600 (excl. tax).

For more information, please consult Chronotempvscollectors.com.