Zenith Pilot Type 200 Annual Calendar 03.2430.4054

This watch is in excellent condition. The original strap is in good used condition.

Watch comes with original box, outer box, booklets, hang tag and dated warranty card.

Zenith's Pilot Watches are big, bold and unmistakeable. Created with the heritage of aviators watches in mind, these watches feature large, highly legible dials which make them easy to tell the time from. For a statement piece that also has a sense of rugged practicality, look no further.

Although seemingly less complicated than the perpetual calendar, the annual calendar is actually a much later invention. First produced by Patek Philippe in 1996, it actually had more parts than one of the company's perpetual calendars. This was because it used a less elegant (yet easier to implement) system of stacked gear wheels rather than a complicated and difficult to produce cam and lever.

ZENITH

Zenith is a watch brand with a storied and genuinely interesting history. Like many other brands, it began its early history making watches for the rich and famous, including a pocket watch which was gifted by Indian independence leaders Indira Nehru to Mahatma Gandhi.

In 1969, Zenith became one of the three companies that released an automatic chronograph movement. This was particularly notable as prior to this horological arms race an automatic chronograph was considered extremely difficult to design.

When the Quartz Crisis hit, however, Zenith's run ended. The El Primero, once Zenith's flagship, went out of production. While other brands scrapped or sold their tooling, Charles Vermot, a senior engineer who helped develop the movement, decided to dismantle but keep the El Primero's tooling.

This saved Zenith. Only a few years later, Rolex chose the El Primero movement to power its new, revamped Daytona. Zenith was able to return the movement to the production line, and as a result won the contract to supply Rolex. This provided them with a lifeline, which allowed Zenith to make its comeback into the globally-recognised brand which it is today.