ZENITH PILOT Montre d'Aéronef Type 20 GMT 1903

IN THE WAKE OF the AVIATION PIONEERS

Since its founding in 1865, the Manufacture Zenith has been part of all the dreams and daring endeavours that transform utopian dreams into reality. Among the human adventures that have punctuated its history, there is one particular conquest that the brand accompanied right from its beginnings in the early 20^th century: that of the SKIES. Driven by the same enterprising spirit as these pioneers who gave life to Icarus’ dream of flight, Zenith pays tribute to the Wright brothers through a watch issued in a 1,903-piece limited edition: the Pilot Montre d’Aéronef Type 20 GMT 1903.

In their bicycle shop in Dayton Ohio, Wilbur and Orville Wright dreamed of wide-open spaces and freedom. These natural-born inventors conceived a first glider that they launched on the Kitty Hawk dunes in North Carolina. At the same time, they built a wind tunnel to study various technical aspects such as the profile of the wings. Constantly perfecting their prototypes, they installed a stabiliser at the front of a second glider, and then a steering rudder at the back of a third that could thus be controlled: a world first in the field of aeronautics! After hundreds of trials, the two brothers decided to move a step forwards by equipping their glider with an engine. Lying face down on the lower wing of the twin-propeller aircraft named “Flyer”, Orville Wright achieved the first powered, heavier-than-air controlled flight in history, on Kitty Hawk beach. The young man covered a distance of 40 metres at a height of 60 centimetres off the ground. The date was December 17^th 1903. Representing a major milestone in aviation history, the year 1903 now gives its name to a timepiece created by Zenith as a tribute to the Wright brothers: Pilot Montre d’Aéronef Type 20 GMT 1903.

Actively partaking in all manner of dreams and adventures, the Pilot Montre d’Aéronef Type 20 GMT 1903 is also an invitation to travel thanks to a second time-zone indicator powered by an accurate and reliable automatic movement: Elite Calibre 693. Finely adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif even though it remains hidden from sight, it ticks off time at the rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour and has a 50-hour power reserve. Beneath this elegant mechanical heart, the case-back is adorned with a stamped insignia depicting Orville Wright aboard the “Flyer”, with his brother Wilbur running along Kitty Hawk beach to follow the feat being accomplished on December 17^th 1903.

A sturdy wristband crafted in beige suede leather sets the finishing touch to this model. Its lining features a heat-embossed motif in which connoisseurs will note the inscription “Zenith Flying Instruments” as well as the brand’s historical logo, thus underlining the spirit of an era in which the skies were still waiting to be conquered.