KIH
[Purist]
12044
ZEITWINKEL - German DNA, made in Swiss.
ZEITWINKEL - sounds like Germany and many of you must have heard of the brand name. I, too, had known the brand only by name and also thought that it was (yet) another new small German Brand. Boy was I wrong.
There was a small reception of the brand where the "truth" about ZEITWINKEL was discussed (first time for many there) and the impression, perception of the brand completely changed.
First of all, although many already know, let me briefly touch on the summary of the brand:
- Founded in 2006, by Ivica Maksimovic and Peter Nikolaus.
- Philosophy: "Watch for Life" - all come down to reliability, durability, and functionality. Won't rely on the "glamourous" ads and one after another similar "novelties". "Sincere" watchmaking by those two founders aim to be the watch brand with timeless and high quality models.
- Real Swiss Made: Components made in Switzerland except for the case, which is made in Germany. Movement and watch 100% assembled at the ZEITWINKEL atelier in St. Imie at the Swiss Jura.
- Watch design: By Jean Francois Ruchonnet, a Geneva local en.wikipedia.org t
- Movement design and R&D: Collaboration between the highest quality engineers and well reputed designer.
- Prototype: Made and tested at the Atelier
- Components: All the parts are made in Switzerland (except for the case, which is made in Germany)
- Hands and dial: Made by one of the suppliers based on the ZEITWINKEL construction data exclusively for ZEITWINKEL
- Assembly and Quality Control: Conducted all at the Atelier.
- The head of ZEITWINKEL branch office - Japan is employed by ZEITWINKEL head office in Swiss and not seconded to "Japan subsidiary". And, of course, in order to operate globally, the local service center is needed as well. They have entered into the contract with one of the well known independent watch servicing companies and now they have it. Almost all can be done locally and that is very assuring, in comparison to having your beloved watch shipped to Swiss and miss it for 6 months.
Now on to the event report and the watches.
Held at one of the oldest retailer in Japan (135 years old) in Ginza - Tenshodo.
On the left is Mr. Suzuki, Chronos Japan, and on the right is Mr. Fukushima, head of branch office - ZEITWINKEL Japan.
Was showing the video made by ZEITWINKEL.
The actual video (ENG version) is here:
What "ZEITWINKEL" means and represents.
Design - by Jean Francois Ruchonnet: Based on German Style.
AND! Uses GERMAN SILVER for the chamfered base plate as well as the bridges.
Gear material is "Copper Beryllium" for its hardness and anti-magnetic character.
Also cote de Geneve.
They don't short cut - perlage everywhere, of course including where people can't see.
Interesting movement design here is - the regulator pin is located beneath the bridge for the balance wheel.
Details of the movement of ZW0102/0103, small second version.
ZW0102 - Perlage under the dial, too.
ZW0103 Patented Large Date mechanism.
Mr. Sato, from the ZEITWINKEL Japan service center.
... showing the process of dessembling. Here, showing one of the bridge, surface side.
... and the other side which we cannot see, has (my apologies for poor quality photo) full of perlage.
Here is another shot of the "hidden" perlage.
The 3/4 plate, which is typical for German watches.
ZEITWINKEL 312", caliber ZW0102
Also cote de Geneve.
They don't short cut - perlage everywhere, of course including where people can't see.
Interesting movement design here is - the regulator pin is located beneath the bridge for the balance wheel.
Details of the movement of ZW0102/0103, small second version.
ZW0102 - Perlage under the dial, too.
ZW0103 Patented Large Date mechanism.
Mr. Sato, from the ZEITWINKEL Japan service center.
... showing the process of dessembling. Here, showing one of the bridge, surface side.
... and the other side which we cannot see, has (my apologies for poor quality photo) full of perlage.
Here is another shot of the "hidden" perlage.
The 3/4 plate, which is typical for German watches.
ZEITWINKEL 312", caliber ZW0102
42mm
But, they have 39mm version, too (ZEITWINKEL 081")
ZEITWINKEL 273", cal. ZW0103
ZEITWINKEL 273", cal. ZW0103
42.5mm
One of the owner's actual one.... very nice....
I am not sure how much I could convey about how good watches they make, at very reasonable prices. At this time of inflation in the whole industry, this is really "bang for the buck" brand, which most importantly intends to make the "watch for life" and servicing system is local.
One of the owner's actual one.... very nice....
I am not sure how much I could convey about how good watches they make, at very reasonable prices. At this time of inflation in the whole industry, this is really "bang for the buck" brand, which most importantly intends to make the "watch for life" and servicing system is local.
A great find, I believe, and I will keep an eye on this brand going forward.
Thank you:
Mr. Fukushima, head of ZEITWINKEL Japan
Mr. Suzuki, for moderation
.. and Tenshodo for the venue and hospitality of the staff.
Best,
Ken
This message has been edited by KIH on 2014-12-04 07:28:58 This message has been edited by KIH on 2014-12-04 07:36:36
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ZEITWINKEL - German DNA, made in Swiss.
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Thanks, Richard!
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Very nice indeed........
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Thanks for reading, Francois...
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Do they use Ebauches
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Honestly,...
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Just a matter of interest.
The review has focused significantly on the workmanship bestowed on the movement and its unique characteristics. I am plain curious to find out if Zeitwinkel builds their calibers from base movements or ebauches procured from other movement manufacturers....
Did you manage to get any further updates?
Any updates on whether Zeitwinkel uses third-party ebauches? regds
Zeitwinkel movements
Hi, we just saw your question about our movements. Zeitwinkel only uses proprietary movements made from German Silver that are not based on other movements in the market. Check out our website to learn more or drop us a line in our contact form to arrang...
Thanks Ken, nice report. The watch looks really nice on the
owner's wrist. Prices are quite reasonable with such levels/details in engineering. Rgds Raymond
Here is mine………
[URL=] [/URL] I did a mini review on mine a couple of months ago, on a couple of other forums. And have just posted it in AHCI ...
Ken ,may I also say thank you………
For your beautiful article. I was aware that Zeitwinkel was popular in Asia, but its good to see that they have a dedicated following. I hope that they are able to, at some point get a foothold in the UK. :)
