Zenith is proud to have taken part in the 2020 world watch auction in aid of the Australian bushfire

At a time of unprecedented wildfires causing immeasurable loss and devastation in Australia, Zenith is proud to have taken part in Time+Tide Watches’ ‘Watch & Act!’ World Watch Auction in aid of the Australian bushfire crisis. The auction, which ran for 10 days on the online platform invaluable.com, raised a total of 200’000 AUD, with Zenith’s sale contributing 10’600 USD to the cause.

The auction featured 24 watches from 22 brands, including a unique Zenith Pilot watch. For this occasion, Zenith created a unique piece based on its recently launched Pilot Type 20 Rescue line, the Pilot Type 20 “Australian Rescue”.  An appropriate model for this great cause and dedicated to the brave individuals who fearlessly face the devastating bushfires to lend a helping hand, the unique piece is the first and only one to be crafted in a bronze case instead of steel, with a specially engraved steel case back depicting a Canadair CL-415, an amphibious aircraft used for water-bombing fires. The slate-grey sunray dial, with the signature oversized Arabic numerals entirely made out of Super-LumiNova®, combines a sleek contemporary look with a distinctly vintage charm. Giving a sense of urgency, yellow is a recurring color in the world of aircrafts that grabs the attention for vital controls and information. Securing this rugged model firmly to the wrist is an aged black calfskin leather strap recalling the classic shearling leather flight jacket, with rivets and a titanium pin buckle as well as a distinctive tab recalling those seen on vintage pilot helmets.

100% of proceeds from the auction will be distributed across five charities; two rural fire services groups, two wildlife rescue groups and one fund created specifically for the south-east region of Victoria, which has been particularly hard-hit. Immediate family members of Time+Tide Watches founder Andrew McUtchen live in this area and continue to endure very difficult conditions at what is only the beginning of the bushfire season proper.

“I am not alone, in fact I am probably in the majority, in being touched by the terrible 2019 / 2020 fires around Australia,” Andrew says. “Receiving images of my family sleeping in their shop opposite a river so they could escape into the water should the fires sweep through town was surreal and stressful. Not to mention the over one billion animals who have died. For an animal as common in Australia as the koala to now be on the cusp of the endangered animals list is unthinkable.” – said Andrew McUtchen, Time+Tide Watches.

ZENITH: TIME TO REACH YOUR STAR.

Zenith exists to inspire individuals to pursue their dreams and make them come true – against all odds. Since its establishment in 1865, Zenith became the first watch manufacture in the modern sense of the term, and its watches have accompanied extraordinary figures that dreamt big and strived to achieve the impossible – from Louis Blériot’s history-making flight across the English Channel to Felix Baumgartner’s record-setting stratospheric free-fall jump.

With innovation as its guiding star, Zenith features exceptional in-house developed and manufactured movements in all its watches. From the first automatic chronograph, the El Primero, to the fastest chronograph with a 1/100th of a second precision, the El Primero 21, as well as the Inventor that reinvents the regulating organ by replacing the 30+ components with a single monolithic element, the manufacture is always pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Zenith has been shaping the future of Swiss watchmaking since 1865, accompanying those who dare to challenge themselves and break barriers. The time to reach your star is now.

PILOT TYPE 20 AUSTRALIAN RESCUE – UNIQUE PIECE

Reference: 29.2437.679/20.I010

Key points: Unique piece 1/1 45-MM Bronze case. Case-back special engraving with reference to Australian Fires . Inspired by the legendary Zenith aviation watches. Arabic numerals entirely made of SuperLuminova

Movement: Elite 679 automatic

Frequency: 28,800 VpH (4Hz)

Power-reserve: min. 50 hours

Functions Hours and minutes in the centre. Central second hand

Case-back: Stainless steel with special case-back engraved in support of Australian Fires

Material: Bronze

Water-resistance: 10 ATM

Dial: Slate-grey-toned sunray-patterned

Hour-markers:  Arabic numerals in Super-LumiNova SLN C1

Hands:  Rhodium-plated, faceted and coated with Super-LumiNova SLN C1

Bracelet & Buckle: Black vintage calfskin leather strap with rivets. Titanium pin buckle.