Zenith Pilot Montre d’Aéronef Type 20 “40 mm Lady” soars to new heights.
Zenith fake, the only watch brand to allow the word “Pilot” on the dial for decades, is welcoming four versions of its first watch designed for women in its famous Pilot collection. To commemorate this auspicious occasion – in fact, to reinforce its auspiciousness – a little history about Zenith and its role in aviation is necessary.
Quick review
Zenith has been producing flight instruments for the aircraft and airships of the earliest aviation pioneers since the early 1900s, earning the company’s products a reputation as a must-have accessory. For example, Louis Blériot wore a Zenith watch while flying across the English Channel in 1909. So did Léon Morane, who a year later became the first pilot to reach an airspeed above 100 km/h. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Montre d’Aéronef Zenith Type 20 flew a number of aircraft, including the French Air Force’s Caudron Simoun C.635 and the Air Bleu mail plane.
new women’s
It seemed only a matter of time before the legendary aviator Montre d’Aéronef, with its rugged, masculine look, would pay tribute to women in the form of its own watch. This has been achieved with the Pilot Montre d’Aéronef Type 20 “40 mm Lady”. In my opinion, this is no ordinary ladies’ edition men’s watch. Instead, it packs in all the details that make the Pilot collection a winner, while adding more feminine attributes like diamonds and a ladylike strap.
At first, I wondered how juxtaposing this masculine watch with variations on the gemstone and satin strap would work. But I’m happy to say that the bold shape blends beautifully with sexy glitter — sort of like heels and your favorite jeans. Who doesn’t like this?
watch
The Pilot Montre d’Aéronef Type 20 “40 mm Lady” has a distinct ratcheted crown and the Zenith Aviation Instruments logo is engraved on the case back. In the full version in rose or white gold, the dial, bezel and lugs are decorated with approximately 3 carats of diamonds – no less than 491 in total. Located on this gleaming display are large SuperLuminova-coated Arabic numerals in the original style. The hour markers are black on the white gold model and white on the rose gold model. The stylized hands also feature a SuperLuminova coating.
Inside are the automatic Elite 681 movement driving the central hours and minutes, as well as the small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock, which subtly blocks the nearby numerals. The movement consists of 128 components, the oscillating weight is engraved with Côtes de Genève, and the power reserve is 50 hours. A beige or black satin strap with a gold pin buckle completes it: black for the steel watch and white for the rose gold.
The diamond-only bezel of the Pilot Montre d’Aéronef Type 20 “40 mm Lady” retains the characteristics of its fully diamond-set cousin, including the engraving on the case back. Available in stainless steel or rose gold, it ditches the brown alligator satin strap and has a super comfortable rubber lining. The opalescent silver dial features the iconic large Arabic numerals, in this case beige, with SuperLuminova coating details. The hands on the stainless steel models are satin-brushed rhodium, while the hands on the rose gold models have rose gold discs, and they also feature SuperLuminova details. discount replica watches
