Zenith Pilot Cronometro Tipo CP-2 Flyback Review

The Zenith Pilot model is produced by the leading Super Clone manufacturer workshops with a high-tech ceramic case, 43 mm diameter and high-precision automatic Super Clone mechanism architecture. It is among the most successful 1:1 super clone watch reviews on the market, with its sapphire crystal AR coating glass, original case tolerances and detailed workmanship.

Zenith is one of the brands that knows how to make vintage-inspired watches, and just like the watch we reviewed today, it is possible to find most of them in the Pilot collections.

Zenith Pilot Cronometro Tipo CP-2 Flyback Review

While many of Zenith's current Pilot watches feature large and very distinctive-looking vintage-inspired crowns, this collection was a reinterpretation of a collection from the 1960s, when thousands of them were used for the Italian military. They have a more modern crown, which adds a different flair to a typical vintage military watch.

This collection was designed to have a tough, weathered look that complemented that rugged military lifestyle. You can see this in the rawhide nubuck leather strap and the hefty 43mm stainless steel case with an aged finish. The case is 12.5 mm thick and has 51 mm ear-to-ear distance. In addition to the worn look of the case, the chronograph pushers and crown are also darkened to further reinforce the worn look. In fact, the only indication that this is a truly new watch is the brushed pin buckle-style clasp.

While the thought of buying a new watch that is deliberately intended to look like a worn-out watch baffles me, I can certainly understand why it would be so appealing. It really has a lot of charm. Thanks to the lume material (Superluminova) that fills the pen-shaped hour and minute hands, the large arrow-shaped central chronograph seconds hand, and the Arabic numerals, the dial offers excellent visibility in low light conditions. Like most pilot's watches, the bezel rotates in both directions without those loud clicking noises normally found in diving bezels. Also, the bezel is not ceramic and is made of aluminum.

The numbers are only found between 10 and 2 o'clock and between 4 and 8 o'clock. The numerals 3 and 9 are missing to make room for the larger-than-average chronograph sub-dial and small running seconds sub-dial. The chronograph has a Flyback function that allows you to instantly restart the chronograph without having to start-stop-reset.

This Zenith Pilot Chronograph is powered by the famous high-vibration (5Hz) El Primero movement, which has 254 components and beats at 36,000 VPH. Caliber 405 is a 31-jewel self-winding (automatic) movement with a power reserve of approximately 50 hours.

The weighted self-winding rotor is engraved with Geneva stripes and a special engraving featuring the words 'Zenith El Primero', 'Manufacture Le Locle', Zenith Star and 'Swiss Made'. On other plate surfaces, Perlage, a circular brushed pattern, was used. These come together to highlight the movement, which offers a polished appearance surrounded by that classic vintage hardness.

There are 3 watches in this collection, one of which is limited and numbered. The watch featured in this review is model #11.2240.405/21.c773 and comes with a green/gray strap, a slate gray dial, and a distressed stainless steel case.

Another model, 29.2240.405/18.c801, has a bronze case and pushers, rose gold-tone hour and minute hands, a bronze-grained dial and sub-dials, and comes with a brown calfskin (nubuck) leather strap.

The USA Edition is limited to 50 pieces and has a blue dial and a blue nubuck leather strap with red and white stitching. The US Edition, reference number 03.2241.405/51.c915, was created for the Wounded Warrior Project, a veterans' charity for injured American veterans and active-duty soldiers. A portion of the proceeds are used to help this charity. This model doesn't exactly give the impression of a "Captain America watch" unless you turn it upside down and look at that very American rotor. Still, the Zenith Star appears to be a patriotic American symbol. This model costs a little more than the others in the collection, but in return it offers serious exclusivity as only 50 units were produced.

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