There are a few select words and phrases regarding vintage watches that, when said, are sure to light the fires of enthusiasm inside a collector. One such phrase is “military provenance”; another, which can stoke either the flames of desire or disgust, depending on who you’re speaking to, is “vintage reissue”. We’re going to invoke both phrases here. In the 1960s, Zenith produced a watch with some serious military cred, which they recently celebrated with a faithful modern re-creation, limited to 1000 pieces. The original, code-named the Tipo CP-2 chronograph, was made for pilots of the Italian armed forces. It was also known as the “A. Cairelli”, after its Rome-based distributor, whose name is printed on the dial. Prices of these cockpit-appointed chronographs have gone sky-high in the last couple of years – one selling for CHF62,500 last year at Phillip’s Start-Stop-Reset auction in Geneva. It’s not inaccurate, then, to say that the demand for a handsome military-inspired chronograph is peaking, and the release of the new Zenith Cronometro Tipo CP-2 was perfectly pitched to delight both vintage and modern-day collectors. The appeal of the Tipo CP-2 is largely down to the fact that it’s an absolute dead ringer for the original. At 43mm, the stainless-steel…
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