Zenith

The Zenith Academy Christophe Colomb Hurricane Grand Voyage (potential buyers should be awarded a 10% discount for correctly pronouncing the watch's epic name) is to my knowledge Zenith's most ambitious and complicated timepiece. Not only in terms of the technical complications it carries, but also in terms of the finishing techniques the manufacture seems to master and consequently has incorporated.

The dial alone is a vast ocean of elements (the dial is even lacquered blue ;-)), and like a real ocean there are a lot of waves shaking the boat. 

Approaching such an advanced and complicated piece is certainly not an easy task. Conquer it by the complications? Finishings? Frontside/backside? I decided to tackle it from its main, vertical axis, starting with the bottom.

The most prominent feature is without any doubt the bulbous extension of the crystal under which the gyroscopic escapement module is found.

This system will be further explained in the a following post. It is fascinating watching it following the tiniest movements of the watch, thereby ensuring an always perfect horizontal position of the escapement.

Turning the watch 180° brings us to the time (sub-) dial, which - like permanent seconds and power reserve indications) is crafted from enamelled white gold.

Beneath the time dial you'll see the elements of the fusee-and-chain mechanism:

I'd like to point out a small detail which I loved a lot: Please take a look at the pivot of the hands:

You'll notice that the shaft is finely mirror polished to further highlight the heat-blued steel hands:

The Grand Voyage's backside is almost entirely reserved for decoration. In fact, you see little additional technical details except the escapement module which always shows the same view regardless from which side you look at it (and so it should ;-)).

The bulb covering the module is for good reason less pronounced on the back. Otherwise it would interfere with the wearing comfort of the timepiece.

An outstanding watch deserves and equally outstanding presentation box. Zenith commissioned a mahogany box with cattle bone marquetry. It doubles as a humidor for up to 80 cigars on top!

The cover sports a reproduction of the famous world map 'Universalis Cosmographia' created by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in 1507. 

Waldseemüller's map  shows for this first time the American continent as a landmass separate from Asia (image credit: Wikipedia).

It is also the first time where it is named 'America' (image credit: Wikipedia):

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