Zenith Hand Winding 146HP Chronograph

Circa 1972 Zenith Chronograph Hand Winding HP146 black PVD chronograph. Rare Zenith watch made in limited numbers and seldom come up for sale. It was made in such small quantities, that it does not appear in Zenith catalogues and does not have serial numbers, so cannot be correctly dated. According to Zenith, the logo on the dial first appeared in 1972 and the model is estimated to be made between 1972 and 1980. It is recognised by Zenith’s Heritage Department and is documented by them. It has a sleek tonneau open lug style case with contrasting polished steel pushers and crown. The crown is original and unsigned. The crystal is bevelled and believed to be hardened mineral glass. Its matt black dial has a convex edge with the printed tachymeter chapter ring. The dial has batons marking the hours. At 3 o'clock a 30-minute register, at 6 o’clock a 12-hour register and at 9 o'clock a 60 continuous seconds register. Very evenly spaced and symmetrical dial and case, is testament to Zenith’s carefully thought out designs. The movement is a manually wound Zenith cal. 146-HP one of the last manually wound chronograph movements Zenith made. The chronograph calibre 146-HP was built by the Martel Watch Company which was acquired along with its production facility in Pont de Martel Switzerland by Zenith in 1960. This is the same facility where the first prototypes of the El Primero were produced in 1965. This was the last manual wind movement caliber by Zenith-Movado before being superseded by the automatic El Primero movement. The movement is signed Movado.

The crown and case back are unsigned. This is correct for this model that they are unsigned. The bracelet is unsigned as well, but its not clear whether or not the bracelet is original as I cannot find any records with reference to the bracelet originality

Movement: Zenith Movado 146HP, 14 lines hand winding, 17 jewel, 18,000 b/ph, KIF shock absorbers, Glucydur balance wheel with flat spiral, simple index with mobile balance spring stud holder, 38 hour power reserve
Dial: Black dial, rounded convex edges, luminescent (now faded) hour markers, fine white graduation tachymeter scale, with three chronograph sub dials
Case: Black PVD tonneau shape
Case Back: Screw on stainless steel, unsigned
Crystal: Hardened mineral glass
Bracelet: black PVD, unsigned
Dimensions are: Width 41 mm, lug to lug 45 mm and 12 mm thick