I · The Maker/II · The Object/III · The Dial/IV · The Record/V · Acquisition
Room I · The Maker
Zenith, established in Le Locle in 1865, submitted movements to both the Neuchâtel and Besançon observatories across the early twentieth century. The Besançon trials were the French national precision standard, administered by the Observatoire Chronométrique de Besançon, and First Class was its highest distinction.
The complication · try it
Two hands, one axis
One centre hand stops to mark a split-second; the other keeps running. Press again and it flies back to catch up.
Ready
Press the crown to start.
Running handSplit hand
The Object
A silver split-seconds chronograph by Zenith, timed and certified as a First-Class chronometer at the Besançon Observatory in 1922. It arrives with its own documented observatory record: the paperwork that proves exactly what it is.
A split-seconds chronograph in solid silver by Zenith, made around 1921 and sent to be judged. The movement was deposited at the Besançon Observatory in July 1922, rated through the French national trials, and awarded a First-Class bulletin; the archive extract confirming the result, obtained from Besançon itself, accompanies the watch.
The complication is the rattrapante: two slender blued steel chronograph hands stacked at the centre, one stopping at a press to take a split while the other runs on, then flying back to rejoin it. A thirty-minute register sits at twelve, running seconds at six, and a fifths-of-a-second scale rings the dial. Everything works: the chronograph starts, stops and resets cleanly, and the split hand divides and catches as it was regulated to do a century ago.
The dial is white enamel, clean and bright, signed Zénith in the accented form of the period, its bold Arabic numerals under rose gold leaf hands, the one warm note on an instrument face. The case is solid silver, 51.4mm, with an engine-turned barleycorn back and a plain central cartouche that no owner ever engraved. The silver marks are softened by age and present throughout.
A watch sent to an observatory was built above ordinary production and adjusted by a named specialist over weeks of testing; here the régleur's name, M. Perret, is entered in the Besançon register beside the movement number. It winds, sets and runs correctly.
The marks, the movement and the condition are set out piece by piece in the drawers below; the Besançon result and archive extract are set out in The Record.
Room III · The Dial
Reading the dial · tap a number
- 1Thirty-minute registerA thirty-minute register at twelve records elapsed time to the minute.
- 2Running secondsRunning seconds at six.
- 3Split-seconds handsTwo slender chronograph hands stacked at the centre: one stops at a press to take a split while the other runs on, then flies back to rejoin it.
- 4Fifths of a secondA fifths-of-a-second scale rings the dial.
- 5White enamelWhite enamel, clean and bright, with no visible chips or hairlines.
- 6Solid silverA solid silver case of 51.4mm, its silver marks softened by age and present throughout.
- 7Signed ZénithSigned Zénith in the accented form of the period.
Beneath the case
Open each drawer to look closer
Mark 1
Silver control marks
Silver control marks on the bow and pendant, worn soft with age; the standard is no longer legible.
silver
control marks
Mark 2
Case no. 36488
Case number 36488, stamped inside the back beside a small oval punch.
case no. 36488
Mark 3
Movement no. 330910
Movement number 330910, the number entered in the Besançon register for the deposit of 10 July 1922. Beside it on the plate is the observatory's viper's head punch, struck on movements awarded a First-Class bulletin.
serial 330910
Besançon viper's head
- ABimetallic compensation balanceBimetallic balance, steel inside and brass outside, with timing screws in the rim. The Besançon register records it as acier laiton, steel and brass.
- BSteel hairspringA flat steel hairspring, adjusted for the Besançon trials. The 1920s Zenith competition movements used steel springs rather than the Nivarox alloys that would follow in the 1930s; the adjuster's skill in temperature compensation was therefore the primary variable.
- CColumn wheel, split-seconds rattrapanteThe chronograph operates from a column wheel, correct for a rattrapante at competition grade. The main chronograph hand and the split-seconds rattrapante both engage cleanly; the 30-minute register records elapsed time to the minute.
- DLever escapementLever escapement, entered in the Besançon register as échappement à ancre. The 1922 Besançon result is a performance record, measured by the observatory rather than claimed by the house.
Case
Very good
Solid silver, engine-turned barleycorn back with a blank central cartouche. Light surface wear and a small tool mark on the inner rim beside the hinge; both covers open and close crisply.
Dial
Excellent
White enamel, clean and bright, no visible chips or hairlines. Signed Zénith.
Movement
Excellent
Clean and running well; winds, sets and runs correctly. The column-wheel split-seconds chronograph and 30-minute register start, stop, split and reset cleanly.
Crystal
Excellent
Intact and clear.
Crown
Excellent
Original, positive action.
51.4
This watch
25.75
€2 coin
A €2 coin is 25.75 mm. This case is more than two and a half times its area.
Room IV · The Record
Supplied with the watch. Click to enlarge.
Besançon 1922, First Class, Category B
First-Class chronometer bulletin, Observatoire Chronométrique de Besançon, Category B, 1922. Besançon was the primary French precision timekeeping authority; its First-Class designation required performance across five positions and three temperatures, the same protocol as the Swiss competitions. The result is documented by an extract from the observatory's chronometric archives, issued by the Université de Franche-Comté in Besançon on 20 January 2023 and supplied with the watch.
- Maker
- Zenith
- Model
- Split-seconds (rattrapante) chronograph, observatory chronometer
- Year
- C.1922
- Case
- Solid silver
- Diameter
- 51.4 mm
- Movement
- Keyless manual wind, column-wheel split-seconds chronograph, lever escapement, bimetallic compensation balance, steel hairspring
- Complications
- Split-seconds chronograph, 30-minute register, running seconds
- Dial
- White enamel, bold Arabic numerals, rose gold leaf hands, blued steel split hands, signed Zénith
- Serial
- 330910
- Hallmarks
- Silver control marks on bow and pendant (worn); case no. 36488
- Country
- Switzerland
- Certification
- Besançon Observatory First-Class chronometer bulletin, Category B, 1922 (with 2023 archive extract)
The Estate Collection
Room V · Acquisition
€12.000
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Zenith
€12.000
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Split-Seconds Chronograph, Besançon 1922
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