Strange case of the hidden calibre
Secreted away, a rediscovered movement in Zenith’s attic led to a unique collaboration.
The story of Zenith’s attic is legendary. In 1975, as the world was going crazy for digital watches, the watchmakers at Zenith in Switzerland’s Le Locle were told to cease working on their mechanical El Primero chronograph movement and move to quartz. Charles Vermot, one of the original master watchmakers who had worked on this movement, took it upon himself to secretly hide all the technical plans and tools in the attic and brick up the door in the hope that one day this watch calibre could be brought back to life. Years passed without anyone knowing what was up in the attic, until the day that Vermot was asked by the brand’s new Swiss owners if he thought he could recreate the El Primero.
Needless to say, the sledgehammers were quickly brought out. But it wasn’t only plans and tools that had been preserved in this time capsule; spare parts, dials and even movements had been secreted away.
Like many watch lovers, Aurel Bacs and Alexandre Ghotbi, consultants to auction house Phillips, were fascinated by the Zenith attic and what else might be found there.
Musing about the possibilities, they mentioned to Zenith’s CEO Julien Tornare and head of product development and heritage Romain Marietta how amazing it would be to rediscover the brand’s historic Calibre 135. Some time passed before Marietta came back to them with news that he had found 10 award-winning observatory-tested Calibre 135s dating from 1950 to 1954.
Developed from 1945 onwards by Ephrem Jobin, the calibre was produced in two versions – one for production, the other (135-O) solely for taking part in chronometry competitions in Neuchâtel, Geneva, Kew and Besançon. At this time, the quality of a timepiece was measured for its precision, and Zenith led the charge with more than 2,330 chronometry awards, 230 of which pertained to the Calibre 135. These 135-O movements were never cased in watches, but were housed in small wooden boxes, all of which had been perfectly preserved in the Zenith attic.
Together, the teams from Zenith and Phillips decided to call upon independent master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen to refurbish the movements. “The thought of working with Kari on this project came naturally,” says Tornare. “He undoubtedly is one of the most highly esteemed watchmakers living today. The level of perfection and precision in his craftsmanship is unique and the result was, in fact, a one-of-a-kind collaboration and timepiece.”
The waiting list for Voutilainen’s timepieces stretches to years rather than months, so why take a break to work on this project with Zenith? “Human contacts are so important for me and this is the reason I got involved,” says Voutilainen. “It is not for economic reasons.”
Bacs agrees, adding, “It is not a business, especially when considering the small numbers we make and the huge amount of time and effort that goes into such a project. It is for the love of creating something that doesn’t exist and to please a small number of like-minded nerds.”
While all 10 pieces of the Calibre 135 Observatoire Limited Edition were snapped up before word even got out, here’s hoping that the Zenith attic is large and that Charles Vermot’s act of rebellion has not finished bearing horological fruits.
These 135-O movements were housed in small wooden boxes, all of which had been perfectly preserved