MILITARY CODES
To pay tribute to the sometimes-anonymous heroes of the Second World War, to the courage and valor of women and men, the brand from Geneva dresses up its icon with US Army military codes.
In 1964, the Grands Fonds 300 imagined by ZRC, a brand founded in 1904, stood out by becoming the official watch of the French National Navy. Its timeless silhouette, set off with a crown at 6 o’clock, perfectly-identifiable among the various contemporary dive models on the market, is an ideal playground for the extraordinary creativity of Georges Brunet, ZRC’s young CEO, as illustrated through the Grands Fonds 300 Militaria which draws its inspiration from US Army military gear, in particular the famous Willys Jeep, which it features on its dial.
To adorn the face of this novel opus, the Geneva firm used the exact same Pantone shade as the US Army, a wonderful khaki green topped with a grainy finish. For the typography of the Arabic numerals and indexes, ZRC borrowed the traditional Stencil USA font, created using stenciled design, and generally painted in white so it would be visible by reconnaissance aircraft flying high in the sky. In the center of this military-motivated dial, the two magnum-style hands and the dot-tipped direct-drive, all three silvered and coated with white Super-LumiNova®, indicate the hours, minutes and seconds.
These functions are driven by the automatic ETA 2428-2 caliber which delivers a power reserve of 38 hours and nestles in the 40.5 mm-diameter steel case. A case which is topped by a unidirectional rotating bezel, as-ever boasting the ECSTM rinsing system, and clasped by a strap fashioned in EPDM – a natural supple rubber – khaki-colored of course.
Price: CHF2,690 www.shop.zrc1904.ch
By Sharmila Bertin