CronotempVs and Zeitwinkel Team Up On a New Collaboration with a Special Movement

If you’re a fan of limited editions and independent watchmaking, this is a collaboration that should be on your radar. We’ve brought you news of CronotempVs releases before, with both Oris and Habring. This time around, the private watch collecting club based in Spain has partnered with Zeitwinkel, a Swiss indie that’s still fairly under the radar. The new watch, the 126°, has a subdued style that is common to other CronotempVs releases, but seeks to place a focus on the movement, which is pretty special.

The star of the show here is Zeitwinkel’s ZW0102 movement. This caliber represents an alternative to mass produced movements by the likes of ETA and Sellita. It was designed from the ground up by Zeitwinkel, and is constructed largely of German Silver, a traditional but rarely used material in modern movement making. German Silver (an alloy generally made from copper, zink, and nickel) is very robust, but is difficult to machine and finish. According to Zeitwinkel, each ZW01012 coming out of their facilities is assembled and adjusted by a single watchmaker, and finished immaculately. As you can see in the provided photos, there’s a great deal of traditional hand work here, particularly in the polished bevels. 

The dial is simple on its surface, but quite complex when you begin to examine each individual component. It’s made up of two distinct sectors with an outer minute track in black at the perimeter. The central section is a circular piece of German Silver with extremely fine vertical brushing, tying the aesthetic of the dial to that of the movement on the reverse side. The outer sector bears the Zeitwinkel logo in a repeating pattern, adding some texture and contrast to the dial. The hands are also quite intricate, and faceted in such a way down the center to aid in legibility. 

It’s interesting to see Zeitwinkel collaborate with a group like CronotempVs. The stock of both the brand and the collector’s group seem to be climbing, but neither has reached a point where there is extraordinary hype around their releases. This is likely due to the relatively exclusive nature of CronotempVs as a club (they’ve partnered mostly with higher end brands and low production indies, such as A. Lange & Söhne and Urwerk) and the relative obscurity and love-it-or-hate-it design language most commonly employed by Zeitwinkel. But in a crowded and competitive market where collectors are constantly looking for the next big thing, it seems logical that Zeitwinkel, a brand that’s only 16 years old, has their best days ahead of them. 

The 126° is priced at 9,600 € and is expected to ship in the fall. It is “limited production” but CronotempVs has not revealed a total production number, or if the release will be time limited. It’s also worth noting that the case size is 42mm, but a 39mm option will be available at a future date. CronotempVs