Zenith’s First New Release of the Year is a Pair of Blue Dialed Boutique Editions from their Pilot Collection

After a period of relative quiet in the watch industry over the holidays, as we head into mid-January it’s clear that we are not being fully launched into New Release Season, with news coming across our desks about watch releases from some of our favorite brands. Some we can share now, and some will have to wait, but it’s clear whatever respite we had between Thanksgiving and New Years is, well, completely over. First out of the gate among the big Swiss luxury brands is Zenith, with news about an addition to their Pilot collection, which was their big launch in 2023. 

The Pilot collection took us by surprise last year. After several years of focusing on the Defy and Chronomaster lines, it felt like a left turn of sorts. But Zenith is rightfully incredibly proud of the Pilot and the heritage it represents. Zenith trademarked “Pilot” in 1904, and is famously the only watchmaker who can use the word solo on a watch dial. The watches we saw last year represented a new twist on a format we know well. They aren’t regurgitations of a historic reference, but feel like a modern realization of an aviation themed watch with contemporary proportions and materials. 

The new boutique editions seen here take the Pilot Automatic and Pilot Big Date Flyback and add blue dials, offering an alternative to the jet black seen on last year’s collection. According to Zenith, the shade of blue seen on these dials is meant to evoke the night sky as seen by a pilot, but blue is a common color used in boutique editions of Zenith references going back years.The dials maintain their signature horizontal grooves in both versions. These grooves are meant to recall the appearance of metal sheets used in aircraft manufacturing. 

The Pilot Automatic is in a clean, mid size 40mm stainless steel case with a wide, flattop bezel and an oversized crown. The Pilot Big Date Flyback is a bit larger, measuring 42.5mm, also in steel. In addition to the flyback chronograph (the watch is powered by the El Primero 3652 caliber) the standout feature here is the big date complication, which has one of the satisfying, tactile “clicks” we’ve tested on a watch like this. It might sound like a trivial thing (admittedly, it is, but in watches that’s par for the course) but to change the date on this watch is to understand high quality mechanics at work in the Zenith caliber. 

The new Pilot Automatic Boutique Edition and Pilot Big Date Flyback Boutique Edition are both available now exclusively through Zenith boutiques and Zenith’s website. They are not limited editions, but like other boutique editions they will be produced in limited quantities in addition to only being available at Zenith owned points of sale. The retail price on the Pilot Automatic is $7,500, with the Big Date coming in at $11,500. Zenith