ZENTON Bronze 500m (exclusive content)

By TLex ZENTON, who created the M45, one of the finest factory cased divers I have had the pleasure to experience, now showing us that they are about much more. Their new bronze fixed bezel diver measures 42mm Ø, and as the dial states is rated to 500m. My first instinct was to draw comparisons with Germano & Walter's 500m, specifically their latest bronze version; there's its un-guarded crown, a fixed bezel, the sober styling and of course the use of bronze, which has become quite fashionable in the Boutique sector.

However on reflection the similarities end there; the ZENTON 500m (it has no official name yet) seems more symmetrically shaped, no doubt with a far more reasonable overall case length than that of the G&W 500m, which measures 57mm. It also feels more like a contemporary diver than a vintage recreation. It will come be fitted with an ETA 2824-2 (most likely regulated as other ZENTON models).

I love the direction that companies like ZENTON and more recently HELSON are heading, albeit if just to show that they are capable of thinking outside the box once in a while, and are passionate about dive watches, not just in their more generic forms with rotating divers bezels and Helium Escape Valves, but as living breathing creations with depth and charisma. And I'm not just talking about the use of bronze either, the new ZENTON 500m would have much appeal if realized in stainless steel.

ZENTON are offering just 20 pieces of their bronze fixed bezel diver; its price will be circa 1'200USD. Stay tuned for much more . . .