ZURINER Depth-Charge ZV-01

By TLex ZURINER is newly established Hong Kong based Watch Company founded by Canadian watch connoisseur, Dave Simmons. I have to admit I haven't come across his name before, though. Nevertheless the ZURINER name has recently caught my attention.



The ZURINER brand has just one model, the 'Depth-Charge ZV-01', a PAM clone / homage watch that will most likely have die hard Paneristi spitting out their coffee. The PANERAI Radiomir 'Egiziano', which the Depth Charge takes its inspiration from, is an historic diving instrument that measured a massive 60mm in diameter. It housed the legendary Angelus Cal. 240 with 8 days power reserve and was commissioned by the Egyptian Navy in the 1950's. This brought about its nickname 'The Egyptian'.

In 2009 PANERAI gave the Egiziano a re-edition. The PAM 341, which boasted a new Titanium construction and Manufacture movement (the Calibre P.2002 also with 8 days power reserve). It still measured 60mm in diameter, though! Size aside the PAM 341 has an MSRP just south of 30K, so is it any wonder someone thought of making an affordable and wearable alternative. In steps ZURINER . . .



Well not quite, because ZURINER weren't in fact the first to clone the legendary Egiziano. RWC ‘Retrospective Watch Co.’ have been producing a 200 piece limited edition watch called the ‘EGIZAINO 1954’ for several years now. This watch’s dimensions are a far more reasonable 47mm (53mm inc. crown). It has a sapphire crystal and a Swiss mechanical movement. It ships for just 1098USD. Of the two watches the RWC leans more towards homage than the ZURINER. It recalls the name and history of the Egiziano and makes a connection with the name ‘Egyptian’ with a depiction of an ancient Egyptian style Griffin engraved on its caseback. It hasn’t copied PANERAI’s trademark and patented crown-locking system, either.



Both watches house the Swiss UNITAS ETA 6497 hand wound caliber, a movement that was in fact used by PANERAI for many of their watches in the days before they made such a name for themselves. The 6497 is large movement, which was once used to power pocket watches. It’s an obvious choice for anyone making large watches that have any sort of historical reference to PANERAI.



So what do you think of watches such as these!? Are they just blatant rip-offs or are they fitting tributes that make the unobtainable obtainable. Before we cast judgment, let’s give a thought to the plethora of Sub clones that we have become so nonchalant about, some of which are praised for the exceptional value that they offer, others evoke no more emotion than a grunted ‘seen that somewhere before’! And who said only Subs were fair game for cloning, anyway?!



Personally I believe there is just as much a place in the watch market for watches like the ZURINER Depth-Charge as there are for any other wannabe Omega, Panerai or Rolex. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, such is the nature of any industry that produces exotic items that because of their sheer expense and or rarity, or in this case size included, are out of reach for so many, that someone sees fit to provide a solution. So I guess it was only matter of time before someone set up an entire watch company based on the Egiziano. ZURINER is that company.



The ZURINER Depth-Charge ZV-01 has a 48mm (exc. crown guard) x 15 mm 316L ASI Stainless Steel case with 24mm lug width. Its case, which has a water-resistance of 20 ATM, 200 meters or 660 feet features a PANERAI-style crown locking device that is probably as close to PANERI’s trademark crown-locking system as one could get without a lawsuit (we shall see). It also features a rotational bezel and has been fitted with AR treated K1 mineral crystal. As previously mentioned it houses the UNITAS 6497 hand cranked movement with 46hrs of power-reserve, not quite 8 days, but what did you expect!



The dial recalls PANERI’s famous sandwich dial, a dual-layered black dial with applied indexes painted with SuperLuminova. The Depth-Charge ZV-01 comes in 6 different variations: two finishes, brushed or DLC and two crown positions, regular or lefty. There are two different sub-dial designs. I’m not particularly fond of either or them to be honest, they shouldn't have messed with them.



The brushed steel versions go for 1099USD, which considering its lack of sapphire crystal misses the mark for me price-wise. The DLC versions cost 1369USD, so that’s a massive 300USD price increase just for the pleasure DLC! Ouch! Each version of the Depth-Charge ZV-01 has been built in a limited edition of 300 pieces, so total 1’800 pieces. They come with a two year international warranty and ship for a further 70USD.