Sector Chronograph, Zenith-Cairelli, Regia Aeronautica, circa 1938

Sector Chronograph created by ZENITH in around 1938, and installed on the control consoles of the Italian fighter and bomber aircraft of the Regia Aeronautica, specifically we are certain of the Fiat B.R.20 "Cicogna" as reported in the "Zenith" book by Manfred Rossler on page. 297, used in particular missions and war contingents.

This chronograph, which has an 8-day power reserve, features 12 removable "sectors" all around which are placed between each of the 12 hours shown on the dial. To this day it is not possible to trace their use with certainty but it is conceivable that the removal of each of the plates from their location served to establish the time in which "radio silence" had to necessarily occur, i.e. a situation in which the stations radios (landline or aircraft) the temporary interruption of transmissions was imposed, generally for safety reasons.

On the dial, in addition to the "ZENITH" brand, it shows that of "A. Cairelli" which was the Italian supplier for the Royal Air Force.

This exact version is of the type approved by the Ministry of the Royal Air Force as reported on an inspection label entrusted to Cairelli in 1941.

It is in perfect working order and its aesthetic condition is excellent.

The Zenith Manufacture, founded almost 150 years ago, was one of the first watchmakers to supply timepieces and on-board instruments. And a new Pilot Montre d'Aéronef Type 20 pays homage to the centenary of the Naval Aviation, Italian Navy Flight Department.

In fact, Zenith is linked to Italy and its Armed Forces by a long and rich historical tradition. The Manufacture began to collaborate with the Italian State Railways in 1909, a period in which railway connections played a strategic role for the times and the geographical position of the peninsula. In the 1920s, timepieces made for the Italian market numbered more than 65,000. Zenith watches were precise and robust, two indispensable qualities for supplies destined for the State Railways.

Meanwhile, coinciding with the birth of Naval Aviation, Zenith developed the first altimeters for the new European and US civil and military air fleets. The fame of the Manufacture and its wrist chronographs quickly spread among the Italian Armed Forces.

In the 1930s, Zenith paid homage to the Italian Navy by creating two models of oversized wrist chronographs (diameter of 46 mm compared to a maximum average of 32 mm at the time), embellished with the Navy coat of arms and the inscription "Regia Marina Italiana". The first model was made of gold and had two counters, while the second, made of steel, had three.

Starting in the 1930s, the Manufacture began producing on-board watches for the Italian Armed Forces, distributed through the supplier Cairelli. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Cairelli turned directly to Zenith to supply the Italian Air Force with wrist chronographs accurate and robust enough to withstand the difficult conditions in which fighter aircraft operated. Those watches have become true icons of the brand.