Watches can remind us of our achievements, the people we love, or the things we enjoy. This is why collaborations between watch brands and other like-minded brands can be so successful. Hublot and Ferrari, Seiko and PADI, and Zenith and Habanos are just a few examples of mutually beneficial collaborations. Following last year’s successful release of the Zenith Cohiba edition watches, Zenith is back again with more limited-edition watches created in celebration of Habanos and its cigars. In celebration of the 21st Habanos Festival and the 50th anniversary of the Trinidad cigar, Zenith is releasing three limited-editions watches. Here’s your first look at the new Zenith Pilot Type 20 Chronograph Trinidad Edition watches.

The Case

The three watches in this series are mostly identical, save for their case material and dial color. The Pilot Type 20-style case is 45mm-wide and 14.25mm-thick. Svelte, this is not. The Pilot Type 20 case is beefy and has a vintage aesthetic that calls to mind the instruments in a World War II-era plane. Everything about it seems upsized. The onion crown is large and so are the two chronograph pushers. There are three versions available, and they come in yellow-gold, white-gold, and rose-gold. It has a solid caseback engraved with the 50th-anniversary logo of Trinidad cigar. Water resistance is a very handy 100 meters. These watches also come with a customized Havana brown calfskin leather strap that has the Trinidad logo, along with matching gold pin buckles.

The Dial

The dial is executed in the classic Zenith Pilot Type 20 style, but with a spin. The large cathedral hands and Arabic numerals are present, but the dial is in this rich shade of brown with a unique tobacco-leaf pattern. The dial has a traditional bi-compax chronograph layout with the running seconds at 9 o’clock and 30 minute counter at 3 o’clock. The hands and sub-dials have been designed to match the case. So, you have gold sub-dials for the yellow-gold model, silver sub-dials for the white-gold model, and rose gold sub-dials for the rose-gold model. In between the subdials at 6 o’clock, you have the 50th-anniversary logo of Trinidad.

The Movement

Inside these watches beat the Zenith in-house-made El Primero 4069. It is an integrated self-winding chronograph movement that has a lot in common with the first El Primero movement from 1969. Zenith doesn’t fully disclose the movement decoration. The only thing Zenith did say is that the rotor has Côtes de Genève. That said, I’m sure the rest of the movement is decently decorated. As for specifications, you are looking at a fast 5 Hz beat rate and a power reserve of 50 hours. This is solid by modern standards, even if the foundations of the movement are over 50-years-old now.

Conclusion

I don’t smoke, so I can’t say much about the allure of these watches. That said, I think they do have some interesting and arguably attractive design elements that could appeal to non-smokers. It doesn’t take a cigar-lover to appreciate these uniquely textured dials. However, I think the amount of Trinidad branding is a little overkill. On the flip side, Zenith will only make a small number of these watches; just 50 in each metal type will be produced, so it does guarantee some exclusivity. We will update with pricing for the  Zenith Pilot Type 20 Chronograph Trinidad Edition soon. You can learn more at zenith-watches.com