As I was publishing my ealier entry on the new TrinTec collections, their President Mr. Brendon Nunes updated me with a picture of the Zulu-05 working pre-production samples on silicon straps, which should be close to the “real thing”:
«We are making minor adjustments to the hands but generally speaking the watches will retain most of what is shown in the photo. Later we will offer leather and stainless steel bands as additional options.»
One of the novelties of the Zulu-05 collection, besides revamping the 1993 design of the Altimeter, is the use of Swiss calibers made by Ronda and ISA. Besides ETA (owned by the Swatch Group), Ronda and ISA are the top Swiss movements manufacturers (ISA belongs to the Chung Nam Group together with the brand Roamer).
ISA and RONDA movements are characterized by competitive prices achieved through clever sourcing of components in compliance with the FHS (Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry) regulations. As a consequence, they are two nice and reliable entries to the Swiss made label.
What characterizes ISA’s range of chronographs is the central sweep second, which allows for direct reading of 1/5th of a second. The prototype show on the picture feature (from left to right):
- a Ronda 515-24 date movement with GMT/UTC hand
- an ISA 8172 chronograph movement with small seconds at 2, central chronograph sweep seconds and minute counter at 10; weekday counter as 6 and date window at 4
- an ISA alarm GMT/UTC multifunction movement with small seconds at 2, central alarm hand and counter at 10; weekday counter ar 6 and date window at 4
ISA movements have been used by many prestigious watchmakers such as Raymond Weil (the W1 chronograph) and alongside with Ronda’s, they are also used in tactical watches by brands like Luminox.
More to come on the Zulu-03 collection…
