ZENITH – ACADEMY Christophe Colomb Tribute to Felix Baumgartner Limited Edition NEW
Tribute to the first 21st century extreme explorer. Zenith and challenges.
Consistently cultivating a distinctive and special relationship
with challenges, the brand with the guiding star has always accompanied
human adventure at its most daring and creative. Witness this new
Academy Christophe Colomb, which pays tributes to one of the great early
21st century explorers of human nature, a champion of surpassing
personal limits.
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An experienced parachutist and base jumper, he achieved
three feats in
2012 by jumping from a stratospheric capsule. A
personality echoing the creative daring and the enterprising spirit of
Zenith, expressed through one of the greatest horological discoveries of
recent years equipping this spectacular model: the Gravity Control
module. Issued in an exceptional ten-piece DLC-coated platinum
limited
edition, the watch features a set of splendid decorations evoking the
feat accomplished by the Austrian sportsman.
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Felix Baumgartner: a philosophy of daring.
Georges Favre-Jacot would doubtless have appreciated
Felix
Baumgartner, since these two individuals living a century and a half
apart share the same philosophy of daring accomplishments and
challenges. These challenges however extremely well calculated and
prepared at length. The kind of challenges conveying values destined to
enrich future generations – such as the fact that the only true limits
are those that we set for ourselves.
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This former Austrian army
paratrooper has racked up an incredible set of records, including that
for the highest parachute jump, from the Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur
(1999), for the lowest extreme jump from the hand of the Christ the
Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro (1999). He has also crossed the
Channel in freefall with a carbon fibre wing (2003), done a base jump
from the Millau viaduct (2004) and leapt off the 91st floor of the
Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taiwan (2007).
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However,
Felix Baumgartner
achieved his most breathtaking feat with
Zenith as a companion on
October 14th 2012, 65 years to the day after Chuck Yeager first broke
the sound barrier. Moreover, he broke not just one, but three freefall
records on this occasion. The first is about height, since he jumped
from a capsule hoisted by a helium-filled stratospheric balloon to the
drop altitude of 38,969.4 metres.
The second relates to speed, since
during his fall he broke the sound barrier at 1,357.6 km/h, meaning Mach
1.25. Finally, the third is about the duration of his jump: four
minutes and 20 seconds.
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This extreme athlete, who is nonetheless not a
reckless adrenalin-seeker, has made excellence his rule of life and aims
for success in all that he undertakes. The
Academy Christophe Colomb
Tribute to Felix Baumgartner is entirely in harmony with this
philosophy.
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Meeting challenges head-on.
Like all models in the line, the
Academy Christophe Colomb Tribute to
Felix Baumgartner stands out at first glance from the rest of the
Zenith collection. Its dial illustrates
Felix Baumgartner’s feat and the
exceptional setting in which he accomplished it, by means of original
decorations and unusual materials. The
Zenith master artisans have
succeeded in faithfully reproducing the famous photo of
Felix
Baumgartner preparing to jump from the capsule that has reached its
maximum height.
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The figure in a space suit adorning the power-reserve
dial at 3 o’clock is chased and engraved on a hand-polished 18-carat
gold plate fixed to the dial by two screws: one above the helmet, and
the other under the left foot. The 12 o’clock hours and minutes dial
bears a subtle detail: a mark lightly drawn between the number 12 and
the first hour-marker, discreetly evoking the duration of the jump (4
minutes and 20 seconds). Like all models in the line, the plate is
hollowed to embrace and enhance the shape of the gyroscopic Gravity
Control module at 6 o’clock. The other striking feature of the watch
face is the dial base, with the turquoise Earth occupying the greater
part, while the upper section shows the Milky Way viewed from the
stratosphere and depicted in aventurine. Rarely used in the field of
Fine Watchmaking, the latter material was born in the 16th century
workshop of a Venetian master glassmaker. While working on his latest
creation, he dropped a speck of metal dust into the molten paste,
thereby inadvertently creating a glass with a spangled radiance. What
more beautiful and natural way could one possibly imagine of portraying
the star-studded sky?
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An incredible feat immortalised on the back.
On the case-back side of this model, the 18-carat gold power-reserve
bridge illustrates the incredible freefall of the Austrian base jumper.
All the motifs are hand-engraved using the line engraving technique,
with Baumgartner’s stylised silhouette at 12 o’clock, the capsule at 9
o’clock and the Earth at 3 o’clock, overlapping the gyroscopic Gravity
Control module. These are surrounded by engraved inscriptions indicating
the champion’s three records: “The highest 38,969.4 m = 127,852.4 feet
/ The fastest 1,357.6 km/h = 843.6 mph / The longest 4min 20s
Freefall”, as well as the “Forty-Five (45) Jewels” on the movement, and
the mention “
Zenith Manufacture Le Locle”. In a particularly subtle
detail, six jewels are placed on the capsule and the spacesuit,
including one at the exact same spot as the watch that
Felix Baumgartner
wore when doing the jump.
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Peak precision.
This new timepiece, bearing the name of the last great 15th century
explorer along with that of the first 21st century supersonic man,
houses a movement featuring two horological feats dedicated to peerless
precision: a regulating organ with a high oscillation frequency (36,000
vibrations/hour) serving to divide time into tenths of a second; and a
micromechanical marvel in the shape of a patented Gravity Control
gyroscopic module, which neutralises the effects of gravity on the rate
of the watch. This system developed by the
Zenith master artisans is
inspired by the precision instruments that the Manufacture used to
produce: marine chronometers.
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The gimbal suspension system with which
they were equipped enabled them to remain horizontal despite ships’
pitching and rolling. The Gravity Control module picks up the same
principle in miniature form: it enables the escapement to remain in a
constantly horizontal position whatever the slant of the wrist. This
results in the widest possible amplitude of the balance wheel and
neutralises the influence of gravity on the smooth running of the watch,
thereby guaranteeing the highest possible precision. This daring
accomplishment by the Manufacture, which required a full five years of
development, is the finest possible tribute to that of
Felix Baumgartner
and his own incredible feat. To date,
Zenith is the only Manufacture to
master this system, which was rewarded by the 2011 Grand Prix
d’Horlogerie de Genève in the Best Complicated Watch category.
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This highly precise movement is housed within a 45 mm platinum case
with a DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) coating that gives the material its
spectacular matt black colour as well as its highly desirable properties
of hardness and scratch resistance. Issued in a 10-piece limited
edition, the watch comes in a carbon-clad ebony presentation box which
may if required be used as a humidor. It also bears a silkscreened
stainless steel plate with
Felix Baumgartner’s signature.
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Model:
Academy Christophe Colomb - Tribute to Felix Baumgartner
10-Piece
Limited Edition in DLC-Coated Platinum
Reference: 39.2210.8804/58.C714
Movement:
El Primero 8804, hand-wound
Unique Gyroscopic system that ensures perfect horizontal positioning of the regulating organ
Calibre: 16 ½’’’ (diameter: 37 mm)
Thickness: 5.85 mm
Components: 308
Gyroscopic carriage made of 171 components
Jewels: 45
Frequency: 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
Over 50-hour power reserve
Functions:
Hours and minutes in an offset dial at 12 o’clock
“Gravity Control” self-regulating module at 6 o’clock
Small seconds at 9 o’clock
Power reserve at 3 o’clock
Case:
Material: DLC-coated platinum case
Diameter: 45 mm
Thickness: 14.35 mm/21.40 mm (with cambered sapphire crystal)
Glass: cambered sapphire crystal glare-proofed on both sides, domes protecting the gyroscopic module
Case-back: Power-reserve Bridge adorned motifs and inscriptions featuring the line engraving technique
Water resistance: 3 ATM
Dial:
Aventurine and Turquoise Dial
Depiction of
Felix Baumgartner’s jump
Stratosphere in aventurine
Earth in blue turquoise
Felix Baumgartner emerging from the capsule: hand-chased and engraved gold
Hands: rhodiumed and facetted
Hour-markers: white lacquered
Strap:
Black alligator leather strap with protective rubber lining
DLC-coated white gold triple folding clasp
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