Zelos has been creeping in slowly and creating a strong fanbase when it comes to divers watches. The Singaporean brand has excelled in its designs and the value for money that they provide. It was about time that the company ventured and expanded its realm outside the dive watches. The second most famous series of watches after the dive watches are the pilot and Zelos Skyraider 2 takes inspiration from that. The company has a modern take on the traditional pilot’s watch and it’s fascinating to see how the brand has incorporated its signature designs into the new line of watched, may it be the design cues, colour and element of dials or the famous lume.
The names and inspiration comes from the Douglas A-1 Skyraider which happened to be a single seat propeller driven fighter aircraft that was powered by a piston engine. The flight that was developed in 19040s had an impact in the Korean and Vietnam wars but with the advancement of modern technology the flight aircraft was replaced by the modern day jets. It’s fitting the watch is powered by the hand-winding mechanism ETA 6497/6498-1 which is somewhat old school technology and a perfect reminder of the times gone by
The Élaboré movements are basically based on the Unitas pocket watch movement and the two reference numbers ETA 6497/6498-1 defers only on the placement of the subdials. It is a 17 jewels movement beating at a modest rate of 18.8 kbph and has a decent power reserve of 44 hours. The movement is generic in most aspect but one cool feature is the skeletonised mainspring barrel that allows the owner to gauge the amount of power left in the barrel and whether it needs winding. The company has done well to decorate the movement may it be the circular Côtes de Genève engraved main plates, usage of blue screws, the PVD finish etc. To give it a feel of pilot’s watch the rachet wheel has turbine engravings on them and the crown wheel has circular patterning. In short the movement is generic yet appealing and a beauty to look at
Zelos comes into its own element by amalgamating traditional designs with modern elements. On one hand the pilot’s watch has a manual wound movement on the other it has a titanium case that measures 42 mm in diameter. It’s 22 mm lug to lug and 10.5 mm in height. You will get sapphire crystal on both the front and back side. The bracelet is all new and made in titanium featuring a stainless steel quick adjust clasp and quick release spring bars. They are water resistant to 50.
The Skyraider 2 is available in five options and it’s not just the colour of the dial that is different. The most eye catching is the one that’s completely skeletonised right from the main plates to the mainspring barrels which exposes the entire movement when worn on the wrist. The beauty lies in the way the watch has been executed, skeletonised watches tend to compromise on the legibility factor but this one is quite legible. The hands are filled with C3 X1 and BGW9 lume and are quite broad and the lume stays true to the brand’s earlier offerings.
The remaining four models feature the Arabic numerals with a small seconds counter at 6 o’clock. But that is where the parallelism ends, the Skyraider 2 Ti carbon has aforged carbon dial and the organic whorls and swirls gives an impression of shifting under different light angles. The Skyraider 2 Ti Blue meteorite actually features a small piece of Muonionalusta meteorite that had hit the Scandinavia a million year ago. Each dial has ben designed in such a way the each one of them is unique when it comes to the Widmanstätten pattern. The Meteorite is given a blue tinge through a PVD process.
The remaining two options are the Teal and Frost dial models. The Teal one is designed in such a way that the hues turn almost black as we reach to the edge of the case. The Frost dial is the least “fancy” one and features black hands and indices to give a contrast and enhance the simplistic elements of the watch.
It’s nice to see that the brand is expanding its offerings and the customer base. It shows that the brand has vision in place when it comes to expansion that speaks a lot about their business acumen. In terms of watches you really get a lot more than what you pay for and the fact that Zelos dials re always in talk for their uniqueness either in terms of design or the usage of materials make it a no brainer not to purchase one. The watches are available at a discount till 10th of December. The prices are as follows, Teal and Frost model will be launched at $899, Carbon and Meteorite Model at $999 and the skeletonised watch ( that is my pick) will be around $ 1499. Each model will come in a wooden gift box and a travel watch roll. For more information you can refer to Zelos’ website
The Enigmatic Pen 