Classical elements meet technical brilliance
Among the recent, most horologically significant timepieces within the affordable range, Zeppelin rose to lofty heights within no time. It was obvious since PointTec all of a sudden decided to put their heart and soul entirely into bringing back the old-school aviation and formal, dress watches. The year was 2002 and the introduction of Zeppelin had POINTtec finally expand its portfolio. It opened a new door towards reliving the glorious past and all the associated grandeurs of airships, from which stemmed the past of modern aviation. This was three years before the first airplane could take its first flight. The first airship – Luftschiff Zeppelin or LZ1 – took off in 1900.
PointTec focused upon designs that are more than a hundred years old, portraying probably the most elegant way of traveling of that era. They excel at it still, restituting old-world charm through the latest, cutting-edge technology and precision instruments. The German mindset of finishing every task – big or small – to its best and bringing high satisfaction for the end consumer shows in the Zeppelin watches, among which, we’ll talk about the Atlantik and the Flatline today.
Table of Contents:
2. A quick glimpse of the Atlantik
3. A long look at the Atlantik
5. A quick glimpse at the Flatline
6. A long look at the Flatline
7. Atlantik & Flatline: A side by side comparison
8. Atlantik &. Flatline: The sources for surreal delights
The Atlantic: In view
The Atlantic was originally a line of mechanical chronographs from Zeppelin. The new ZEPPELIN Atlantic series is an homage to Graf Zeppelin’s creations crossing the Atlantic during the 1930s. Their high-end entirety attracts a wide range of buyers, who admit their excellent readability and robust, gleaming build. The refined, classic elegance reflects in every watch in the series. Let’s take Atlantic ref. 8462-2 as an example; a rare beauty with curved glass and ample assets to lure you into an obsession.
A quick glimpse at the Atlantik
- A high-quality mechanical watch.
- A shiny, black dial.
- Power-reserve display between 9 and 10 o’clock.
- Flat-fitting Miyota 9133 automatic caliber by Citizen.
- Polished, 316L stainless steel construction.
- Curved sapphire glass on top.
- Flat mineral glass on case back.
- Grooved crown with convex head.
- Leather Strap w/ buckle clasp.
A long look at the Atlantik
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Dial & Lume
The dial of the Atlantic ref. 8462-2 is electroplated, which gives it a particularly fine-grained texture with a velvety feel. A power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock and a date window at 3 o’clock provide a complete balance to the dial, making it harmonious and contemporary. The black dial is punctuated with a touch of red, elegant against the dark of the dial and the silver of the hands and the rest of the elements upon it. Finally, it’s the indexes and the white logo that bring a final contrast to a sober and infinitely beautiful background. A pleasant detail is the Luminova glow paint at the ends of the hands for effective night-viewing. The hands and indices light up in cool blue, which is a technical trait and also brings a different aesthetic treat than the usual green.
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Leather Strap
The handmade high quality leather strap guarantees highest wearing comfort. It is not susceptible to sweat and other bodily fluids, water and other common, mild liquids we come across every day. The buckle is made from the same 316L stainless steel used in the making of the case, crown, pins, stems and the case back
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The Movement
The Miyota 9133 movement housed within the Atlantik’s case is known for its robustness and longevity. It houses 26 jewels, its vibration/frequency 28800 bps and it features a power reserve indicator at 9. It can hold power max for 45 hours and overall can maintain a +5 seconds accuracy if regulated well. Practical features like a stop-second and manual winding are integral to the movement, performed through the crown at 3. The clear glass bottom offers a view of it from the rotor side.
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The crystal
The tempered mineral glass atop the dial is extremely hard and shall easily withstand any knock or bump that you might face in a regular city life. Besides, its curved edges impart the watch an almost bezel-less look, making the dial appear bigger than it is. Its clarity is commendable as much as its smooth curve at the edge.
The Flatline: In view
The Zeppelin Flatline ref: 7368-2 is complexly clean in its looks and clear and legible in its presentation. Undeniably, a smart piece; whether at work or amidst pleasures. The Bauhaus influences are prominent, showing through its slim, purposeful design. Its lines, its balanced dial layout, its unostentatious case construction – all add to the timepiece’s ease of wear. The crown at 4 is also another comfort factor; there will be no wrist bite to worry about.
A quick glimpse at the Flatline
- Movement: Citizen/Miyota 9132 automatic
- Jewels: 26
- Vibrations: 28800 per hour
- Power reserve: 40 hours
- Case material: Stainless steel
- Crystal: Mineral glass
- Case back: Exhibition
- Band: Leather
- Winding direction: Bidirectional/unidirectional
- Features: Power reserve display, 24-hour display, stop seconds, Sweep seconds, date
- Case diameter: 40 mm
- Case thickness: 12 mm
- Lug size: 20 mm
A long look at the Flatline
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Dial & Lume:
Zeppelin opted for a new dial layout for the extremely handsome Flatline, placing the power reserve indicator offset at 30°. It imparts the watch an unusually striking look; more so, for the rich black dial, which increases many times the prominence of the gold and silver markings. The date window is at 4 while the 24-hours indicator is between 6 and 8’o clock. There’s no lume on the dial; it’s just the three hands that put up a soft glow from which you can easily estimate the time in dark.
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Leather Strap:
Italian cowhide is always the softest variety among leathers; it is more stain resistant and thinner than full grain leather. Dyed with all-natural items (vegetable/plant-based extracts/tannins), it is more durable and longer-lasting.
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The movement:
The Miyota 9132, 26-jewel automatic movement is visible/displayed through the see-through case back, storing 40-hours of power reserve on every full wind of the mainspring. It was created by adding a complication module to the 9015, which is a regular 28,800 A/H movement fitted with high pinions. Its symmetric layout and the sweeping of the calendar hand also contribute to its increased costs. The taller pinions are also a reason behind the price-hike.
Miyota 9015 is an abundantly used movement among micro brands for its performance, only comparable to the Swiss ETA 2824–2. Its upside is the ease of fine-tuning it while on the flipside; it scores slightly less than the ETA in matters of magnetic sensitivity. Its competitor is the ‘Seiko Instruments’ NE20, a tried and tested movement that adorns many of the micro brands from within.
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The crystal
The tempered mineral glass atop the dial is extremely hard and shall easily withstand any knock or bump that you might face in a regular city life. Besides, its curved edges impart the watch an almost bezel-less look, making the dial appear bigger than it is. Its clarity is commendable as much as its smooth curve at the edge.
Atlantik & Flatline: A side by side comparison
Zeppelin Atlantik Black Dial Leather Strap Automatic 8462-2 84622 Men’s WatchModel: Z84622 |
Zeppelin Flatline 7368-2 73682 Automatic Men’s WatchModel: Z73682 |
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Atlantik & Flatline: The sources for surreal delights
It’s not to say everyone who spared the time and patience to come this much reading the piece is going to like both of them spoken about. Yet, there remains a faint beacon of hope regarding those who are fascinated by black dials and Gropius measures in things they own. Interpretations, therefore; will vary and it will be strange if they don’t, ruling out the occasional moments of agreeing at one or multiple points.
For example, you can’t deny there’s a lot of overlap in these two models. Both draw heavily on German aviation history and mould them the way of the Bauhaus designs. They become vintage-aviation-themed pieces with a versatile reach.
And if not for anything else, the Atlantik and the Flatline models can highly be praised for their brilliance as well as for their lasting through which, they truly uphold and demonstrate the rich traditions of German work ethics.
F.A.Q
A. Both the Atlantik and the Flatline are distinctively styled after the instruments and measuring gauges in the early 1900’s airships. They are not something a pilot will wear to the cockpit unless he really, really wants to; they reflect nothing of modern, digital avionics.
.A. Are dress watches daring and provocative to look at? Then they are.
Both of these classic-styled watches come with a fair bit of technical inclination so yes; for as long as innovative pieces will keep making bold fashion statements, you can refer to them as dress/work-wear.
A. The veracity to a specific historical period in their designs. These watch designs revisit the first three decades of the 20th century. This is alluring even for them not a bit bothered about aesthetics otherwise. This is also the reason why hunky, retro-diver watch lovers and true military timepiece seekers also swayed towards the Zeppelin brand. The Bauhaus elegance gels well with their macho image. Plus, they are nicely built.
A. Don’t compare their water resistance and shock durability to big-ole, slug-like divers that help you work your way out of a bar fight with. It’s just a nice legit alternative for the sober or mildly-sober times.
- Zeppelin provides a really good price-quality ratio.
- They are worthy, with longer life expectancy than the rest in (and some outside) its league
A. Yes, definitely. Golf and tennis won’t harm it; better not to use it for polo or water polo.
A. Zeppelin uses only quality cores or movements from renowned Swiss and Japanese manufacturers irrespective of quartz or mechanical/automatic varieties. Usually, it is ETA/Valjoux, Sellita and Ronda among the Swiss movement manufacturers and Miyota and Seiko from Japan.
A. Zeppelin watches use Swiss-made sapphire glasses and Japan-made, sapphire-coated K1 safety glasses. They are highly resistant to scratches and shattering.
A. Only the best materials in the market are used to lume the Zeppelin dials, hands and indices. They are non-radioactive and non-toxic with charging period approx between 6 and 10 hours under a bright Sun for an overnight glow.
A. The rate of deviation in Zeppelin watches, like in every other watch, varies depending on the movement used. They seldom go out of the – 10 / + 30 seconds/day threshold (for mechanicals) and -0.5 to +0.7 seconds/day (for quartz).
A. Highly qualified German watch makers design, assemble and quality-check all Zeppelin watches, at PoinTec’s own facility. The company procures the cases from selected case makers in China to keep the costs low, some of the most renowned Swiss brands alike. The Zeppelin watches use hour, minutes and seconds hands made in France; their dials are made in Germany, their straps and bracelets in Italy and Germany and the glasses/crystals in Switzerland and Japan.
