BY DHANANJAY PATHAK
At WristReview we are a passionate bunch of people who always strive hard to present our audience with the best from the world of horology. As much as we love covering the big boys from the industry, we are also on the lookout for great value offerings from micro/boutique brands. On that note, I would like to introduce to our audience to Zahnd & Kormann and their new ZK No.2 line of chronometer sports watches.
Based in Bern, Switzerland, Zahnd & Kormann aka Z&K is a young watch brand that was founded back in 2016 by Roger Zahnd & Florian Kormann. It is believed that there is nothing more valuable than time in this world and this is one of the core values behind every Z&K timepiece that has been designed to track the accurate passage of time. The brand started its horological journey with an ETA 7751 based full calendar chronograph and is now back with its sophomore effort, the ZK No.2, a collection of high-quality COSC certified sports watches. So, let’s see whether these new watches are worthy of your hard-earned cash?
The ZK No.2 collection comprises of two watches; a GMT and a diver. As the two share quite a bit in common let us begin by looking at the similarities. Both watches feature a large and bold 44mm case that has been crafted from titanium to keep the overall weight in check and offer better wrist comfort. Sitting on top of the case is a 120 click uni-directional ceramic bezel and at 3’o clock is a nicely knurled crown that is protected by crown guards and screws down to ensure 600 meters of water resistance. There is a sapphire crystal on the front to protect the dial and even the case back features a sapphire exhibition window to enjoy looking at the mechanical underpinnings of the watch.
Presented in black, white, green and blue, the face on both models has been cleanly executed and features vertical stripes for added visual dynamism. The hour markers are a mix of applied rectangles, circles and a triangle at 12, and the minute track has been presented in the form of a sloped chapter ring on the outer periphery. The sword-shaped handset is well proportioned and combined along with the markers has been filled with BGW9 superluminova that emits a cool blue glow to aid legibility in dimly lit situations. And finally, there is a date window at 3.
Now onto the individual models.
ZK No.2 Diver
The ZK No.2 Diver is a simple, robust and ultra-legible three-hand dive watch. Riding under the hood of the ZK No.2 diver is the Sellita SW200-1, a reliable self-winding movement that operates at a frequency of 4Hz and offers a power reserve of around 38 hours when fully wound. As an icing on the cake, the movement has been COSC certified to ensure high accuracy by offering a maximum deviation between -4 and +6 seconds a day. In all this is a no-nonsense sport watch that can be a great companion for those underwater adventures.
ZK No.2 GMT
The ZK No.2 GMT is the more complicated of the two new watches. The addition of a GMT complication makes the face of the watch slightly busier by bringing a GMT scale and a red GMT hand in the mix. Powering this watch is the Sellita SW330-1 movement. This movement operates at a frequency of 4Hz, offers a power reserve of around 42 hours and apart from normal timekeeping functions enables the wearer to track an additional time zone using the GMT hand. Once again like the ZK No.2 Diver, this movement has also been COSC certified for extreme accuracy. So, in case you are a frequent traveler and need a watch that can handle whatever is thrown its way, the ZK No.2 GMT could be the watch you are looking for.
To conclude, I would like to say that the Zahnd & Kormann ZK No.2 collection brings a lot to the table, especially for the asking price. The watches are currently in the pre-order phase with prices starting at CHF 799 for the diver and CHF 899 for the GMT. A total of 50 pieces would be made for every variant and the special pricing would hold true for only the first 20 pieces, following which the price would rise to CHF 999 and CHF 1099 respectively. You can order the watches right now in advance through the brand’s website www.timeisyours.ch or can wait for the Indiegogo campaign that is scheduled to begin in March 2020.
[button color=”black” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”follow” openin=”newwindow” url=”https://igg.me/at/zk-chronometer”]DISCOVER THE NEW ZK No.2 COLLECTION HERE[/button]
