# Zenith Cairelli CP-2 (Modem Killer)



## LouS (Oct 6, 2009)

A few days ago, I posted a teaser of my first grail of the week, a Zenith Cairelli CP-2, and promised more pix. I find that this forum has no prior formal post on this watch, so I thought I'd present a little background and history along with the pictures. Please feel free to correct where you know I've got it wrong -- that's the way watch knowledge grows! (for those of you who just want the pix, scroll down)










No need to belabor the history of our favorite _manufacture_, except to say that Zenith used principally Excelsior Park movements prior to their 1960 acquisition of Martel Watch company, specializing in chronographs. Thereafter, Martel calibre 749 formed the basis for the Zenith cal. 146 series of handwound chronograph movements, replacing the Excelsior Park movements. [corrected _vice _Hartmut regarding relation of 146 to El P, see below]. Versions of the 146 were found in most of the Zenith chronographs of the 60's. It was made obsolete by the advent of the El Primero in 1969.










Cairelli appears to have been a supplier of instrumentation to the Italian military, and especially its airforce, the AMI (Aeronautica Militare Italiana). 
Prior to the Zenith, it supplied a chonograph to the same spec from Universal Geneve. Cairelli supplied other Zenith products to the Italian military as dashboard clocks.










CP-2 is an Italian military designation meaning "Cronometro da polso Nr. 2" (= Wristwatch Type 2; thanks MSAINT for the information). This specification superceded the smaller CP-1, supplied by Leonidas and Breitling (aka the Breitling 817 -- a very sexy watch, btw) in the 1960's (about 1965 appears to be the consensus). The CP-2 was issued to pilots of the Italian F-104 squadrons which formed the backbone of the interceptor fleet, in common with many other NATO countries. In this respect, the CP-2 appears to have the same service associations as the Heuer "Bund" model, issued to West German pilots about the same time. Universal Geneve apparently originally supplied watches to the CP-2 specification prior to Zenith. The reason for the switch to Zenith is not clear, but Martel had supplied UG with movements (the Martel cal. 749 was known as the Universal cal. 285, I believe) for its CP-2 prior to their acquisition by Zenith. It seems likely that the Italian military may simply have wanted continuity of a tried and true movement, so Cairelli contracted with its new owners, Zenith.

The Zenith Cairelli CP-2 appears to have been produced in 2500 exemplars, and I have read some speculation on the french watch forums that Le Locle held a good number of these back for nonpayment by Cairelli. It is not known how many were actually assigned, but there seem to be a large number of unassigned ones floating about, certainly more than assigned. On assigned watches the inscription on the back has an additional line which begins with AMI (air force), MM (Marina Militare, or Navy -- sound familiar to you Panny fans?), PS (Pubblica Sicurezza - State Police), or EI (Esercito Italiano = Army)followed by an inventory number. Mine is unissued:










The CP-2 was eventually superceded by the Heuer/Lemania 5100. (much of the above from Enzo Liguori http://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/990103944/m/7751065441 and ZEN http://forumamontres.forumactif.com...relli-tipo-cp-2-t58892.htm?highlight=cairelli)

And now, without further ado, some pictures:








































































And the movement, which has an anti-magnetic cover





































and finally...










Thank you for your indulgence. If you have any more info on this watch, or if I've gotten some of this wrong, don't hesitate to speak up!

Cheers!


----------



## david ng (Dec 15, 2008)

Gorgeous military watch that looks so elegant


----------



## MaxPower! (Mar 10, 2010)

Stunning.... That's all I have... Should've sent a poet.


----------



## Hartmut Richter (Feb 13, 2006)

Thanks very much for the pictures. A good looking watch - I had never seen one up that close and didn't realize that the subdials had a circular pattern similar to some modern EP watches! The only other comment I have is that, contrary to your suggestion, the El Primero is not in any way based on the Cal. 146. For a start it's too small 13''' - the Cal. 146, is, as the name suggests, 14'''. There is also the Cal. 136 (13''') and Cal. 156 (15''') and the EP is not based on the 136 either. There is just too much chronograph mechanism to build and automatic winding bridge over. Ah, I hear you say, but didn't Zenith at least use the basic hand wound calibre, put a new chrono mechanism on top and add the automatic winding system? Not likely either - the balances are in slightly different places! The El Primero is and remains a completely independent design from start to finish. It should be - some sources state that it took seven years to develop from start to finish, without modern CAD systems. Well worth it - the qulity is so high that even these days, it is one of the most accurate and at the same time most rugged movements you can get.

[For a verification of that statement from a watchmaker, read www.chronometrie.com/rolex3135/rolex3135.html, towards the bottom of the review]

Hartmut Richter


----------



## LouS (Oct 6, 2009)

Great info, Hartmut, as usual. Any idea why so many -- apparently the majority - of these watches are unissued? Any truth to the rumor that Zenith did not deliver all of them?


----------



## ducatidoc (Oct 12, 2009)

Lou:

How did you manage to find it ? And does the lume still work after all this time ?


----------



## LouS (Oct 6, 2009)

ducatidoc said:


> Lou:
> 
> How did you manage to find it ? And does the lume still work after all this time ?


D-Doc,

I had put the word out to a number of collectors and dealers I had done business with in the past. An experienced European collector who was looking for his own Cairelli managed to score two (!), keeping one for himself and passing along the other (Imagine that the one above is the lesser of the two!). I have the impression that the vast majority of these circulate in the european market, so it really helped to have someone there who could take advantage of that.

The lume starts out strong but dims pretty quickly (<1hr) after lights out. To me, that's old Luminova behavior, no? Time-wise, I'd have expected the Cairelli to have tritium lume, since its a mid 60s piece, but there is not a hint of that on the dial -- no "3H," no "T," nothing. Even if it's been re-lumed, I'd have expected some kind of marking, especially on a military watch. I suppose that means that it's been re-lumed with Luminova sometime in the past, as one would not expect Tritium to extinguish like that, right? Still doesn't solve the lack-of-marking mystery. What do you thnk?

Another question for the hive-mind of the forum -- the chronograph second hand does not track smoothly over the 1 to 4 o'clock arc. It keeps time perfectly well. Can anyone tell me what this signifies?


----------



## huntershooter (Mar 30, 2009)

Great report, outstanding Zenith.
Thank you.


----------



## Hartmut Richter (Feb 13, 2006)

LouS said:


> Great info, Hartmut, as usual. Any idea why so many -- apparently the majority - of these watches are unissued? Any truth to the rumor that Zenith did not deliver all of them?


Sorry - no info on that one! All I can find in "the book" is that 2500 were made, all delivered to A. Cairelli. So, if any were held back, it's an unofficial thing.....

Hartmut Richter


----------



## MSAINT (Mar 29, 2006)

Great catch LouS!
Those beauties are really hard to find.

If I may add something, the denomination CP-2 is not a NATO code it just means Cronometro da polso n°2 = wrist chronometer (in Italian)

Also, if you have the chance to flip the great book by Michele Galizia Military wristwatches sky - land - sea (Chronomania editor) you'll see that almost every army, customs and judicial corp had or could have had a Zenith CP-2... The book shows example of :
*R.A.M.I.* => Raggrupamento Autonomo Minitero Interno (Zenith Cairelli P. 225)
*P.S.* => Pubblica Sicurezza (Zenith Cairelli P. 224 )
and *A.M.I.* => Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Zenith Cairelli P. 223)

Here's an nice thread in French about some Cairelli:
http://forum.chronomania.net/board_entry.php?id=103772&page=0&order=last_answer&category=all

I have the chance to have one, just like yours issued but not assigned. It's minty and I can't stop enjoying it!




























A few weeks ago a friend lent me his for a rare duet photo-shoot and I'm planning a triplet gathering very soon!





































Wear it in good health! :-!


----------



## LouS (Oct 6, 2009)

MSAINT, it was your photos that got me hooked on the Cairelli in the first place! Powerful things, your pix!


----------



## MSAINT (Mar 29, 2006)

Sorry Lou! ;-)
And thanks for the kind comment...
Enjoy the Cairelli! (did you noticed the incredible sensuality of the Martel 749?)

The whole gallery is here: http://www.blogmywatch.com/index.php?album=msaint/zenith-cp2-a-cairelli


----------



## ducatidoc (Oct 12, 2009)

MSAINT said:


>


Hope this doesn't sound like a travesty, but in the absence of an original Zenith strap, that's one of the very few watches that I think would look good on a Nato strap. Black only, of course.


----------



## MSAINT (Mar 29, 2006)

I really think Micah's works from Vintagerstraps on this beautiful V-Dark does the trick way better that the original awful elastic strap or any NATO (well I'm not objective as I find NATO armbands very uncomfortable)
The gator from ABP from my friend's Cairelli makes it very cosy... and less military than a "beefy" strap!


----------



## Hartmut Richter (Feb 13, 2006)

Fantastic watches! I hope you had no trouble sorting out which one belonged to whom afterwards.....!!:-d

Hartmut Richter


----------



## MSAINT (Mar 29, 2006)

No problem Hartmut, they don't have the same wabi... nor the same strap!


----------



## asadtiger (Jun 23, 2008)

this is one killer Zenith thread...very handsome watches guys.


----------



## LouS (Oct 6, 2009)

ducatidoc said:


> Hope this doesn't sound like a travesty, but in the absence of an original Zenith strap, that's one of the very few watches that I think would look good on a Nato strap. Black only, of course.


OK, what do we think? (sorry abt the glare)


----------



## Hartmut Richter (Feb 13, 2006)

Perfect!

Hartmut Richter


----------



## v76 (Dec 29, 2009)

Looks great on the NATO! :-!


----------



## D N Ravenna (Apr 30, 2005)

That is a mighty fine looking watch! I hope it serves you well. I have always liked that design wishing I had purchased a similar looking Kobold years ago. But of course, you have a much better watch!

Thank you for sharing. It is wonderful to look at!

Dan

:-!


----------



## georges zaslavsky (Feb 11, 2006)

that is one killer watch lou, thanks for sharing:-!


----------



## LouS (Oct 6, 2009)

New shoes for the Cairelli -- I think I've found the strap it's going to live with. Bulkier than I would have liked but the color seems right to me.


----------



## WatchFred (Feb 1, 2011)

bringing up a very, very old thread - it was this post that had me fall in love with the Zenith Cairelli CP-2 and made me start to hunt for one, so I have to thank LouS for that interesting quest.

But pieces were either incorrect, in mediocre or sad condition or plain unaffordable, the longer I hunted the higher the prices for nice CP-2 seemed to climb ....

Was close to either giving up or paying a price I would have found ridiculous before, but in the end was lucky enough to find this beautiful piece at a price I could just stomach (might have considered it absurd too some years ago), an unissued CP-2 like LouS's that started my love affair, in rather decent condition.

thought some of you might enjoy it too ?





































thank you, LouS !


----------



## wills0_9 (Apr 15, 2014)

Congrats, Fred. Great find.
These are fabulous looking Zeniths!


----------



## sempervivens (Sep 24, 2006)

WatchFred said:


>


Great catch. Congratulations.


----------



## damonbecker (Apr 15, 2008)

What a beautiful find! I hope LouS gets a chance to see this. Has anyone heard from LouS lately?

Damon


----------



## Hartmut Richter (Feb 13, 2006)

If you check his profile, you'll see that he is still around and last posted around two months ago. Sadly, he hasn't been in Zenith for quite some time.

Hartmut Richter


----------

