ZRC Spatiale

Brief History

Edmond Zuccolo and Joseph Rochet founded ZRC in Geneva in 1904. The Zuccolo Rochet Company soon became famous as they invented the very first extendable watch straps.

Fast forward to 1960, when ZRC Developed the famous Grands Fonds 300m. The French Navy used the final version between 1964 and 1982, with approval from NATO.

The French Navy had an issue with the position of the crown at 3 o’clock. This posed a problem as it was too vulnerable during underwater use.  The designers at ZRC had to find a way to protect the crown without impeding wrist movement. Above all, to ensure it could not open underwater.

The team set to work and developed the famous crown at 6 o’clock. Connected to the case using an exclusive system consisting of a canon cut from a single block.

The ZRC Spatiale was released at the end of 1968. It was the subject at the time of a special American order of 1000 pieces and intended to honour the success of the famous  “Apollo 8  “space mission

My Thoughts

I have had my eye on one these for sometime. Through perseverance, managed to get hold of this stunning example. This has so much going on with it. From the amazing dial and indices, to the eye catching stainless rally type strap.

The blue dial has gracefully started to fade and the numbers and indices have taken on a lovely pumpkin colour. Add that to the swirl of the Spatiale logo and the splash of red from the day and date. This is a thing of beauty and style. It captures the 70’s look, without being too overstated. With the crown at the more unusual 4 o’ clock position this really does stand out form the crowd.

38mm

19mm

48mm

13.5mm

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