In the market for vintage watches, one thing that’s always sure to drive up prices, and for good reason, is military provenance. A standard vintage piece already bears considerable amounts of character, but military issued pieces go just that extra bit farther. Here at Wound For Life, we’re quite fond of military issued chronographs, and if you ask us, there’s one seriously important and simply gorgeous reference that certainly deserves some more love – the Zenith A. Cairelli CP-2. Succeeding the Breitling / Leonidas supplied CP-1, the CP-2 already had big shoes to fill at the time, but as we now know, the latter arguably left the more lasting impression.

So you’ve most likely already heard of Zenith, but what exactly is A. Cairelli Roma? Just as you’ve seen retailers like Tiffany and Gubelin printed onto the dials of certain Patek and Rolex examples, Cairelli was a Roman retailer of watches, clocks, and other assorted mechanical instrumentation devices, that also happened to stamp their dials. This very retailer supplied the Italian Air Force, or the “Aeronautica Militare Italiana” with such watches, in addition to several instruments found within the cockpits of F-104’s. As a side note, this same retailer’s name can also be seen on the dials of certain AMI issued Universal Geneve Compax’s, which too were built to nearly the exact same specifications.

Now, it’s worth noting that although this watch was designed with the intention of being issued to AMI pilots, not all of the 2,500 examples clocked hours in the cockpit. Today, collectors speculate that due to an abrupt cancellation of certain pieces by the AMI, Cairelli held onto the majority of the watches, and retailed them privately. All this makes the hunt for a true AMI-issued CP-2 considerably more difficult, but at the end of the day, that’s the fun in this whole obsession of ours, right? Additionally, some examples can be even be found that weren’t issued to the AMI, but other branches of the Italian Military. They can be distinguished easily by the inscription of just two or three letters on the caseback, namely M.M. (Marina Militare), P.S. (Pubblica Sicurezza), and E.I. (Esercito Italiano). Finding one of those oddities will most definitely take you into some intriguing circles of the collecting community.

As the saying goes, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, and in this department the Zenith in question doesn’t disappoint by any means. At the heart of the CP-2, you’ll find a hand wound chronograph caliber, known as the Cal. 146, and fear not, she’s definitely easy on the eyes. This movement was based upon the Martel Cal. 749, a design coming from a manufacture which Zenith purchased in 1960. By the end of the 60’s, Zenith would go on to develop what is arguably one of the greatest chronograph calibers of all time, the El Primero, which in the world of watchmaking has become somewhat of a household name.

Towards the middle of the 1970’s, these great chronographs would go on to be taken out of service, and replaced for the most part by watches bearing the Lemania 5100, another caliber worthy of a closer look. When all is said and done, you really can’t deny the sheer beauty and lesser-known historical significance of the CP-2. Between the highly legible two-register dial, beautifully finished bezel, and sleek, luminous numeral markers, this piece gets some serious points in the aesthetics department alone. So next time the pilot’s chronograph is brought up amongst a group of seasoned collectors, try nonchalantly mentioning the CP-2, you’ll without a doubt earn some more well-deserved respect in the eyes of a fellow WIS.

Featured photos courtesy of Watchuseek member, MMMD.

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