The German brand will soon start selling its new Sinn EZM 10 “Einsatzzeitmesser” Pilot with a 24-hour GMT display and an impressive (at least, for a pilot’s watch) water resistance rating of whole 200 meters. As the watchmaker readily admits, the new automatic chronograph is a tribute to vintage timekeepers that sported the legendary caliber Lemania 5100. No longer in production, it was adored by the German military thanks to an almost unrivaled combination of legibility and reliability that it provided. The secret, of course, was in the unique layout of its chronograph display.
While most mechanical chronographs have their minute hands counting time with not terribly usable and tiny 30-minute totalizers, the Lemania 5100 was equipped with a centrally positioned minute counter with a standard 60-minute scale. Since the watch preserved the tri-compax layout, the freed sub-dial was reserved for a 24-hour second time-zone indicator.
The new Sinn EZM 10 Pilot Chronograph basically reproduces this design. The watch, too, has a central seconds and jump-action minute counter, a 24-hour second time-zone display at 3 hours, a subsidiary seconds display at 9 hours, and a 12-hour chronograph totalizer at 6 o’clock.
Since the good old Lemania 5100 is (to say the least) in short supply these days, the German engineers took a well-known ETA Valjoux 7750 industry workhorse and thoroughly modified it in-house in order to reproduce the functionality of the cal. 5100.
Called Sinn caliber SZ01, the movement has 34 jewels and features a DIAPAL lubricant-free escapement that has the anchor escapement palette jewels -a traditional design for mass-produced Swiss movements- substituted with a lot more resistant to wear diamond palettes. Hence the name: DIA+PAL.
The whole setup was placed inside a feather-weight 44-millimeter case crafted from so-called “tegimented” (specially hardened to dramatically increase its scratch-resistance) titanium alloy. Being around 15.60 millimeters in height, the Einsatzzeitmesser is not the slimmest timekeeper on the market, but you can’t call it gargantuan either.
Trying to justify the unusually high price, the Germans also equipped its rotating bezel with a sapphire crystal insert that, besides making the bezel more pleasant to look at, also increased its scratch-resistance: it is usually the lacquered finish of the bezel that shows the first signs of wear.
As usual for the EZM series, the dial features high-contrast design with luminous hands, hour markers and Arabic numerals on the rotating bezel.
According to the watchmaker, the watch will be supplied on leather or a silicone strap, or you can pay around €300 more and get it on a titanium bracelet.
See also: Bremont Mustang P-51 Limited Edition Chronometer
WWR Verdict
Originality 4.5/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Versatility: 3.5/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Overall Legibility: 4.5/5
Nighttime Legibility: 4.5/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Photos: Sinn
Sinn EZM 10 “Einsatzzeitmesser” Chronograph specification
Price: €3950 (leather strap) / €4170 (silicone strap) / €4250 (titanium bracelet)
Movement: Automatic, Sinn caliber SZ01 (base ETA Valjoux 7750), Made in Germany
- Jewels: 34
- Frequency: 28,800 vph
- Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, GMT, chronograph
- Power reserve: 42 hours
Case and Crown: Titanium, tegimented
Bezel: Titanium with sapphire insert
Shape: Round
Size: 44.00 mm
Lug width: 22.00 mm
Case height: 15.60 mm
Dial: Black
Numerals: Arabic
Hour markers: Luminous
Hands: Luminous
Water resistance: 200 meters
Strap: Titanium bracelet or leather strap or silicone band
Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective
Back: Solid, engraved