Zenith and J.N. Shapiro Give the G.F.J. Calibre 135 an American Hand

Zenith’s Double Signed Program is quickly becoming one of the more interesting expressions of the brand’s higher-end ambitions.

After opening the series with Naoya Hida, Zenith has now turned to J.N. Shapiro, one of the most closely watched names in American independent watchmaking.

The result is a 25-piece G.F.J. Calibre 135 that doesn’t just carry a collaborative signature on the dial, but brings Shapiro’s handwork into both the face and the movement.

At a glance

• Zenith has introduced the second G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed watch, created with American independent watchmaker J.N. Shapiro.
• The rose gold edition features a hand-guilloché silver dial and damaskeened movement bridges finished by Shapiro.
• Production is limited to 25 pieces, priced at CHF 68,900, approximately £62,325.

J.N. Shapiro brings Californian guilloché to Zenith

The defining feature here is the dial, made by hand in Shapiro’s California workshop using traditional rose-engine and straight-line machines.

Rather than using a single decorative language, Shapiro divides the silver dial into three distinct guilloché patterns.

A barleycorn pattern runs around the outer edge, a basketweave motif sits at the centre, and Shapiro’s signature infinity weave appears in the small seconds subdial.

Each engraved section is framed by rose gold, including the timing scale and the small plates inscribed with both brand names and the initials G.F.J.

Those initials refer to Georges Favre-Jacot, Zenith’s founder, giving the watch a direct line back to the maison’s own history rather than treating the collaboration as surface decoration.

The rose gold details are matched by rose gold hour, minute and seconds hands, as well as a 39.15mm by 10.5mm rose gold case.

The watch is delivered as standard with three leather straps, while a rose gold bracelet is available upon request.

An American finish for the Calibre 135

The first Double Signed G.F.J. was largely a visual reinterpretation, but the J.N. Shapiro edition goes further by extending the collaboration to the movement.

Shapiro finishes the Calibre 135 bridges with damaskeening, a decorative technique that combines elements of Côtes de Genève and guilloché.

Its use is more than ornamental, as damaskeening has historical links with American watchmaking and gives this edition a more specific cultural identity.

The movement itself is a modern re-engineering of Zenith’s historic observatory calibre.

It runs at 2.5 Hz and uses a large variable inertia balance wheel with a Breguet overcoil.

The power reserve is 72 hours, and the movement is COSC chronometer certified.

Zenith states that the calibre exceeds the COSC minimum of -4/+6 seconds per day, with performance rated to +/-2 seconds per day.

A small series with collector intent

The G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed with J.N. Shapiro arrives at a moment when Zenith has signalled a sharper focus on high-end watchmaking and reduced production.

That context matters, because this series gives the brand a clear way to work with independent makers while elevating one of its most important mechanical platforms.

The price is CHF 68,900, approximately £62,325, which is CHF 10,000 above the earlier Naoya Hida edition despite that model being presented in platinum.

In this case, the premium reflects the depth of hand craft involved, particularly the hand-made guilloché dial and damaskeened movement finishing.

For collectors, the appeal is less about a simple co-signed dial and more about a traditional Swiss calibre filtered through a distinctly American decorative vocabulary.

Details & Specifications

The most persuasive part of this watch is how naturally the collaboration reads, with Zenith’s chronometric heritage and Shapiro’s American handcraft meeting without either side being reduced to branding.