Zenith and Naoya Hida Give the G.F.J. Calibre 135 a Double Signature

Zenith’s revived Calibre 135 was already one of the more meaningful anniversary launches in recent watchmaking, not because it chased novelty, but because it brought a serious chronometer movement back into contemporary form.

Now the G.F.J. takes a more intimate turn through a 10-piece collaboration with Naoya Hida & Co., the Tokyo independent known for quiet proportions, exacting typography and a very particular view of mid-century watch design.

The result is a platinum dress chronometer that feels less like a logo exercise and more like two watchmaking languages meeting on a silver dial.

At a glance

A double-signed chapter for the G.F.J.

Double-signed watches have long held a special place in collecting because they usually mark a relationship beyond a standard production model.

Zenith’s approach is not a retailer signature in the old sense, but a series of collaborations with independent watchmakers who can reinterpret the brand’s key references without erasing their identity.

For the first watch in the program, Naoya Hida & Co. is a particularly natural fit.

Founded in 2018, the Japanese independent has built a strong following with watches that prize balance, legibility and hand-finished detail over visual noise.

That sensibility sits comfortably with the G.F.J., a time-only watch built around a calibre with deep chronometry credentials rather than complication theatre.

Naoya Hida’s restraint meets a platinum Zenith case

The G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed is housed in a 950 platinum case measuring 39.15mm across and 10.5mm thick.

Those dimensions give it enough wrist presence to feel contemporary, while the stepped lugs, slim polished bezel and compact profile keep the watch close to the language of a classic chronometer dress watch.

Water resistance is rated to 50 metres, which adds a practical note without changing the character of the piece.

The dial is where Hida’s hand is most visible.

It’s made from solid silver, with the Zenith and Naoya Hida & Co. signatures, the indices and the markers all hand-engraved by master engraver Keisuke Kano.

The engravings are filled with deep blue Japanese urushi lacquer, a tone that can read almost black depending on the light.

That choice gives the dial a controlled graphic sharpness, but also a softness that printed text rarely achieves.

The hour and minute hands are machined from solid gold and hand-polished, while the small seconds hand at 6 o’clock is heat-blued steel.

It’s a restrained palette, but the combination of silver, lacquer and polished metal makes the watch feel tactile rather than sparse.

The Calibre 135 remains the centre of gravity

The movement is still the reason this watch carries weight.

Developed by Ephrem Jobin in 1948 for observatory chronometry competitions, the Calibre 135 was designed with performance as its organising principle, using an oversized balance and a large barrel.

Its 135-O competition version won more than 230 observatory prizes, including five consecutive victories at the Neuchâtel Observatory from 1950 to 1954.

The modern Calibre 135 keeps the architecture recognisable while bringing the movement into present-day use.

It beats at 18,000 vibrations per hour and retains a Breguet overcoil hairspring and Charles Fleck’s double-arrow regulator.

Zenith has increased the power reserve to 72 hours, added stop seconds, improved shock protection and regulates each movement to plus or minus 2 seconds per day before COSC certification.

Visible through the sapphire caseback, the calibre is finished with broad Geneva stripes, hand-chamfering, a dark ruthenium treatment and gold-coloured engravings.

Three Japanese straps for a 10-piece edition

Zenith and Naoya Hida & Co. have extended the Japanese character of the watch beyond the dial.

Each piece is delivered with three straps, including Himeji Kurozan leather finished with traditional urushi lacquer, a handcrafted Wagyu leather strap made in Kyoto and a deep indigo strap made from Japanese Kaihara denim.

All three are fitted with a platinum pin buckle engraved with the G.F.J. initials.

The variety matters because it slightly changes the tone of the watch, taking it from formal platinum chronometer to something more relaxed without losing its discipline.

Details & Specifications

For collectors drawn to precision history, independent watchmaking and the small details that separate a considered object from a merely expensive one, this G.F.J. is an unusually coherent collaboration.

It doesn’t try to make the Calibre 135 louder, which is precisely why it works.