Hi All,
I'd like to introduce you my new beauty, a Zenith CP2 Cairelli produced for the Italian Air Force and issued.
It is from the 1965 ca. I thought that as a first Zenith it would be apropriate.

Ciao,

Andrea

 

Excellent! These are special, and I really like the looks of your example with the faded bezel.

 

I have never seen one of these. Lovely stuff and congratulations on the pick-up

 

Great watch! Congrats

 

That's precisely my kind of watch! I would love to own a such, or a diver too for that matter, if one could naturally cross my way. We'll see what 2015 can bring, but Zenith chronos are really digging in on me.

A big congrats on a great find!

 

Congratulation

For me one of the most beautiful watches ever made from Zenith

 

In the article "military and pilot watches" in the booklet "Chrono Wissen Klassik-Uhren" by Manfred Rössler there are some Cairelli pictured. There are four designations of back au:
1.only ChronometroTipo-2
2.in addition, A.M.I.
3.in Addition R.A.M.I.
4.in addition P.S.

 

Love those mil dials.

 

Hi Guys, for those who are not Italian a brief explanation:
A.M.I. is the the Italian Air Force denomination since the end of the war (1945) it stands for Aeronautica Militare Italiana

R.A.M.I. is the Royal Italian Air force, denomination of the air force between 1927 and 1945 , Italy was still a monarchy back then, It stands for Regia Aeronautica Militare Italiana. The R.A.M.I model is most likely an Universal Geneve whioch used to provide these watches to Cairelli, the UG was anyhow provided with the same Zenith Movement

P.S is the Italian State Police, P.S stands for Polizia di Stato

Cairelli was a watch maker in Rome who customized the watches fro the Italian Air Force for over 40 years

I hope I added a bit of interesting info

 

Nice, the Zenith chrono bug bit for me recently too

 

OMG....

GIGI

 

Hi Teodore,
So in the book "Orologi Militari" by Michele Galizia, published "Chronomania", 2007, noted:
A.M.I. (Aeronautica Militare Italiano) Chronometro Typo CP-2 MMxxxxx. (Matricola Militare -series number military)
R.A.M.I. (Raggruppamento Autonomo Ministero Interno) - Autonomous unit of the Ministry of the Interior
P.S. (Pubblica Sicurezza) - public safety, (the watch for helicopter pilots in the Ministry of the Interior)

 

...doing better now

GIGI

 

Be still my heart.

I've been looking for the right cairelli for years. Had a perfect example slip through my fingers last year.

 

When you get one, be sure to match the band to the lume triangle in the bezel.

 

Hi R.A.M.I was indeed a mistake by my side, indeed the Italian Royal Airforce (also R.A.M.I) used Universal Geneve and not Zenith,
although the CP2 is considered a direct evolution of that watch.

P.S (Publica Sicurezza) is the old name of the present P.S (Polizia di Stato) which was and is the Italian State Police, indeed depending from the Ministry of the Interiors. Police had and have onbviously airplanes and helicopters too. At this point I'm wondering what was used by the flying corps of Carabinieri (a police force depending from the MoD) and Guardia di Finanza (Finance police, kind of the US IRS but acting also as a police force),
do you know anything about that?

 

Gigi, very sorry If I made the unforgettable mistake of not knowing R.A.M.I.

 

Unfortunately, I don't know what watches have used the flying corps, the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza. A contact with the family Cairelli in Rome was not possible. The "old" Mr. Cairelli is died of cancer in 2007.
But there are still interesting chronographs in the first mentioned book. An early universal Genève and the counterpart to the Zenith Cairelli.
The early UG (ca. 1953) has engraving "Navigazione Astronomica", as well as the type (HA-1), the Modelnumber (19620) and the use number (MM). About AMI (Astronautica Militare Italiana).
Cal. Valjoux 55, Rattrapante.
The later UG shows the same engraving as zenith. But AMI and not RAMI.

 

A.M.I is AREONAUTICA MILITARE ITALIANA.
The UG 24H Dial, split second, was made for the AREONAUTICA MILITARE ITALIANA and issued many years before the other two:
the black UG with fly back, and Zenith 146 no fly back function.
NAVIGAZIONE ASTRONOMICA was a method of route's calculation and this watch was the tool for help the pilot in this.

GIGI

 

The A.CAIRELLI issued for A.M.I.

GIGI