Zenith Releases G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed With J.N. Shapiro

Zenith has unveiled the G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed With J.N. Shapiro, a limited edition of 25 watches that connects Swiss chronometry with American craft. The release brings together Zenith’s Le Locle manufacture and the Torrance, California atelier of Joshua Shapiro, whose signature guilloché engraving is at the core of the design. Each piece is individually numbered and priced at CHF 68,900, with availability through Zenith retailers and the option of a special order rose gold bracelet.

This is the second entry in Zenith’s Double Signed Program, following a previous edition with Naoya Hida & Co. The new collaboration focuses on traditional techniques, with Shapiro’s workshop producing each dial by hand on vintage rose engine and straight-line lathes. The result is a silver dial divided into three distinct patterns: barleycorn on the outer track, basketweave in the center, and Shapiro’s proprietary Infinity Weave within the small seconds subdial. Applied 18k rose gold rings, hour markers, and plates carry the Zenith and J.N. Shapiro signatures, as well as the G.F.J. initials, referencing Zenith’s founder Georges Favre-Jacot.

The case measures 39.15mm across, 10.5mm thick and 45.75mm lug-to-lug, according to Time and Tide. The exhibition caseback reveals the manually wound Calibre 135, a movement that draws on Zenith’s history of chronometry competition success in the mid-20th century. For this edition, the bridges are finished with rhodium-plated damaskeening, a decorative technique rooted in American watchmaking. Shapiro’s team engraved the bridges in California before the parts returned to Switzerland for final assembly. The movement runs at 18,000 VpH (2.5Hz), has a 72-hour power reserve, and is regulated to a COSC-certified ±2 seconds per day.

Josh Shapiro said the dial work is the product of years spent collecting and mastering vintage guilloché machines, with each dial requiring many hours of effort from his team. The damaskeening motif on the movement bridges was chosen for its association with historic American pocket watches, and Shapiro’s contribution extends beyond the dial to the watch’s mechanical heart.

The G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed With J.N. Shapiro is supplied with three straps: brown Cordovan leather, beige nubuck alligator, and black calf leather, each with an 18k rose gold pin buckle engraved with the G.F.J. initials. An 18k rose gold bracelet can be ordered for CHF 50,000, a detail Zenith debuted with the G.F.J. line and described as modern yet reminiscent of 1960s design. Zenith describes the experience of wearing the G.F.J. on the metal bracelet as “less showy, and more classy and handsome in a traditionally masculine manner.”

The collaboration marks a rare opportunity for collectors to acquire a J.N. Shapiro dial without the typical wait associated with his bespoke commissions. Zenith states that only 25 pieces will be made. The magazine has also looked at Zenith’s earlier Defy Extreme releases.

Zenith began planning this project with Josh Shapiro in 2024, before the G.F.J. series itself was launched. According to aBlogtoWatch, Zenith connected with the J.N. Shapiro brand and workshop on a craftsmanship and design basis, with the Swiss and American teams collaborating on the dial and movement decoration. Shapiro’s workshop in California produced not only the dial but also the damaskeening on the movement bridges, a process that involved engraving the parts in the United States before sending them back to Switzerland for finishing and assembly. The damaskeening pattern, which Zenith says is inspired by the decoration found on historic American pocket watches, is intended to evoke both the tradition of American watchmaking and, as some see it, the waves of the California coast.

The Calibre 135 movement itself is a modern reinterpretation of a design that Zenith used in mid-century chronometry competitions. The company states that the movement is manually wound, with a large variable-inertia balance wheel, a Breguet overcoil, and a stop-seconds mechanism. The bridges are decorated in a style that combines elements of Côtes de Genève and guilloché, and the movement is COSC-certified and regulated to within two seconds per day. Zenith supplies three different straps with each watch, and the rose gold bracelet, available by special order, is described as a thick chain of gold that adds significant weight and presence.

The Zenith G.F.J. Calibre 135 Double Signed With J.N. Shapiro is available now, limited to 25 pieces, at CHF 68,900.