Perhaps no country is more in love with mechanical watches than Germany, and it’s a wonderful experience to browse watches at Wempe or see the perfect photography in “Uhren” magazine. Although not everyone’s cup of tea, this Wempe Zeitmeister Pilot Chronograph “Uhren Magazin” Limited Edition captures this “zeitgeist” and makes a great daily-wear grail to boot! It features the bulletproof ETA/Valjoux 7750 movement in preferred 7753 form, is a certified chronometer, and looks darn good with classic pilot styling.
The Curious Case of the Column Wheel Valjoux 7750 Variants
I first discovered the world of column wheel 7750 variants while looking at a Longines Heritage Chronograph. The movement looked vaguely familiar to me, yet I couldn’t place it. A bit of research revealed it to be something really special: A column wheel variant of the Valjoux 7753 built by ETA for their Valgranges line. Then I stumbled on the fact that Omega also got a version of this ETA Valgranges A08.L01 movement with a Co-Axial escapement.