A while back I wrote an article about the Zenith 143-6. Aside from its incredible military provenance, I got this watch because it had an EP caliber inside. Lately I’ve become more and more interested in vintage Excelsior Park powered chronographs. The Zenith 143-6 fit the bill perfectly, so I added it to my modest collection. I met Bosco through another watch and another passion of mine, the Angelus. He happens to own the same Zenith as me and is an expert in this field. He also wrote the Zenith 143-6 Yugoslav Military Chronograph Collector’s Guide.
Bosco wrote the article simply for himself. He was kind enough to share it with me so that I could learn about his watches. Additionally, we published an episode of the Fratello On Air podcast with him earlier this week. We are a community; if I benefit from something, I want my fellow watch enthusiasts to benefit too. So I asked, and Bosco agreed to publish the Zenith 143-6 Yugoslav Military Chronograph Collector’s Guide.
Zenith 143-6
In my article on the Zenith 143-6, I intentionally did not go deep into the history of the watch. I wanted to leave that to the Zenith 143-6 Yugoslav Military Chronograph Collector’s Guide. In any case, most of what I know about this watch comes from that PDF. Instead, what I tried to focus on is my story with this watch. As Bosco states in his guide, 2,000 of these watches were made together. This seems like a lot, and it was in the 1950s. But in today’s world where big brands are churning out limited editions of thousands of pieces, it’s no longer such a big number. From this perspective, the Zenith 143-6 should be an everyday watch. But it’s been around for almost 70 years, so it’s hard to find. If you are lucky enough to come across this watch, Bosco’s guide may help you understand it better.
Yugoslav Military Chronographs Collector’s Guide
Writing a collector’s guide is not unknown territory for me. I have written quite a few guides in the past. First, I was an advisor on some topics for the excellent Angelus Collector’s Guide written by my good friend Christoph Ohm-Kühnle. Then, I wrote the Angelus Military Vintage Chronograph Collector’s Guide, which is a passion project of mine. Interestingly, this watch is very similar in design to the Zenith 143-6. It is from the same era and is also in a similar geography. However, Bosco’s work is a comprehensive overview of the history and technical understanding of the Zenith 143-6. It goes into detail about the past of the Excelsior Park and even the differences between this caliber and other calibers. If you are interested in vintage chronographs and military pieces, it is a must-read. Best of all, it is free for everyone to download.
Access and download Bosko’s Zenith 143-6 Collector’s Guide here.
Is that all?
The Zenith 143-6 Yugoslav Military Chronograph is a deep and interesting topic. So is Bosko, the author of this collector’s guide. You can imagine that someone who writes such an article must be passionate about watches in general, in other words. That’s why it was great to chat with Bosko about watches, his Zenith, and everything else that comes up on the topic. If you haven’t already, check out our recent podcast interview with Bosko. It will give you an insight into the man behind this project and help you understand where his motivation comes from. After that, enjoy reading the Zenith 143-6 Yugoslav Military Chronograph Collector’s Guide and let us know what you think in the comments. Also, we haven’t finished all our collector’s guides yet. If you feel that something is missing or you have more information, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll get in touch with Bosko. Happy reading!
