Leica is back in the limelight once again. Making headlines is the new ZM 12 timepiece collection, which, on a case size of 39 mm, captures the German company's watchmaking vision.
The new ZM 12 family of timepieces on display at the event for L'Orologio Club in the store Leica in Rome on 26 FebruaryIt follows on from the success of the ZM 1, ZM 2 and ZM Monochrom Edition models in 2023 and the ZM 11 line last year.
The first big news concerns the size of the case, in steel or titanium, 39 mm. This choice follows the logic of pandering to market demands, which are pushing in the direction of smaller diameters.
The aesthetic imprint marries the vision adopted for previous collections. Translated this means the small seconds counter returns at 6 o'clockas already seen on the Leica ZM 1 and ZM 2, while the machining of the dial proposes, in addition to the horizontal slots, a new interpretation of the double layera distinctive element of the Leica ZM 11 collection.
From aesthetics to mechanics is a short step
In this, too, the new series of timepieces has much to tell. To be more precise, the movement used adopts the language coined by Jean-François Mojon who, with Chronode, develops and makes movements and complications for the likes of Cyrus Genève and Hermès, to name but a few.
In the case of the Leica ZM 12, animating the watch's functions is the Leica LA- calibre.3002, a self-winding movement developed in close collaboration with Chronode. The reliability and precision of this mechanical marvel, whose refined architecture can be appreciated through the sapphire crystal case back, is measured in an accuracy of -4/+6 seconds per day.
The new models are available in three steel referencesZM 12 Steel Blue Orange, ZM 12 Steel Silver Grey, ZM 12 Steel Olive Black to which is added one in titanium ZM 12 Titanium Chocolate Black.
All watches adopt the interchangeability system that allows the strap to be changed in just a few steps. The assortment designed by Leica is very broad and relies not only on different colour tones but also on two types of materials used: a high-performance technical fabric and rubber. In both cases, processing is not outsourced but takes place in Leica's own laboratories.
