During the 1960s to 1970s, the Italian Air Force known as the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI) commissioned Zenith to produce a special wristwatch for its pilots to be used during missions. The Zenith "A. Cairelli" Tipo CP-2 (Cronometro da Polso Tipo 2), meaning wristwatch type 2, quickly became an important and highly sought-after vintage chronograph. With its large 43mm case size and black dial, the watch exudes a rugged and robust aesthetic. It is believed that approximately 2,500 examples were manufactured, however, the contract was terminated prematurely, leading to the remaining watches being sold through A. Cairelli in Rome to civilians without military issue numbers engraved on their casebacks.
Consequently, the present watch represents a rare military-issued version, as evidenced by the engraving on its caseback, which reads "A.M.I. CRONOMETRO TIPO CP-2 M.M. 201390". The dial is characterized by its large, bold, luminous Arabic numerals, with the A. Cairelli signature located at the 6 o'clock position. Considering that the present Zenith Tipo CP-2 is a military-issued timepiece, its exceptional state of preservation is truly impressive. The dial is clean, and the luminous indexes have aged gracefully and uniformly to a subtle ivory color, which complements the hands. This particular example is one of the finest to be offered at auction and even comes with the original A. Cairelli Roma presentation box, further enhancing its desirability.