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SpotlightZenith’s Rich Chronograph Legacy Evolves Further At The LVMH Watch Week 2021

With the launch of the brand new Chronomaster Sport—which can prove to be something of game-changer in its segment—along with updates to existing models and lines, Zenith have reinforced their superiority in the mechanical chronograph category this year

Ranvijaysinh Jhala January 30, 2021

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A few days before the LVMH Watch Week 2021 opened with a joint press conference by Zenith, TAG Heuer, Hublot and Bulgari, Zenith unveiled their new Chronomaster Sport via social media, after a series of teasers leading up to it. There were mixed reactions, with some immediately reminded of the Cosmograph Daytona. I saw what they saw, because a black, graduated bezel around an almost ‘panda’ dial would quite understandably bring to one’s mind the black-and-white Daytona with the tachymeter bezel. Of course, once you really observe the details of the new Chronomaster, you’ll see that not only is the bezel scale not a tachymeter, even the dial is more Zenith than ever. Apart from the brand’s emblematic star counterweight on the central chronograph hand, even the sub-dials present a Zenith staple—three different hues, slightly overlapping each other. It couldn’t get more ‘Zenith’ and it couldn’t get more ‘El Primero’. Among my initial thoughts was that this was an attempt by the brand to present an everyday steel sport watch, which was something that may have been missing from their portfolio for a while. This seemed especially true since the main Chronomaster collection had been away from the limelight for the last few years. And on speaking with Zenith’s product director, Romain Marietta, my thoughts were confirmed.

The Newest Everyday Steel Sport Chronograph In Town

“It has been thought to be an everyday watch. We thought about the movement, and we thought of how to be entirely different from the competitors,” Marietta informed. “We thought: What is our asset, what is it that we can do that is one of a kind?” He then referred to Zenith’s biggest claim to fame—the fact that they made the first ever integrated automatic chronograph movement, the El Primero, in 1969. Of course, that movement has evolved over the last five decades, and in recent years, it’s become even more relevant to the 21st century. As pioneers of the chronograph, Zenith have had a very aptly titled Chronomaster collection that has had quite a variety of timepieces, even powered by the El Primero family of movements. And the idea of this new Chronomaster Sport was to present the famed collection and calibre as a very functional, everyday piece. “We thought of what we could do to, what we could indicate, as the master of chronographs that the others can’t do.” Marietta revealed, “Of course, I’m talking about the Daytona, of course I’m talking about the [Omega] Speedmaster, the [Breitling] Navitimer, and others. We needed to use the movement and display this 1/10th-of-a-second chronograph in the most accurate way possible. And that drove us to the creation of the watch.”

The El Primero already offered a 1/10th of a chronograph, but the idea was to adapt it for this watch that would be different from any El Primero we’ve seen
“We could maintain the proportions of the movement, and the sub-dials and the distance between the central axis and counters,” stated Romain Marietta, Zenith's product director
The desiging of the Chronomaster Sport was all about borrowing elements from the past and adapting them for a modern, 21st century look
It's a steel sport chronograph, with a 1/10th-of-a-second scale on the bezel, 60-second and 60-minute chronograph counters and running seconds on sub-dials, with the date at 4:30
The watch comes in a very agreeable 41mm steel case, with a black ceramic bezel, with a dial in either black or white, with a steel bracelet or rubber strap in black or blue

Zenith Chronomaster Sport EXPLORE THE RANGE

One-tenth-of-a-second is a chronograph measure that the El Primero already offered, but the idea was to adapt it for this watch that would be different from any El Primero we’ve seen, and it came down to the design. “We knew that we would be able to keep the proportions of the movement. We knew that we could keep the three sub-dials and maintain the distance between the central axis and the counters. It was easy to work on the proportions and the aesthetics,” Marietta elucidated. “We cherry-picked different ingredients from different Zenith watches from over the years, various design codes and elements that we’ve had, and we took these details and adapted it into what is the quintessence of how an El Primero movement should be in a Chronomaster watch, if it has to be a 21st century icon.” So there you have it—a steel sport chronograph, with a 1/10th-of-a-second scale on the bezel, 60-second and 60-minute chronograph counters and running seconds on sub-dials, with the date at 4:30, and detailing that spells luxury, but all very wearable.

“We cherry-picked different ingredients from different Zenith watches from over the years, various design codes and elements that we’ve had, and we took these details and adapted it into what is the quintessence of how an El Primero movement should be in a Chronomaster watch, if it has to be a 21st century icon,” explained Romain Marietta

The 21st Century El Primero Goes Colourful

One wondered why they wouldn’t just use the El Primero 21’s movement and give the new Chronomaster Sport a 1/100th-of-a-second chronograph. “We didn’t want it to compete with the El Primero 21, which is a part of the Defy collection,” Marietta said in response to that. Yet, the modern icon that has a separate escapement for the chronograph, which also has its own power reserve, has been given a splash of colour this year. Zenith released the Defy El Primero 21 in a new ‘Urban Jungle’ edition constructed from green ceramic, with even the bridges of the movement in green, visible through El Primero 21’s signature open-worked display. It’s also the first time this watch has been realised in green. Until now, the Defy El Primero 21 in ceramic has only been done in black, and as Marietta informed, their idea is to release it in a new colour every year or every six months. “For us Defy is like a playground—a laboratory of innovation, on which we are allowing ourselves to play with materials, finishing, and mixing things,” he expounded. “It’s like a candy shop. In the Defy workshop, there are so many different things to play around with.”

The Vintage-And-Revival Trend Continues

Ceramic in general seems to be growing bigger than before, even seen abundantly in Hublot’s new novelties presented at this Watch Week. Another strong material for Zenith has been silver. Seldom used in watchmaking, silver is a rather soft metal that dents easily, and also oxidises quickly. However, Zenith did very well with silver in their 2019 Pilot Type 20 edition that presented the aviation/vintage-inspired look with ‘Extra Special’ splendour. This year, they’ve introduced the chronograph edition of the Pilot Type 20 in silver. “It was a challenge to work with silver, and to achieve a full-polished version, but we believed it was a really cool precious material to use in watches,” Marietta explained. “That’s why, with the right treatment, along with rhodium, we reinforced the metal and also prevented its oxidation and patina.”

Another vintage-inspired piece among their new offerings is the A385 revival edition. Continuing a line of revival pieces that started in 2019—in celebration of 50 years of the El Primero—this one is a follow-up to the previously released A384 and A386 revivals. It presents a gradient dial, which is an earthy-hued reproduction of the original A385 from 1969, which is said to have had the first gradient dial ever seen in watches.

Since 2019 in fact, it’s been the maison’s intention to not just limit their re-editions to the golden jubilee of the El Primero, but to make it a mainstay, and to regularly issue revival editions to reinforce their glorious past. “It’s not just to follow the trend of vintage-inspired watches,” Marietta reassured. In fact, the trend of vintage and re-edition pieces itself has come about, in part, owing to the necessity for brands to exhibit their value and pioneering origins in the field of mechanical timekeeping. It’s quite crucial in recent years, and in this digital age, even while they strive to keep staple watch archetypes, such as the everyday steel sport watch, relevant for the present day, and adapted with the latest in mechanical innovation.

And that makes the Chronomaster Sport the biggest new launch for Zenith. Now let’s see how it fits into this segment in the coming months and years.