BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
At the beginning of 2021, Zenith revealed the new Chronomaster Sport, a new sports chronograph powered by the latest and highly capable avatar of the El Primero movement, the caliber 36000. Now, the brand has increased the luxury quotient of the Chronomaster Sport by introducing a precious metal variation of this watch.
Extensive use of precious metal on an everyday sports watch might not sound practical, but the outcome is a product that is visually intriguing and exudes a true sense of luxury, and the Zenith Chronomaster Sport Rose gold is a testimony to this. Crafted from 18k Rose gold the case on this watch is warmer and alluring than its steel sibling. The tone of gold is neither too bright nor too dull and offers a great contrast to the black ceramic bezel that features engraved markings that make the watch capable of tracking up to 1/10th of a second. The case maintains the nice curvaceous silhouette and modest dimensions of its steel siblings. It measures a modest 41mm in diameter and has a thickness of 13.6mm which is quite acceptable in the landscape of modern chronographs. Also like its steel counterpart, the case remains water-resistant to a healthy 100 meters, which means you can easily jump into the pool with this beauty tied to your wrist.
The precious metal treatment flows from the case to the dial to give the watch a cohesive appeal. The applied three-dimensional indices along with the hands have been rendered in 18k rose gold instead of steel. The rest of the dial remains striking familiar with a matt white base and a tri-register tricolor setup at the center. The blue register at 3 tracks the chronograph minutes, the anthracite register at 6 tracks the chronograph seconds, and finally the light grey register at 9 displays the running seconds. The minute/ chronograph seconds track is printed in black on the outer periphery and there is a date window that is neatly tucked away between the marker at 4 and 5.
Flipping the watch over reveals the cutting edge El primero 36000 caliber. Like previous iterations of the El Primero, the caliber 36000 still operates at 5 Hz, however, there are a few noteworthy upgrades this movement brings forth. Firstly, the chronograph hand now ticks 10 times in a second, allowing the watch to measure accurately up to 1/10th of a second using the scale on the bezel. Secondly, the power reserve has now increased from 50 to 60 hours. Other than this, the movement still bears an industrial look and features some nice decorative elements such as blued screws and a skeletonized oscillating weight with an integrated Zenith star logo.
The new Zenith Chronomaster Sport Rose Gold comes attached to a black leather strap and has a retail price of CHF 19,900.
Visit Zenith here.
