BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
In the last couple of years, Zenith has been busy re-creating the magic of its rich past by releasing quite a few stunning re-issues of some of its popular vintage references. Now, the brand has expanded the Chronomaster family with a fresh and contemporary offering, the new Chronomaster Sport. This watch features a new 41mm case and is driven by a new and improved El Primero movement: – the caliber 36000.
The El-Primero does not need an introduction. Born in the year 1969, the El Primero is a column wheel-based movement that operates at a high frequency of 5 Hz, resulting in not only a smooth sweep of the second’s hand but also a higher accuracy. As innovative and capable it was when it was first introduced, the El Primero continues to be the backbone of Zenith chronograph watches to date and remains to be one of the few high beat movements out there. The caliber 36000 is based on the current generation caliber 400 but feature a few key upgrades. First and foremost, the chronograph function has been modified to now track up to 1/10 of a second, making the chronograph hand cover the entire dial once every 10 seconds. Secondly, the caliber 36000 offers an autonomy of around 60 hours, a substantial increase over the current caliber 400, that offers a power reserve of around 50 hours. The movement can be admired through the sapphire case back.
The Chronomaster Sport is a thoroughly modern sports chronograph that is bold and striking to look at. The new 41mm housing is machined from stainless steel and features a well-executed design blending curves and angles. Finishing is top-notch, with finely brushed surfaces throughout the case, offering a great contrast to highly polished bevels that run along the sides.
Sitting on top of the case is a black ceramic bezel that lends the watch a shiny, premium, and sporty look, reminiscent of another famous sports chronograph (Yes, I am indeed talking about the Rolex Daytona). Finally, the case is water-resistant to a healthy 100 meters.
Presented in silver or black, the dial carries forward the Chronomaster design DNA. Taking center stage is the tri-compax and Tri-color layout. The registers at 3 and 6 take care of the chronograph functions, whereas, at the 9 o’clock position is a running seconds counter. Moving outwards, you get applied faceted hour markings with the date window between 4 and 5. Placed on the outer periphery is a minute/chronograph seconds scale that allows to accurately measure up to 1/10 of a second. All hands are of baton-style, and the hour and minute hands have been filled with luminous paint for low light legibility.
The Chronomaster Sport would come attached to either a stainless-steel bracelet with polished center links or a rubber strap retailing for CHF 9,900 and CHF 9,400.
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