#Zenith open chronomaster update

The gold bracelets are not finished like the steel ones (they look similar but feel different when held) and, in my opinion, have a more luxurious jewelry feel to them. What these three watches also have in common is 18k gold - steel and gold for the reference 51.3100.3600/69.M3100 and solid 18k gold for the other two models. Wearing these watches is accordingly very pleasing and remarkably conservative given what most people think about many of today’s Zenith watches. Overall, Zenith did a really nice design job of combining its own personality with the feel of a 1990s Rolex Daytona. The cases are 41mm-wide with 100 meters of water resistance. While from a distance, the watch has a Daytona-esque vibe to it, once you get up close and personal with Chronomaster Sport, you realize that it is very much a Zenith in most respects (we can forgive the “iconic-looking” tachymeter scale bezels) ranging from the dial elements to the case shape. The Chronomaster Sport watch dials represent Zenith El Primero heritage with the three-color overlapping subdials. The movement has a power reserve of 60 hours and is built from 311 parts being nicely displayed through the sapphire crystal exhibition caseback. The dial includes the time, date, and 1/10 of a second 60-minute chronograph (which, of course, is a bit different from the Rolex Daytona and other three-subdial chronograph movements that typically have 12-hour chronograph dials).

#Zenith open chronomaster update

This is just an update on the classic 1/10 of a second chronograph, 5Hz (36,000 bph) El Primero movement. So, to have a Zenith watch that is inspired by the El Primero is very much an exercise in playing with the brand’s own DNA.Īccordingly, these Chronomaster Sport watches contain the in-house Zenith automatic caliber El Primero 3600 chronograph movement. It wasn’t until Rolex introduced its own in-house chronograph movement in the early 2000s that the Daytona stopped using the El Primero. What few enthusiasts recall today is that, for about a decade, Rolex Daytona watches included a Zenith El Primero automatic chronograph movement. I think the one important point that allows these watches to remain both relevant and interesting in contrast to the Rolex Daytona is Zenith’s history with Rolex. These watches too are in their own way an “answer” to products that Rolex sells but with lots of Zenith branding.

Today, I look at an even more elevated grouping of Zenith Chronomaster Sport watches that include the two-tone reference 51.3100.3600/69.M3100, the all-gold with white dial reference 18.3101.3600/69.M3100 and the all-gold with black dial reference 18.3101.3600/21.M3100. Zenith priced its steel version with ceramic bezel within a stone’s throw of what Rolex was charging for its steel Daytona with a ceramic bezel watch. Since the debut of this collection in 2021 with the all-steel model (covered on aBlogtoWatch here), Zenith has had a venerable hit with one major selling point being availability. At a glance, the Chronomaster Sport collection is Swiss Zenith Watches’ answer to the mega-popular Rolex Cosmograph Daytona.