Zenith began celebrating El Primero’s fiftieth anniversary in 2019 with a series of Revival models. These have included the El Primero A386, A384 and A385 Revival models, among others, up to the most recent Chronomaster Revival Safari. With all these releases, the Le Locle-based watchmaker has kept the Revival series dial and case designs largely true to their historic proportions and, often, their original hues.
But as Zenith admits, none of these Revival models filled a void within its collections for a ongoing, steel-cased Chronomaster El Primero A386 model. Remember that the first A386 Revival from 2019 was cased in gold. And while the hot steel-cased Chronomaster Sport Zenith debuted early in 2021 has seemingly met the demand for a new, sportier Chronomaster El Primero chronograph, customers in search of a steel-cased, dressier El Primero A386 have been waiting since 2019.
The new 38mm Zenith Chronomaster Original, here with a steel case and bracelet.
Zenith this week launches the Chronomaster Original to fill that void. The five watches in the new collection (four are steel-cased, one is cased in gold) retain the most identifiable aspects of the much-loved El Primero A386 from 1969, including a 38mm round and bezel-free steel case with a domed crystal, pump-style chronograph pushers, faceted lugs, and brushed and polished surfaces.
Zenith however updates several key elements of the now familiar Chronomaster Revival profile. First, Zenith replaces the retro 1960s ladder bracelet found on the recent Revival models with a new, richly-finished solid-link bracelet.
Practical scale
More notably however Zenith updates the tachymeter scale, replacing the original 1/100th-of-an-hour calculation scale with a 1/10-of-a-second chronograph scale. This allows instantaneous reading of a 10th of a second using the chronograph seconds hand.
Within the case Zenith fits the primary reason for this change of tachymetric scale : the latest version of the El Primero caliber, dubbed the El Primero 3600. Also found powering the new Zenith Chronomaster Sport (and originally seen in an earlier, very limited Chronomaster 2), the caliber of course retains the El Primero’s signature high frequency of 5 Hz (36,000 VpH).
Thus, with a central chronograph seconds hand that rotates once around the dial in exactly ten seconds, the movement offers a true 1/10th-of-second indication in conjunction with the new scale. And now that the scale frames the dials of both the Chronomaster Sport and this new Chronomaster Original design, Zenith now offers two ongoing collections with this most practical utililization of its high-speed El Primero caliber.
In addition to its new application, the new El Primero 3600 features a newly blued column wheel and “new architecture” that Zenith says is more efficient than earlier El Primeros. The new efficiency also influences the caliber’s power reserve, which is now rated to sixty hours.
The new El Primero 3600 caliber offers a 1/10th-of-second-display from the 36,000-VpH escapement as well as an extended power reserve of 60 hours.
Zenith is offering the new Chronomaster Original in three models. One model, sold on a steel bracelet or a blue calfskin strap, features the well-known Chronomaster tri-color dial configuration. Another model features a so-called ‘reverse panda’ black dial with silver chronograph registers and is sold on a steel bracelet or a beige calfskin strap. Intrestingly, these two models use a rhodium-plated central seconds hand rather than the red central seconds hand found on the tri-color dial versions. The third model is cased in gold and features the tri-color dial design. The logo on each new model has been updated to the Zenith’s more contemporary script.
Both steel-bracelet models are priced at $9,000 while both strap models are priced at $8,400. The third model ($19,100), cased in rose gold with a silvered dial and tri-color subdials, is offered on a brown calfskin strap.
Zenith’s newest Revival, the Chronomaster Revival Safari, reinterprets the historical Zenith A384 chronograph from 1969, but instead of the original’s 37mm steel case we now have a micro-blasted 37mm titanium case.
The new Zenith Chronomaster Revival Safari
The watch’s deep matte green dial with contrasting black registers and tachymeter scale is new, while the beige SuperLumiNova on the applied baton markers and hands is distinctly vintage.
The rubber strap takes on the same khaki-green tone as the dial, and is fixed to a matte micro-blasted titanium pin buckle. Price: $9,000.
(Reference: 97.T384.400.57.C856, a boutiques & e-commerce edition.)
Movement: El Primero 400 automatic chronograph with column-wheel, frequency of 36,000 Vph (5 Hz), a power reserve of 50 hours. Functions: Hours and minutes in the center, small seconds at nine o’clock. Chronograph: central chronograph hand, 12-hour counter at six o’clock, 30-minute counter at three o’clock. Date indication at 4:30.
Case: 37mm micro-blasted titanium, 50 meters of water resistance
Dial: Khaki green with black counters, tachometer scale, hour-markers and hands are rhodium-plated, faceted and coated with beige SuperLumiNova.
Bracelet: Khaki green “cordura effect” strap and white stitching. Micro blasted titanium pin buckle.
Zenith expands its Revival collection of retro-inspired releases with the new Chronomaster Revival A3817, a faithful reproduction of a 1971 Zenith El Primero chronograph notable for its pyramid-pattern “shark tooth” seconds scale.
The new Zenith Chronomaster Revival A3817.
The original tonneau-shaped A3817 chronograph, with a three-color dial that mimicked the dials on better-known, round-cased El Primero A386 Zenith revived in 2019 and 2020, has been a design Zenith enthusiasts have long sought at auction. Zenith made only 1,000 of the watches in 1971, which only enhanced their desirability among collectors.
Zenith has built its Chronomaster Revival A3817 using the same 37mm angled tonneau-shaped case (with pump-style pushers) as the original. The watchmaker explains that it utilized original blueprints so it could preserve the watch’s original proportions and finishes.
The new watch echoes its 1971 forebear with a white lacquered dial set with chronograph subdials of grey and blue, with a running seconds counter at 9 o’clock. And of course the dial stands out among Zenith chronographs for its 1970s ‘shark tooth’ seconds track, which Zenith faithfully reproduces. Finally, Zenith includes an outer tachymeter scale, as on the original, that serves as a pulsometer.
The primary technical and aesthetic differences between this homage and the original design are most visible when turning the watch over. There, you’ll see a sapphire caseback instead of a solid steel caseback, allowing a clear view of the new-generation El Primero 400 high-frequency automatic chronograph caliber.
Zenith offers the Chronomaster Revival A3817 with either a steel “ladder” bracelet that is a modern remake of the Gay Frères bracelets Zenith used in the early 1970s on many of its early El Primero watches, or with a light brown calf leather strap.
The new Zenith Chronomaster Revival A3817 is priced at $8,400 and is available at Zenith Boutiques as well as on its online shop. The strap version is sold separately for $7,900.
Specifications: Zenith Chronomaster Revival A3817
(Reference 03.A384.400/3817.M3817)
Movement: El Primero 400 Automatic, 36,000 Vph (5 Hz), Power reserve of 50 hours.
Dial and Functions: White-lacquered with three different-colored counters, hours and minutes in center, small seconds at nine o’clock. Chronograph: central chronograph hand, 12-hour counter at six o’clock, 30-minute counter at three o’clock. Tachometric scales, pulsometer scale, date. Hour markers and hand are rhodium-plated, faceted and coated with beige SuperLuminova.
Case: 37mm steel, water resistant to 50 meters.
Bracelet: Stainless steel “ladder” bracelet and double folding clasp.
Zenith reinforces its Defy to create Defy Extreme, a new three-model collection that boasts an arsenal of components aimed at protecting the watch’s unusual dual-escapement El Primero 9004 movement from shock and moisture.
The new Defy Extreme extends the ongoing theme of the Defy El Primero 21 collection, a series of skeletonized, often colorful, high-speed (36,000 vph) timekeepers paired with an extra-fast (360,000 vph) chronographs, cased together in highly technical ceramic, titanium, carbon or steel dress.
Three Zenith Defy Extreme models are available. All are cased in sandblasted titanium with blue, black or rose-gold colored plates and matching accents.
With the new collection, Zenith has a true high-impact sport option for Defy fans wary that the existing Defy 21’s two escapements and its contemporary open work design leaves it vulnerable to physical stress and extreme elements.
Essentially, Zenith has toughened Defy’s specifications, starting with the case.
Defy Extreme’s 46mm case size is larger than the 44mm case Zenith uses within the existing Defy El Primero 21 collection. Zenith has reinforced the new case by adding extended pusher protection and a screw-down crown that, when combined with a thicker clear sapphire caseback, doubles the water resistance from the existing Defy rating of 100 meters to 200 meters for the new collection.
The new case is also rife with new angles, edges and lines. Even between the two crystals you’ll find elements that, as Zenith puts it, exude “robustness.”
Most notably, Zenith has a placed a twelve-sided ring just underneath the bezel and on the twelve-sided caseback. The architectural ring nicely frames the dial while also adding another layer of shock protection to the movement. It serves to remind the wearer that Zenith has built an extra level of security into the Defy Extreme.
Three models
Zenith is making three Defy Extreme models, all cased in micro-blasted titanium. Two matte-finished titanium models (both $18,000) differ with a blue or black-colored mainplate and pusher protectors with matching rotor finishes, while the third model ($22,000) glows with rose gold bezel ring and pusher protectors on the titanium case and rose-gold-hued main plate and accents.
Zenith is supplying each watch with three different straps with quick strap-change mechanisms: A micro-blasted or polished and satin-brushed titanium bracelet, a rubber strap with a folding buckle matching the case and, in a first for Zenith, a Velcro strap that can be easily adjusted.
The El Primero 9004 movement inside the Defy Extreme is equipped with two regulating organs and escapements, one beating at 5Hz for timekeeping, and the other at 50Hz for the chronograph .
iW spoke with Zenith CEO Julien Tornare during LVMH Watch Week 2021 in January. He detailed how Zenith developed the hot new Chronomaster Sport and why the watch is an especially important launch as Zenith continues expanding its appeal globally in 2021 and beyond.
The new Zenith Chronomaster Sport.
IW: How important is the Chronomaster collection to the Zenith identity?
Julien Tornare: It is clear that Chronomaster is a key product collection for us. You may remember that in 2017 we launched the new Defy, and not everybody was pleased that we were emphasizing that Defy collection. At the time I had issues with the Chronomaster collection because it was going in too many directions at once. This made some people confused. It had a variety of size, shape, colors, and it was too much of a patchwork.
But Defy was selling well; we have been fortunate. Defy was giving the brand fresh air, exactly what we – with Mr. Biver – wanted at that time. And it gave me time to sit back with my friend Romain Marietta (products development, heritage director at Zenith) and think about the key design elements for Zenith, specifically for Chronomaster. We started to show some new designs in 2019 with the 50th anniversary celebration of the El Primero.
Of course we were scheduled to launch the new Chronomaster Sport this past June. Plus, we were to launch a new classic version later during 2020. So now we are on a slightly delayed schedule.
Are you pleased with the reaction to the new Chronomaster Sport?
We knew that we would bring back an iconic watch with the Chronomaster, which many people were waiting for.We expected a good reaction, but put the reaction since it was launched has been incredible. We did not expect the enthusiasm to such a great extent.I am very happy and proud and I congratulate our entire team.
The morning after we launched the new Chronomaster Sport I had messages from all over the world. I had so many retailers I have known call and say they needed this new Chronomaster.
Does the Chronomaster Sport complete the collection?
Now it is very clear what Chronomaster is.We have the Revival, we have the Chronomaster Sport, and coming up next we’ll have the Classic side. This repositions Chronomaster very clearly for us. Chronomaster for me is the past and present.And Defy is the present and the future. So they are connected and complementary.
How did you approach development of the Chronomaster Sport?
We looked at three pieces in 2018 to help us design the new Chrono master sport.
The Zenith A277 was made in 1965, four years before El Primero. But you can already see this sporty influence on the new watch, especially with the sporty bezel and a bracelet. Then, a few years after that, we launched the Luka. This was also a big deal for us. Here you see it again the black bezel, the sporty chronograph look, and the same basic bracelet.
And finally, we looked at the Rainbow, which was also very important for us in the 1980s in the 1990s. That case, and again with the sporty bezel, were influential.
Three historic Zenith watches informed the new design.
All three of these watches help us create the new Chronomaster Sport.
Of course we added the Zenith three-color chronograph counters.We worked on those colors to have them elegant and more beautiful – not too flashy.The blue and the grays are quite light and very slightly shiny.The watch is 41mm in diameter and 13.6mm thick, so still elegant and not too thick. Easy to wear.
The new El Primero 3600 caliber offers a 1/10th of second display from the 5 Hz (36’000 VpH) escapement, as well as an extended power reserve of 60 hours.
And you used a new movement inside?
Of course, we worked on the movement, which is the El Primero 3600.The upgrades from the earlier El Primero include the column wheel in blue, which makes it clearly visible.We added ten hours to the power reserve to reach a total of sixty hours of power reserve.
And for me a real chronograph should be one-tenth of a second, like the El Primero. When you get 36,000 vph, which is 5 Hz, you can measure one-tenth of a second exactly.With 3 Hz and 4 Hz you measure the one-sixth or the one-eighth of a second, which is not really how we measure any event. And here we really wanted to show off our ability to measure one-tenth of a second.
Zenith can now showcase three different watches with chronograph hands rotating around their dials at three different rotation speeds.
What were the biggest challenges to making the new Chronomaster Sport?
We wanted to keep the identity of our caliber very clear.I also told Romain that I want it to be most comfortable watch available in the industry.
I still believe that is very important to put any watch on your wrist to see how it feels. I am too often disappointed by the way certain watches feel on your wrist. This new watch is smooth as silk.It is super easy to wear.
I wanted a very simple way to measure the one-tenth of a second. And with one of the very first samples, like took it home and gave it to my ten-year-old son.And he looked at it and he could explain how it worked. I wanted this watch to be that easy to read.On many watches it is easy to get lost, especially if you’re not familiar with watches.
Of course, here we have a counter for the seconds, a counter for the minutes, and the one at 9 o’clock for the small seconds.
Can you tell us more about other 2021 Zenith debuts?
The Zenith Chronomaster Revival A385.
Our new brown-dialed A 385 Revival watch is also quite interesting. We have done some research, and it seems that this original watch in 1969 is the first gradient type dial. When we launched the A384 Revival in August 2019 it became immediately a bestseller, in part because of its original 37mm size.
You might remember that ten or twelve years earlier we had lunched this in a larger size (42mm) which I thought lost the proportions of that original. At 37mm you get perfect proportions.
The new Zenith Pilot Type 20 Silver Chronograph.
Will we see additional sports watches from Zenith?
Yes of course. Overall, we have a Revival, the soon-to-be released Classic, and then the Sport. This is a very clear organization within the Chronomaster collection. There’ll be additional sport variations.
How did you choose the newest Zenith ambassador Aaron Rodgers?
In 2019 I went to the United States several times to meet various possible ambassadors. I was in search of someone who could represent the philosophy of ‘time to reach your stars’ for the Zenith. And I didn’t want a celebrity who would just show up on the red carpet with the watch.I wanted someone who could talk about his or her story and who could explain what kind of a star he or she has been following over the years to reach an objective. We have done this in China and Japan, and in Europe.
It’s more about the personality. I met actors and singers and other sports celebrities, but when I met Aaron Rodgers I thought he was just a great guy. He’s a good spirit. Nothing to prove anymore.
NFL great Aaron Rodgers is the new Zenith brand ambassador for the U.S.
Can you preview any additional watches for 2021 from Zenith?
We will have the third category of the Chronomaster collection.This will be about elegance, thinness and an A386 spirit, because Chronomaster would not be complete without that particular offering as well. Also look for a new Defy. That will be an amazing watch also. For the United States that will be a big one.
And of course we do not forget high complications within the Defy collection. This year we will present some of our iconic high complications – and in a crazy material. This will be in a very small edition and it will include an experience that I can almost guarantee none of the future owners have done in their lives.It will allow him to really feel what a high complication is in real life.
The new Zenith Defy Urban Jungle.
Will we see new watches for women?
I don’t like to talk about women’s watches particularly at Zenith because we focus on making beautiful, authentic watches with our own movements with our own philosophy, and then make them beautiful.
We don’t really separate them as men’s watches or women’s watches.I think we make beautiful watches that can be worn by men and by women. Diamonds are used sometimes yes, and in some parts of the world diamonds are very popular among men, and in some others less. If you look at the Chronomaster Sport, it is a typical 41mm watch that can be worn buy a man or woman.
At Zenith we like to live in a balanced way between the past, present and the future.Between tradition and innovation. And it is clear that we are gaining market share in terms of vintage.You just need to follow the recent auctions.We have launched the Zenith Icons program to great success. Chronomaster Sport is bringing a contemporary dynamic into the collection. This will live perfectly alongside the vintage, or Revival, collection, as well as the more classic directions that you will soon discover.
Essentially, Zenith has toughened Defy’s specifications, starting with the case. 
