Forgive the photos – they are of my usual quality, but here are my thoughts on the latest acquisition.
This is a watch that has presence. At 45mm it’s not small, but also not the largest of modern watches. However, virtually all of the 45mm is dial, and the crystal pushes right to the edge of the case revealing the dial that has tremendous contrast between the silver dial and the darker cut outs for the open element and the Grade Date.
Looking at the dial the eye is naturally drawn to the opening between 9 and 12. It integrates the seconds subdial, the escape wheel, pallet fork and balance. This watch has the famous El Primero movement (calibre 4039) beating at 5Hz (10 vibrations per second) and at first glance there isn’t much going on. In part that’s because the balance is solid as you would expect in a modern quality watch, and you simply can’t see it move.
Look closer though and you will see the balance spring tightening and releasing, the pallet fork moving at an incredible speed and the escape wheel moving smoothly – you have to remind yourself that it’s constantly stopping and starting because it is just so smooth. Look again at the balance wheel and you can just see the constant reversing of direction – this movement is simply stunning.
The way that the seconds hand is integrated into the opening is ingenious. It’s actually 3 spokes off of the staff with a black tip to one of the spokes to indicate the seconds. There is no scale, but this is the running seconds hand so that’s not really an issue. The length of the staff really shows the depth of this watch and the way that the staff disappears through the jewel reminds you that you are looking at real quality.
All that said, the seconds hand isn’t that easy to read – with no dial behind it the hand does tend to get lost against the movement.
The Grande Date is the other piece on the dial that demands attention, and that in turn draws the eye to the minute counter for the chronograph at 3 o’clock. The date itself isn’t huge, but it’s extremely readable and stands out well from the rest of the date wheels that are visible through the smoked effect dial window – unlike the escapement opening there is a crystal cover to this opening (other than where the date window is).
The chronograph minute counter is extremely clear, the minute wheel has great contrast for the numbers against the background and the spokes that reach out from the chrono minute staff give it a unique and very visually appealing look.
The other complication on the dial is the power reserve retrograde. The retrograde is attached to the centre of the dial and the gold indicator stands out well. The retrograde itself is another smoked window on the movement. The power reserve is around 55 hours and a full wind is just 25 turns.
The central hands are solid sword style hands, but they lack any detail and they can actually make the watch difficult to read if they are over the silver dial. I’m sure that the black dial version will have more contrast, but at certain times – 8:20 for example, this isn’t the easiest watch to read.
The hour markers are triangle style batons, and although they are two different sizes depending on the proximity to the dial features, they seem to be a natural, integral part of the overall look.
The dial itself is very clean, the guilloche is very simple, but that’s what this watch needs. With everything else that is happening on the dial, the contrast with the simple dial finish adds to the sense of a busy, but not cluttered dial.
Start the chronograph and the chrono seconds hand starts sweeping around the dial as smooth as silk, it’s a remarkable sight.
There is one major issue on the dial however. It has no lume. I don’t mean that the lume isn’t very good; I mean that there simply isn’t any. That’s not a major issue for me, but I do think that it’s unacceptable in a modern watch.
The case is extremely well made, with a seamless transition from the dial to the case sides and lugs – it has a real flow to it, but has a concentric ring design to add some interest to the transition. The sapphire crystal stands slightly proud of the case and is cambered gently.
The crown and pushers are relatively understated, the crown doesn’t screw down, this is clearly a dress watch, but it operates extremely smoothly. Unusually, the quick set date and time adjustment settings are reversed – one pull for time, two for date.
The back of the watch gives you another view into the workings of the watch and you can see the smooth rotation of the rotor. The finishing on the movement is extremely fine, and gives a real sense of quality.
The strap is crocodile leather on a deployant clasp. Breitling straps spoil you so it’s easy to be disappointed by other brands. In truth, this is a very good strap, and I love the way that the end is shaped to the case to make it seem like a very high quality fit.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the deployant. Zenith deployants are designed to work with the same straps as tang and so are not infinitely adjustable, they need to fit into one of the holes. My wrist is a little over 7 3/4 inches, and I have to have the strap set on the last hole but one. In this position the strap when closed only just fits into (not through) the second of the two keepers. That’s not a practical issue as it’s largely decorative, but a longer strap would be nice. Additionally, with the deployant closed the second keeper doesn’t easily fit snugly next to the first keeper as the deployant gets in the way. It’s a minor issue, and it’s design not build related, but it is a slight annoyance.
In summary, I love this watch. I am frustrated by Zenith pricing in Canada because the watches come through the US, and that is part of the reason why I delayed picking this piece up. I also feel that some Zeniths are not particularly good value for money. Finally, there are a couple of design elements on the watch that I find odd.
However this watch gives a tremendous amount of bang for the buck and it is a wonderful overall package. After 5 days it is only a few seconds fast, it’s extremely well made, extremely well finished, and of course it has the tremendous in house movement.
This isn’t an every day watch for most people – only 30 metres of water resistance, but it has a very solid feel and I am very happy to have it in my collection.
Just me left holding the flag for hopeless photography it seems!)
