Let’s look at the calendar – Style

After LVMH Watch Week in Miami, new Zenith products went on a trip to Europe. In Vienna, Kommersant Style correspondent Alexey Tarkhanov met with them.

Zenith brought three collections to the Austrian capital. First up are the new Chronomaster Sport variants, which include the Green model with a green ceramic bezel and lacquered dial on a green rubber strap or steel bracelet, and the gold Chronomaster Sport Gem with a bezel set with precious stones and a meteorite dial. We have already written about them.

Critics did not fail to note the clear influence on the design of the new watches from Rolex chronographs. This is fair, especially since Rolex Daytonas have long become the industry’s golden fund. But let’s not forget that their image was partly determined by the use of the Zenit El Primero movement, the largest buyer of which was Rolex in the 1980s and 90s. So Zenith not only influenced the Daytona mythology, but also made an important contribution to its success. And, probably, he has the right to demonstrate this from time to time in his own models.

Another important innovation was the Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar with a triple (also called complete, that is, showing date, day and month) calendar. As historians of the brand say, the addition of a calendar module and a moon phase indicator to the most advanced self-winding chronograph at that time was intended initially, but the market of that time was already having difficulty digesting watches with El Primero. In the early 70s, 25 prototypes of triple calendar chronographs ended up in the hands of Zenith employees without ever leaving the factory. The launch was postponed. First for several years, and then for half a century. The new triple calendars are distinguished from their neighbors in the collection by a slightly thicker case than the regular Chronomaster, the absence of a pronounced bezel, rearranged calendar windows and quick-set day and month correctors on the left side of the 38-mm steel case.

The Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar dials come in three variations: the Panda, which is a basic white with black counters, the Inverted Panda, which has a slate gray dial and white counters, and the Boutique Edition, which has an olive green dial and white counters. will be sold in the brand’s own stores. In any case, we recommend this watch to fans of Zenit vintage: the next release of the model with a triple calendar will have to wait a long time.

The new version of Defy Skyline Sapphire is also intended for sales only in its own boutiques. The Defy line appeared at Zenith at the turn of the 1970s. It’s easy to imagine what it looked like then from the reissue of Defy Revival A3642, released in 2022 in an edition of only 250 copies and snapped up by collectors just as quickly as other Zenit vintages. Those watches, true to the image of the historical model, had a small case with a diameter of 37 mm and Zenith’s second most important caliber, namely the Elite, used for dress watches.

The new model boasts commendable daring and features an improved El Primero caliber with a silicon escapement. Many journalists (including me) were surprised at the time of the Defy relaunch: why hide such a perfect and powerful high-frequency “motor”, born for a chronograph, in a watch with three hands? The then head of the brand, Julien Thornar (he recently headed TAG Heuer), explained that the presence of El Primero would be indicated to the owner by the “fast” second hand with a step of 1/10 of a second on the counter located at 9 o’clock.

Of course, a more powerful modern movement has increased the Defy Skyline’s case size to 41mm. To correct this injustice in relation to the female audience (already not too numerous, only 25%), Zenith designers released the Defy Skyline Sapphire in elegant blue tones. The metallic blue dial with a star pattern is complemented by a 12-sided bezel set with 45 baguette-cut blue sapphires. The new product, like all Defys, has the function of quickly replacing the steel bracelet with an additional blue rubber strap.

None of the new products will officially make it to Russia, which does not make them completely inaccessible. They can be purchased both in Zenith boutiques around the world and on the brand’s website.