Few brands have built as much buzz around a single collection this year as Zenith has with its Chronomaster. With watches like the classic 21st century revamp, the trendy green-dialed Chronomaster Revival “Safari,” and the forward-looking Zenith Chronomaster Sport, the refreshed family has been on an impressive run in terms of media and consumer attention. Today, Zenith revisits the series again, unveiling two new models adorned with diamond-set lugs and dials.
The duo is being launched in celebration of the Zenith DREAMHERS, a campaign launched by the brand last year with a goal to serve as “a platform that gives visionary, independent and inspirational women from all walks of life a space to share their voices and passion with like-minded women who are also reaching their stars against all odds.”
In practical terms, Zenith is using the initiative to spotlight a diverse group of trendsetting women and showcase their work to international media. The group this year includes contemporary artist Teresa Juevas, chef Amandine Chaignot, professional ballerina Precious Adams, fashion retail pioneer Ghizlan Guenez, EXTREME E racer Christine Giampaoli Zonca, skincare entrepreneur Laura Noltemeyer, and former Miss Switzerland and medical professional Laetitia Guarino.
Turning to the watches celebrating this group, we find two familiar versions of the Chronomaster design with a high-jewelry twist. The case is 38 mm in steel, with a pair of pump pushers, a signed crown and — most significantly — 56 brilliant cut diamonds adorning the four lugs. Both watches are secured to the wrist by a complementary calfskin strap in either a light blue or brown corresponding with the dial colors.
Beneath the sapphire crystal, we come to the dial, which also offers a new take on the recognizable Chromomaster look. One dial is in mother-of-pearl with four different colors in various shades of gray and blue, while the other opts for a more traditional look, with a silver-tone surface and three shades of taupe for its three overlapping subdials. Additionally, both dials feature nine diamonds marking most of the hour positions. Outside of these details, the watch is a classic, modern Chronomaster, complete with an outer 1/100-seconds counter instead of a tachymeter, a black ring just within its border, indented subdials, and a familiar pair of lume-filled hands for the hours and minutes.
Inside both watches is the most upgraded version of Zenith’s El Primero movement, Caliber 3600, which is the same mechanism put to use in the Chronomaster Sport and Original models. On display behind a sapphire caseback, the self-winding movement features a blued column wheel to drive the chronograph functions and an openworked rotor with a five-pointed Zenith star emblem to amass its lengthy 60-hour power reserve. As with all generations of the El Primero, its most noteworthy technical accomplishment is the balance’s high frequency of 36,600 vph (5 Hz), which enables the stopwatch’s ability to make precise 1/10th-second time measurements.
The Zenith Chronomaster Original DREAMHERS editions are available now as part of the brand’s regular production, with the taupe colorway marked at $12,800 and the mother-of-pearl version slightly higher, at $13,000.
To learn more, you can visit Zenith, here.
