It’s 2021, and if we have learned anything from the first half of the year, it’s that watch brands are feeling a little green. The latest Swiss watchmaker to ease into the growing trend of verdant colorways is Zenith, which recently introduced the Chronomaster Revival “Safari,” a green-tinted variation on the vintage-flavored Zenith A384 Revival model introduced in 2019.
In its fairly short tenure, Zenith has used the A384 Revival as a canvas for some colorful and historically inspired designs, the new Safari watch being the latest. The watch is also, notably, the second predominantly green timepiece introduced by Zenith this year, coming on the heels of the Defy 21 Urban Jungle (below) launched at the end of January.
The model’s microblasted titanium case is sized at 37 mm in diameter and designed in the barrel-shaped style of the aforementioned A384 El Primero case that Zenith used for some of its earliest El Primero models from 1969. Its style is both retro and geometrical, with plenty of charm in its execution, and complete with a standard set of pushers and crown to ground the design.
The “Safari” of the watch’s name refers to its dial’s color combo of green, black, and faux patina. With a tachymetric scale curving along the outer edge, the dial sports a familiar three-register chronograph style, with a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, and running seconds at 9 o’clock, surrounded by applied numerals and a sporty printed minute ring in white. Notably, Zenith has done a remarkable job of hiding the date window in plain sight, its background matching the green surface of the rest of the dial, and residing quietly at the 4:30 position. At the center of the dial, rhodium-plated hands with luminous treatment determine the passing hours and minutes, while a rectangle-tipped pointer counts the chronograph seconds.
As for overall aesthetic, the watch reminds me, at least in its darker, military-inspired colors and liberal use of faux patina, of the Seiko Prospex “Urban Safari” Street Series (above) unveiled around this time last year. And while the more utility-focused Seiko series is obviously priced rather below Zenith’s luxury chronograph offering, the two in context hint at a continued experimentation in colorways by brands across the industry spanning several price categories. The Chronomaster “Safari” seems to be converging on a number of different trends within a single watch: vintage-inspired, military styles, modern materials via its use of sandblasted titanium, and, of course, green. It seems to signal a finger on the pulse of the market few other brands enjoy, and may well indicate a number of other on-trend releases in the year to come.
The 50-meter water resistant case contains Zenith’s El Primero 400 Automatic movement, a high-beat caliber installed frequently by the brand in watches from its Revival series, most recently within the El Primero Chronomaster A385 Revival (above) and One-of-a-Kind El Primero A386 among others. The automatic chronograph movement beats at a frequency of 36,000 vph, holds a power reserve of 50 hours, and includes a column wheel-controlled chronograph function that can measure elapsed times to the 1/10th second.
Available June 15 via authorized boutiques, the new Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Safari” is set for running, non-limited production with currently pricing marked at $9,000.
To learn more, visit Zenith, here.
