Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Tourbillon Review

ED209 · 2013-09-21T22:29:24Z

ED209 reviews the Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Tourbillon Moonphase Day and Night. Explore its complex dial, tourbillon placement, and El Primero 4034 movement.

ED209

WPS member · Zenith forum

23 replies9290 views4 photos

ED209 provides a detailed viewing report of the Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Tourbillon Moonphase Day and Night in rose gold, a limited-production model from 2008. His observations offer a critical look at its complex dial layout and design choices, making it a valuable resource for collectors interested in Zenith's high-complication pieces.

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Just wanted to share a few pics from a recent viewing of some Zenith tourbillons. I was a bit surprised seeing these since they debuted in 2008 and produced in very limited quantities. It's the Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Tourbillon Moonphase Day and Night in rose gold.

At first glance I was intrigued by the dial side because of the busy subdials displaying a tourbillon, moonphase, and chronographs. It actually looked too busy with all the asymmetric subdial layout. But it made sense once I looked at each individually. First and foremost is the tourbillon. The tourbillon carriage is placed near the 11 o'clock position and has a large gold ring framing the tourbillon. The carriage makes one turn per minute. What I also noticed was a date indicator on the top portion of the gold ring around the tourbillon. The date is also magnified in the sapphire crystal and fairly easy to read when viewing the watch directly. The date is small so it was somewhat distorted when viewed at more than a 45 degree angle. And as personal preference, I wish the tourbillon would have been positioned at the center of the dial at 12 o'clock.

Also asymmetrical is the layout of the hour and minute display. It's offset towards the right hand side of the dial and has Roman numerals for the hour markers. The dial itself has a grain d'orge guilloche pattern within the inner and outer hour and minute area, while the chronograph and moonphase subdials have a wavy guilloche pattern. There's a Zenith logo and star on the left hand side of the dial.
For the chronograph functions, there is a 30 minute subdial counter at the 3 o'clock position and a 12 hour counter subdial at the 6 o'clock position. Both are small and a little bit hard to read, but I do like have similar gold hands that match the hour hand. I'm guessing that Zenith designers had a strong focus on the tourbillon and moonphase displays which is why they placed thicker gold rings around them to draw the eye to the complications. The chronograph pushers are located on the same side as the crown and has a nice firm feel when activating the chronograph.

And at the 8 o'clock position is the moonphase display. It's surrounded by a double curved gold bezel and has a nice bluish colored sky to contrast with the moons and little stars. And when I step back and look at the overall watch I can see how complimentary these gold rings of the subdials matches the bezel of the case.
The case itself is large at 45mm along with the rose gold there is definitely a hefty presence when worn on the wrist. The curved lugs do help out for those with smaller wrists.

When I compare this to other Zenith El Primero Tourbillons, like the Grand Class Tourbillon moonphase introduced in 2010, I prefer this moonphase version because I like how the date is displayed. It simply shows the single date and doesn't have all the other days openly visible. I think it just makes it easier to read. The chronograph subdials are a little small and the silvered dial doesn't provide much constrast but again I think the focus of the movement is the tourbillon and moonphase.

This Zenith watch uses the El Primero 4034 movement beating at 36,000vph and is made of 353 parts. I didn't remember to take pics of the transparent caseback but the movement was nicely finished and typically of Zenith movements.

Hope you all enjoyed the quick pics of this rare Zenith.

Regards,
ED-209

Key Points from the Discussion

The watch's dial, while technically impressive with a tourbillon, moonphase, and chronographs, is often perceived as too busy and lacking aesthetic balance due to its asymmetric subdial layout.
The tourbillon's placement at the 11 o'clock position, rather than the more traditional 12 or 6, is a point of contention for some, who find it aesthetically odd and question if it's a technical necessity of the El Primero movement.
The chronograph subdials are criticized for being small and difficult to read, with short hands that don't reach the markers and the main seconds hand markers being obscured by the tourbillon cutout.
The date indicator, integrated into the tourbillon's gold ring and magnified, is generally easy to read when viewed directly, though it can be distorted at sharp angles.
The moonphase display, with its bluish sky and contrasting moons, is visually appealing and contributes to the watch's overall character.
The 45mm rose gold case, while hefty, is made more wearable by curved lugs, which help it sit better on smaller wrists.
An interview with former Zenith CEO Thierry Nataf from 2008 explains some of the design philosophy behind the Chronomaster Tourbillon, including the innovative dual day/night display on the same window.
The watch uses the El Primero 4034 movement, beating at 36,000vph and composed of 353 parts, showcasing Zenith's technical prowess.

The Discussion

Spellbound

Sep 21, 2013

Thanks Edmund

Thanks Edmund for this review. That said, although I am a true fan of the Zenith brand then and now, I cannot fathom the layout on this one. Aesthetically it has forgone all sense of natural proportions like the Fibonacci ratio, and is just a jumbled exercise in what I must assume is laziness. And I cannot fathom why the Zenith tourbillons since, have remained at 11:00 o'clock, the same position as the balance spring on the Zenith Opens. In my opinion, a Tourbillon carriage should either be at 1

ED209

Sep 22, 2013

tourbillon position

Thanks Dean, I agree with you about the position of the zenith tourbillons and that it should be in either the 12 or 6 positions. It somehow looks odd at the 11. And the Christophe Colomb is pretty cool looking, I got see and wear it during a Zenith event a earlier in the year. Even with the bubble shaped crystal it really is a nice looking watch. Regards, ED-209

DRMW

Sep 22, 2013

re: Chronomaster

Thanks for the pics, the Chronomaster TMD&N is a interesting piece to look at. IMO the pushers had a nice tactile feel to them. -MW

MTF

Sep 22, 2013

Conflicted about this Zenith watch

Ed, Thanks for the post as I've never seen this model before. As you said, I like the individual displays and finishing: tourbillon, moon and chronograph BUT altogether, they interfere with each other. As a chronograph fan, I don't like the seconds hand markers obscured by a dial cut out for the tourbillon etc. One clue as to the prominence of the tourbillon over the chronograph is the short hands that do not reach the seconds/minutes markers. on the main dial. Regards, MTF

amanico

Sep 22, 2013

+1. In my opinion, this watch lacks coherence and harmony.

I don't see where Zenith wanted to go with this Watch... Best, Nicolas

ED209

Sep 22, 2013

It's still carried on

Thanks amanico for your opinion. It seems Zenith likes this layout because on the current El Primero Chronomaster 1969 it looks very similar. Regards, ED-209

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