Horological Meandering

As I mentioned in an earlier post on the Zenith Christoph Colomb Tourbillon (click here to see it), CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour has remade the aesthetics of the brand for the better. There are still a handful of ugly watches in the collection, which are mostly holdovers from previous collections, but no more ghastly ones. The new collection still retains an emphasis on the El Primero (what else?) but the watches are more classical, with a frequent use of a retro 1970s style case. The subsequent follow ups will detail the El Primero Captain, El Primero Rattrapante, Retrotimer, Striking 10th, Elite Ultra-Thin and El Primero Ladies Vintage.

Most notable about the new collection, besides the redesign, is the more realistic pricing. Zenith got steadily more expensive under previous management. Given the standard of movement finish - which is good but not haute horlogerie - the current price point is appropriate. One must also remember the El Primero was not designed to be a top-end movement in the first place, rather it is an honest and clever calibre.

Though I like the case designs, the case finish could be a notch better. It is not poor, but it could be better, mainly in the sharpness edges where different polished finishes meet. 

And to be fair, it must be said a watch collection cannot be made overnight, so some or most or even all of this new collection must have been conceived when Thierry Nataf was still CEO. Perhaps it was a grand plan to veer from one end of the design spectrum to another, which certainly gets the public's attention.

- SJX

This message has been edited by SJX on 2010-11-07 02:26:42

The Captain is inspired by a 1960s model of the same name. It is a very sane watch. 

This is the entry level El Primero Chronograph. 42 mm and attractively designed.

El Primero with split-seconds function and oversized date. The stealthy version with the black PVD case and carbon fibre pattern dial is one of the most adventurous looking of the new collection, which says a lot about the range.

love all (the above) Models. really smart move from Zenith with the New Retros. but only wish the Case Diameters were Bigger.!

thank you for sharing

This is what is known as a chronosprint fuction - the seconds hand is continuously moving and can be reset with the pushbutton, whereupon it immediately starts turning. 

This is one of the best received models in the 2010 line-up. The Striking 10th features a seconds hand that jumps in one-tenth second intervals. I understand that is accomplished by connecting the fourth wheel, which is in silicon, to the escape wheel which beats at 36,000 bph (60 minutes x 60 seconds x 10 one-tenth of a second).

This is a 40 mm ladies chronograph that could be a men's watch if a black strap was used.

The Elite Ultra-Thin is not an obvious first choice for a Zenith watch, neither is it particularly distinctive in design, but it is a wonderfully elegant watch and very well priced too.

Thanks very much!

 

 

 Thanks for the report  personally i consider it a winner colleiction by majority of pieces issued.

 

 Faisal

and thats exactly what the striking 10th does.

thanks for the info SJX

Graham.

or two .... nice to have them back on right track
I like the star at the end of second hand and look of rotor
Thank you for sharing
Is there any chance for pictures of SS "Kennedy" 1965?
Thank you
Damian

But you have a good eye, that is another nice one from the collection. It is from the 2009 novelties though.

- SJX

Indeed - very attractive model. At 32 mm squared, quite small by today's standards.

Hmmm.

D.

I think there's a lot to like about this new direction from Zenith.  I like several of the pieces very much, including the ladies retro-look chrono (Goodness, but is everyone officially jumping on the white strap bandwagon now?).  I look forward to checking the various watches out in the metal.

Cheers,
Daos

Thanks for the wonderful pix.

Although I do not own a Zenith watch, I do admire its colored history and I am relieved that its new CEO has knocked a lot of sense back into the product line.

I find many of Zeniths products to be beautifully designed but they do tend to go overboard on cetain themes (going to retro on the current chronos, or going too ?? with the defy line). 

One thing that seems ironic is that despite its claim to greater accuracy on the stricking 10th model, the dials are layed out in such a way that parts of some dials cannot be seen.  If you put a mechanism that allows you to stop the watch with 1/10th of a second accuracy, I think it would be logical to design the layout of dials to facilitate fast and accurate readout in support of that function.  The dial does look good but I think it could have been designed to be more functional.

Best regards,

Kazumi

 

 

The split second and retrotimer in PVD looks gimmicky and plastic for lack of a better word. At elates IWC efforts in Top Gun has got a quality allure to it, this one has a downright Swatch quality feel about it.

Neverthless, it's great to see Zenith focusing on their core strengths...chronographs in all sorts, and pushing and leveraging on the el primerio as never before. One wonders how much before market says enuf of el primerio plastered everywhere in their collection. Hope they manage that properly.

The vintage, both man and ladies version, with the retrocase is so cool....but then again every one from TAG to Tudor are leveraging historical models to create that history and romance.

Thks for sharing, as usual, great shots SJX

The El Primero perhaps will turn Zenith into a one trick pony, if it is not already. Jaquet Droz, despite its numerous models, is still all about the Grande Seconde. But that is not necessarily a bad thing, Panerai has turned its pony into small limited editions with minor variations: black ponies, brown ponies, pseudo-vintage ponies and even oversized giant ponies.

- SJX

Sorry, but JD is not the early force it used to be IMHO, if ever. At least PAM has got the military romance and groupies, not to mention celebrity endorsement, plus an EXCELLENT marketing organization. I have always liked Zenith, one of my earliest timepieces is the chronology with el primerio and my dayton a is also the same detuned el primerio, but I fear it could be a case of too little too late.

nformative report as usual. Thks

I absolutely love the looks of the 1/10 chronograph, cant wait to see one in the flesh.

Perhaps another piece for my ever expanding wish-list.

Thanks for the post SJX.

Best

Drew

Perhaps its time for Zenith to replicate the El Primero movement to a larger size.Is it difficult?

IMO current designs looks odd proportionately for most of the new release.

It is not easy to enlarge a movement by proportionately enlarging all parts. The inertia if the balance will change for instance and not proportionately. So enlarging a movement is more like designing a new calibre rather than expanding the one old.

- SJX

than the previous generation, but alas, this time it is a teeny weeny bit too retro for me.

I love the direction that Zenith is taking. Retro to be sure, and models that I certainly enjoy--and I certainly look forward to the refinements that will emerge in the coming years.

Jason

... I already posted in HOrologicalMEandering a while ago when I first saw the Striking 10th. I was (and still am) very impressed by that piece and seriously considering adding it to my collection. For a long time, Zenith has not been on my radar screen, and a various pieces of the current line-up still are not, but the Striking 10th most certainly is. Marvelous piece.

Thanks for your post!