It’s not often we see watch companies returning to the early- to mid-2000s era of watchmaking for inspiration. Although vintage reissues are a dime a dozen these days, watches typically don’t commemorate the early years of the 21st century, when enthusiasm for high-end mechanical watches was just beginning to expand beyond its ’90s status as … Read more

Zenith reveals the revamped Chronomaster Open line as well as the new Zenith Chronomaster Sport under its latest “Master of Chronographs Since 1865” platform — combining immersive educational and experiential activities. The new 360-degree platform will house the manufacture’s unique know-how through its history, collections, movements, and its mastery of the high-frequency chronographs. It aims to bring … Read more

The Zenith Chronomaster Open made its debut back in 2003. With the partially open-worked dial, the watch offered a glimpse of the El Primero movement within. It was an instant hit. Now, Zenith revisits the concept with the introduction of brand new 2022 take on the Chronomaster Open! The 2022 Zenith Chronomaster Open features a … Read more

As Extreme E is gearing up for its second season, Zenith is unveiling the first in a series of special editions of the DEFY Extreme Carbon, incorporating recycled elements from the electric rally championship. The highly exclusive series will feature a limited edition for each of this season’s races, beginning with the Desert X Prix … Read more

OK, so maybe at 78.2 grams as opposed to 2020’s steel watch at 110.6 grams, with a total weight savings of 32.4 grams, our latest collaboration is not the most featherweight timepiece in the world when compared, for example, to such horological exotica like the Richard Mille RM 027. But what I can say is that it is the lightest watch with a full metal bracelet that I’ve ever strapped on. And that is what is so cool about the Airweight Cover Girl. It looks like it would possess substantial heft on the wrist until you put it on, and you have a genuine “Oh shit, that’s light” moment, and that’s the very appealing dynamic contrast between how the watch looks and how it wears. This is probably aided considerably by the Gay Frères designed, ladder-style bracelet which, of course, omits every other traditional center link. This watch is also immediately distinguished from our 2020 Chronomaster Revival limited edition of 100 watches by the appearance of polished center links. Why did we do this? Partially because we wanted to give the wearer a visual clue that we’ve used grade 5 titanium for both the case of the watch and the ladder bracelet. Grade 5 titanium is the only quality of titanium that can be mirror polished in this way, and it is the material selected for serious horological finery from brands such as De Bethune. Romain Marietta, Zenith’s dynamic director of product development and heritage, actually experimented with many different levels of polish for the ladder bracelet, but in the end we decided on just the center links. He explains, “I think this adds a beautiful sense of contrast with the brushed finishes and makes for a truly stunning watch. The polished center links perfectly complement elements like the polished bevels of the watch, and the play over the light of these surfaces is amazing. At the same time, we wanted to use a slightly more aggressive brushing, so if you look at the sunray brush strokes in the case of the watch, they really stand out in direct light. We took our time to develop the perfect evolution to 2020’s Revival.” As a testament to both Marietta and Zenith CEO Julien Tornare’s commitment to innovation, neither balked at the idea of creating Zenith’s very first full grade 5 titanium ladder bracelet for our collaboration. Says Tornare, “At Zenith, our tradition has always been to push boundaries as we did all the way back in 1969 with the introduction of the world’s first integrated automatic chronograph movement. We had used titanium for some of our A386 style cases such as our Chronomaster ‘Shadow’ limited edition but, so far, not yet in a bracelet. But we thought this would be the perfect time to try it. We love to work on limited editions that are ambitious and bring something of real value to collectors. I have to say this watch is simply amazing and though we’ve made 250 pieces this time, I think it won’t be anywhere close to enough” Speaking to Tornare reminds me of the launch of our Zenith Chronomaster Revival A3818 “Zenith Airweght Cover Girl ” in 2020, which was the last watch event we attended before COVID changed our lives forever. We had all flown to Miami — Tornare from Le Locle, Switzerland, and myself from Singapore. We … Read more

The El Primero caliber 400 is an anachronism, but a wonderful one. The first high-frequency automatic chronograph movement, it was introduced (along with the Seiko 6309 and the Breitling/Heuer/Buren caliber 01) in 1969 and it has, rather astonishingly, persisted down to the present day. The movement’s design, however, is also a relic of its time … Read more

Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) are dancing lights, atmospheric phenomena, if you will, visible in the polar regions, within a radius of 2500km around the magnetic poles. Although beautiful, they are actually energised particles (solar wind) from the sun slamming into the Earth’s atmosphere at speeds of up to 72 million kph, but our planet’s magnetic … Read more

The watch’s USP though is an extremely unusual take on an already rare complication, the semi-foudroyante, which indicates time using a second hand which travels in distinct increments rather than sweeping smoothly. Here Zenith has implemented a 10-second foudroyante – as it did on the El Primero Striking 10th in 2011 – which completes six … Read more

Zenith has revived the very first model to bear the Zenith Defy name, the A3642 “Bank Vault” from 1969. The 37mm stainless steel model with a warm grey gradient dial will be produced in exacting detail in a limited run of just 250 pieces, with Zenith going back to the original production plans. The only cosmetic differences … Read more

Zenith has dropped the third and final instalment in its collaboration with anime rogue, Lupin The Third. Zenith’s seminal El Primero chronograph appeared on the wrist Lupin III’s best friend, Daisuke Jigen, twice in the series. In the very first episode Jigen is seen wearing a Zenith El Primero A384 with an entirely fictitious black, … Read more