I’m not going to go into any Daytona comparisons, as is often done with this watch, suffice to say that I held it alongside a 116519LN and found plenty of space between the two. In total it’s a great look that has a distinct, and separate personality from the other Chronomaster Sport models, and feels a bit more Zenith as a result. It’s not an insert, but rather a single, relatively thick piece so the weak link will be the material itself.Ī sunburst silver dial hosts the oversized registers that correspond to the color of the bezel nearest to each. How it will handle wear and tear with age is of course unknown, but I reckon the meeting points are likely as strong as the ceramic itself, and likely just as susceptible to cracks (or chips, in my experience). The effect is beautiful in person, and there are no legible seams discernible to the touch. The separation is crisp, with a defined line between each zone, rather than the slight blur you see on something like a Rolex GMT bezel, which is made as a single piece from the get go. To achieve the effect, Zenith produces three separate bezels before cutting the relevant piece away, and combining the parts to create a new, single piece with all three colors present. This is a three piece bezel that’s been brought together as one seamless expression of the three tones, capturing deep blue, dark gray, and light gray. It carries the tri-color theme of the subdials to the bezel itself. This Boutique Edition is a bit different, however. The collection’s expansion was all but guaranteed, and we saw that happen this year with precious metals, new dial colors and strap options. It nailed a certain look that brought together just the right elements of its past in a refreshingly modern way. The Chronomaster Sport quickly gained traction after its introduction last year ( see our hands-on here), as a pure El Primero sports watch with little in the way of superfluous details. It is the Boutique Edition, and it expands on the concept we first saw in the Ecommerce Edition of the Chronomaster Original, bringing a dramatic tri-color bezel to life, paired with a silver dial. One steel reference did manage to sneak in, however, and it might be the best Chronomaster Sport yet. If any brand is able to offer something similar to Rolex and get away with it, it's Zenith.Zenith introduced a selection of new Chronomaster Sport references this year at Watches & Wonders, including an assortment of lovely full gold and steel/gold examples that ditch the ceramic bezel altogether. Yes, they share visual similarities as do many many watches. But to my eyes, this offers something very different to the Daytona. Considering the DeLuca was created back in the 80s as a watch to take on the Daytona I think it's very fair to assume Zenith see the Chronomaster Sport as round two in this battle. Now sure, I’m under no illusion that Zenith didn’t know what they were doing when they released this watch. After only a short time with the Chronomaster Sport, I know going back to a conventional 60-second chronograph is going to be tricky. The novelty of a 1/10th second chronograph simply doesn’t wear off and if you start to think it does, simply turn the watch over and enjoy watching it in action through the display caseback. Again, this shouldn’t come as a surprise as this is Zenith and the El Primero we’re talking about here. The movement on this watch is nothing short of a marvel. They have popularised the modern luxury steel chronograph as we know it in such a way that results in anything even remotely similar-looking being disregarded as just another lookalike. There are of course many others, but what Rolex are is in demand. Rolex isn’t the only brand to release a white dialled chronograph with a black bezel (shock, I know). Sure how a watch looks is a huge part of its value (after all we look at these things quite a lot during the day) but there is more to it than that. See, a lot of these ‘Daytona’ comments occur because of the watch' appearance. After all, Rolex created this aesthetic and owns it completely, right? Well not quite. With its white dial, black ceramic bezel, metal bracelet and similar hands and indices, on the surface, this may look like fair assumption to make. A few people (in fact, a lot of people) were talking about how this new Chronomaster Sport from Zenith shares a resemblance to the model it is quite familiar with, the Rolex Daytona. Let’s just address the elephant in the room right away. The Zenith Chronomaster Sport - Image Credit: WatchGecko Online Magazine
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