Incoming / Quasi-Review

[El-Duderino]

First “Incoming!” post in, well, quite a while, actually. Pretty much hunkered down during the pandemic and didn’t really do much watch related stuff during that time.

But 2021 is a new year and with it a new watch! Rob at Topper Jewelers was kind enough to get this just in time for our five-year anniversary! I traded in the first of many watches I bought from him, the Zenith Classic Cars, which happened to be purchased in July 2016! Time flies, man, time flies. In any event, after a much longer wait than originally planned, the new Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Sport arrived on my doorstep today.

And what a beaut she is, Clark!


The Zenith box definitely increased in size since the last model I purchased. For those of us that keep all the boxes and papers, this is a mixed blessing since now I have to find a place to store it. I like the addition of the “hidden” travel case that it comes with. Nice little touch there, Zenith.





The watch itself has great presence straight out of the box. Just as striking in person as it is in the official photos. Always pleasantly surprised when that happens.



First thing I noticed after taking it out of the box is the size appearance compared to my other 42mm Zeniths. Even though the Sport is supposedly 41mm it wears and looks just slightly larger than the smaller Rolex Daytona on my wrist which, to be fair, was clearly part of Zenith’s design strategy here. But more on that in a bit.



The watch still contains the trusty El Primero movement but with the extra jolt of the 1/10th of a second chronograph function. I was curious to see how the movement looked compared to my Zenith Chronomaster 1969 Boutique and you can tell they share a lot of the same guts but a lot is different as well. I’d have to remove the bracelets and get a better camera to really get into the details, but hopefully this gives a good comparison shot.



As I compared the Sport to the 1969, I noticed straight away that Zenith went with a totally new design for their metal bracelet. I’m sure they share some components but I am hard pressed to say what they would be. The old design was a bit wider, used screws in every link, and utilized a butterfly clasp. Sturdy bracelet but it did lack the ability to fine tune the fit outside of the half links. I had to smirk putting it on as the new bracelet looks and feels like the Rolex Oyster bracelet on my Daytona. It basically is a combination of the new Rolex Oyster bracelet just with the older-style 16520 adjustable clasp versus the new Easylink system.




So, let’s address the elephant in the room: Yes, there is no doubt the Zenith Sport borrows from the Daytona design. From the bracelet to the black ceramic bezel to the size. However, even with those similarities I find that it still is its own watch when looking at them side by side.

On the wrist it wears very comfortably and doesn’t sit too high so that you couldn’t wear it with a long sleeve shirt. It isn’t as slim as the Daytona but it certainly isn’t too clunky. I decided to break out my digital calipers and measured the case height at 13.6mm vs 13.3mm for the Zenith Boutique and the extremely svelte 12.3mm of the Daytona. Those of us that love swapping straps will be pleased to hear the lug width on the Sport is 20mm vs the uncommon 21mm width of the older Zenith 42mm models. I measure the lug-to-lug at just below 46.5mm which I show is identical to my Daytona and much shorter than the 50mm of the Boutique. I measure the width of the case from the side to the tip of the crown at just shy of 44mm versus 42.5mm for the same measurement on the Daytona.




With the higher 36,000 vph, I am not surprised the power reserve is a bit less than the 28,800 vph Daytona with an estimated 60 hours for the Zenith Sport vs 72 hours for the Daytona. Anything over two days is a win in my book.

Finally, I want to talk about that 1/10th of a second chronograph. Wow does that thing move! It takes a little getting used to when measuring time but it is fun to use!

Overall, I really love the look of this watch. I think it is everything I was hoping it would be and more. The movement is pretty spectacular, the dial is pleasing, and the size is a perfect fit for me. Even though it isn’t that much smaller diameter wise than the 42mm Chronomaster models, the fact it isn’t “all dial” makes the watch wear much smaller in my opinion. I think Zenith has a winner here.

Felt good posting about watches again. Cheers everyone!

[vh2k]

Thank you for the very thoughtful post. Congrats.

[Urosfan]

Congrats looks great

[sparksgmt]

Congrats! I posted about the Chronomaster Original a few days ago, but the Sport look great!

[Fort Rolex]

Great post thank you! I need to find a way to try one on

[uniqueMR]

Congrats

[Mach]

Congratulations! Great photos and side-by-side comparisons with your Daytona. It looks absolutely stunning on your wrist!

My Chronomaster Sport should be landing next month!

[El-Duderino]

Originally Posted by Mach

Congratulations! Great photos and side-by-side comparisons with your Daytona. It looks absolutely stunning on your wrist!

My Chronomaster Sport should be landing next month!

Did you go with the black or white dial version?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mach]

Originally Posted by El-Duderino

Did you go with the black or white dial version?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The white dial!