A look at the 2021 Zenith Chronomaster Original swiss chronograph with the new El Primero 3600 calibre movement. Movie clip from O Brother, Where Art Thou? Shirt: Bonobos - Stretch Cord Shirt Shirt jacket: Nau - Kush Utility Blazer
Great review! To me the most iconic and historically significant are El Primero and Navitimer. In late 1960s Zenith were in a hurry to beat the Chronomatics (Breitling, Heuer and Buren/Hamilton) and Seiko and introduce the first automatic chronograph 2 months earlier in 1969. The fact is Zenith were the last to start selling their piece while the Chronomatics’ Caliber 11 hit the market several months earlier. To this day it is unclear who had the first automatic chronograph but regardless, these two are truly awesome and in my opinion everything else is technically speaking an homage to them.
THAT CLASP though!!! Zenith has definitely been catching my eye. Have you seen the new Defy Skyline? A MASTERPIECE in my opinion. That one would also make a great video! Great job as always with the video. Thoughtful, funny,, informative and charming.
@@YoureTerrific Completely agree. I really like the Defy classic but think that the bezel is too plain. With the Skyline they have improved the bezel (in my opinion!) but dont like the dial. The Skyline case with the Classic dial....and Zenith can have my money!
The Zenith El Primero was the first high frequency (36,000 vibrations per hour vs 19,800 vph of the Chronomatic and 21,600 vph of the Seiko 6139), fully integrated, automatic chronograph, the first with a running seconds hand and it was only 6.5 mm thick, even slimmer than traditional chronographs! Zenith and Movado (at the time the two brands were owned by the same holding) explained these features in their announcement: “The Zenith and Movado watch companies have achieved an extraordinary feat in combining two precision watches in one. It comprises a high-frequency automatic watch with calendar along with a timer-chronograph allowing time measurements to the tenth of a second. It is equipped with an hour and minute timer. This is the first watch of its type in the world. The extraordinary feature is that both these mechanisms fit in a space smaller than that of a traditional chronograph. This model has all the advantages of a standard watch plus the date, automatic winding and the chronograph with timers and calendar.”
I came from a speedy pro which always was a tad to big and I didn't care for the manual movement. Picked up a classic Zenith El Primero Chrono from around 2000, at 38mm it's a amazing and the slimness is insane compared to the hand wound speedy. It's currently at the watchmaker getting a new crystal.cant wait to get it back! This has really opened my eyes for Zenith.
Love the classic look of the dial on the version you reviewed. I actually like the tan markers too. Putting aside the faux-vintage conversation, it helps differentiate the markers on a dial that has a lot of information in stark white; aka, makes it easier to read. Good stuff and it’s great that there are myriad color choices to boot.
great review. The funny thing is the El Primero movement used to power the Daytona. I have that movement in a Bvlgari watch, and it's the one I wear most often. Great movement, and great watch company! I love Zenith.
Besides the interesting content, one of the largest reason I subscribed to you is because your voice is almost identical with the “history of Japan” guy, so dry, yet so humorous. Keep up the good work!
I will buy one of these at some point in time. The way my small collection is going I need to fill it with one zenith and one breitling and then I might go good for awhile. Anything else will be an extra plus
This one had immediately poked me in the eye when it was released. Maybe I could navigate in flight to ridiculous, sub-second accuracy (not a chance). Another excellent video, Evan. I'd love to see/hear your take on the newish 41mm Omega Seamaster 300 (the "Heritage" model with the calibre 8912), if you could get access to one!
You were surprised by the quality of the tan lume... Interestingly, tan lume shines brighter than a pure white lume (more than 3x actually) and about 5% brighter than a white-bluish lume (BG W9). C3 superluminova (which is a tan yellowish color) is the brightest lume available. So contrary to popular opinion among watch nerds, when manufacturers use green or blue lume, they're optimizing for esthetics, not practicality. Tan lume is the more practical choice. Given the above, I have decided not to care at all about whether or not a watch uses "fauxtina" lume. It's just another color, and as long as it looks good with the rest of the watch, I'm happy. If it shines a bit brighter, that's just icing.
Great visuals and editing! I really enjoy your videos with the music and voice over with real talk. I’m very interested in these zenith pieces, might be bumping up the wishlist!
I'm having a hard time deciding if this is my next watch over the Reverso. Also, I thought I wanted the traditional silver dial with tricolor sub-dials, but after watching this video, this reverse panda is very appealing. Tough choice.
In 2017 I got the Omega 60th anniversary LE Speedmaster, which is very similar. And I love it. But when I found out about this watch recently I immediately thought “damnit this is a better watch.”
Like the choices of timepieces you choose to review. Not the usual...Rolex, Rolex, Rolex... The Chronomaster Original Reverse Panda is really a sleeper head. Great value for the quality movement and build quality. So underrated and underappreciated, which is good for me. I can afford and actually buy one. No need for crazy waiting list and indecent bundling offers from ADs.
Great review 👏. It's good to know that I'm not alone, i also don't like the speedmaster and the daytona and always thought that the elpremerio is the most fun and charming. Looking forward to the next review, your videos always make me smile
I’m a fan of your channel ! Your videography and spirit are a welcome change to your boring RU-vid competitors. But that beautiful watch is just to small for my big hairy wrist.
Here's another way of looking at the 10th of a second thing. It's probably good for timing how fast someone can do a thing. For instance, my kid used to want me to time him while he ran up and down the hall of our house. He kept wanting to beat his time. Or how long he can hold his breath...10th of a second is good for making comparative measurements like that. Also, the dial layout makes it easier to see where you actually stopped the second hand (as opposed to a speedmaster, for example) I would argue that the sole purpose of a chronograph is to be able to make tiny distinctions in time as opposed to timing longer intervals. Your point about showing off is funny, but I think it applies to all chronographs. What do any of us use them for really? Timing how long we steep our tea? Most anything any of us might use a chronograph for could just as easily be accomplished by following the running seconds hand on whatever we are wearing. All watches are toys now-and things we use to show off to ourselves and others.
Beside the Revival Shadow, this is my favorite version of the Chronomaster...apart from the positioning of the date!🥴😂 Nevertheless a great review (as always) and I was really excited, what your final conclusion would be...☺
I really like these A386 reissues. But God damn do I love the A384 reissues. The novelty of those means one will probably be my next big purchase, and I'd gladly trade the 1/10th of a second measurement for a proper hour counting subdial.
I would too, but with the discussion of a watchmaker, he really like the idea to drop the hour counting subdial. One reason is that there is really no modern need to measure any time over 1 hour, and the dial originally designed back then only gave a less precise idea of how long it took. If you really need an hour counting chronograph, your phone, or some cheap digital watch will do the same work as well. The 1/10th gave the owner a playful function, while it also can serve short interval timing with fascinating accuracy.
I'm of similar mind -- don't need a chrono, generally shrug at the Speedmaster though I can appreciate the history and design. Now I'm trying to imagine what you'd say with a Zenith Defy 21 in your hands. A duplicate movement, 44mm case, and timing 1/100th of a second. -- But why? -- "Being cool is a necessary function."
Could you elaborate on why you like that date window placement? I absolutely can't stand it. It throws off the symmetry of the dial. For me it would've been better without. But I'm interested in your view on this!
@@kvg123 (Assuming you're probably replying to YoureTerrific, but chiming in anyhoo :-) I like it because it doesn't intrude on any of the hour markers or subdials, and when I'm doing something like typing an email or driving, my arm is naturally at an angle where I can check the date without having to move my arm from the keyboard or the wheel. I especially like how Zenith has incorporated the minute markers around the 0430 date window on their various iterations of the El Primero. It's charming. I also like how Sinn, for instance, has incorporated the 0430 date window on several of their models. It feels like a value-added feature without intruding on the other timekeeping functions of the watch. It's easy to ignore, but it's there when I want it. But to each their own!
I have this exact model. Unfortunately the minute chrono hand won't stop ticking. Sent it back to AD and was told it would take 3 months to fix. A bit disappointed but still a cool watch though, not many automatic chronographs come in these kind of dimensions (38mm and relatively slim). Great review as always!
That is sad because I do know Zenith cut costs and corners on their watch. The old ones do have better build quality that lasts a beating. I have mine that lasted 25 years before it arrived in my hands. Had it fixed up and it still works great!
@@lipinglin1994 sad indeed. Really like the watch though. I have it on Forstner beads of rice bracelet to make it more versatile. Just wish they had kept the WR at 10atm like the outgoing models (which I sold to partially fund this one), but I guess it's a good tradeoff for other improvements like hacking seconds and bigger power reserve. I theorize that they purposely downgraded the WR for Chronomaster Original to 5atm so that it wouldn't cannibalize the Chronomaster Sport (who knows 🤷🏻♂️).
@@matakaji412 I didn’t know it can go with forstner band. Does the solid end link goes with it? I have the forstner band flat link with solid end link for my Speedmaster. Iirc the 5atm is because of the case design. It was like that back then and it was already good enough.
@@lipinglin1994 it's the 19mm beads of rice. It bodes well with the watch's vintage looks IMO. I dare say it looks better on a beads of rice bracelet than the standard steel bracelet (mine came with the brown leather strap) but to each his own. I also ordered a custom rally strap from Delugs for this watch, so it will be sitting in the drawer until the watch is fixed 😭
Honest to God you are terrific! Love this video! I'm not a chrono person either but can't get off my head this and the Revival...what's your quick take on the Revival?
I've heard that this type of chronograph is the only kind that actually make sense for timing races because it measures fractions of seconds. In no official event would you not record fractions of seconds. Although I suppose you'd never use a mechanical watch, either.
I've always had a trip color zenith on my short list 38mm ...until I heard the cost to service it an the no quick set date but still a good watch ...I was just about to mention GS finish hahaha 🤣😂
I agree...just bought a Casio with all the works....world clocks,stop watch,timer and get this...an alarm. And get...this a battery life of 10 years. It set me back $18 US. I can't stop looking at it. Looking to mod it it already! Great video! BTW..had money left over to get me some good hamburgers at Wendy's.
i have the 42m og its hard because i like the new models and think the smaller size is nice but for me to jump into this and get a watch 80% the same, and yeah a more modern movement but mine has a storied movement which makes sense when explaining to people why i spend money on dumb shit but this reverse panda is nice and does tempt me
