2/19/2023 0 Comments Chronomaster el primero open![]() This is in part due to the manufacturer's pricing policy, which insists on fairly pricing their high-quality timepieces. Models in this series are comparatively affordable when you consider their quality. Many models also have a tachymeter scale, which is an attractive extra feature. ![]() For example, the series includes chronographs with a tourbillon or moon phase display. The Zenith El Primero Chronomaster series excels when it comes to complications. The sizes of the timepieces range between 38 and 45 mm, with the bigger versions being more suitable for larger wrists. There is also a wide variety of case materials used: You have the choice between rose gold, stainless steel, and durable ceramic. Classic variants with the original case from 1969 are grouped together with models featuring almost completely skeletonized dials, which give you a view of the movement at work. The series, first introduced in 1994, is known for its diversity of designs. It has a balance frequency of 36,000 A/h (5 Hz) and allows you to measure 1/10th of a second. After all, there's a reason the El Primero has a reputation of being Zenith's most powerful caliber. Today, the movement is still considered ultra-precise. Other manufacturers took advantage of this caliber: Rolex modified it to their needs, renaming it Caliber 4030, and used it in the Daytona. It made history as the first integrated, automatic chronograph caliber. The movement was first introduced in 1969, though its development began in 1962. Certainly, from an engineering standpoint, the two watches use significantly different movements, although what they do have in common is that both the Zenith 3600 and the Rolex 4130 are very much pieces of contemporary, high-tech mechanical horology.The Zenith El Primero Chronomaster collection is comprised of many timepieces with different designs, all tied together by their common use of the famous El Primero caliber. Whether or not the resemblance bugs you is a matter of taste – I suspect some folks will be put off by it, although considering a modified El Primero movement was used by Rolex for the first self-winding Daytonas, I'd propose that Zenith is, to some extent, entitled by history if nothing else to connect the dots a little. The color and the way the ceramic reflects the light on the Chronomaster Sport is insistently reminiscent of the Daytona bezel, but the typeface and function are quite different – the Daytona has a tachymetric scale and the Chronomaster Sport, graduations for reading off tenths and hundredths of a second. Zenith has used ceramic bezels before in the Chronomaster line, but as far as I have been able to determine, just on the two 50th Anniversary limited edition models (which were also launch platforms for the caliber 3600). I think what makes the resemblance seem so strong at first glance is the ceramic bezel. ![]() Zenith has gotten around this problem partly by using low-inertia silicon for the escape wheel, but a lot of the mitigation comes from customization of the driving and coupling wheels, each of which has a unique profile for the gear teeth. The amount of energy available is even less than at the fourth wheel, and adding the load of driving the chronograph is potentially even more problematic. The problem is even worse if you try to drive the chronograph off the escape wheel. Balance amplitude can drop significantly when a chronograph is switched on, and if the watch isn't in optimum condition, accuracy can suffer if you leave the chronograph on for long enough. Driving a chronograph from the fourth wheel is already kind of pushing it it's the last conventional wheel in the going train, and stealing energy from the gears at that point means less energy is available to reach the balance. The reason you don't usually see chronographs driven by the escape wheel is that, generally, it's a terrible idea to try. ![]()
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