Zenith

Geneva Week 2014: Zenith including the new 410, the Type 20 GMT 1903 and several Captain

 

This report gathers the comments and pictures about the hereafter watches presented by Zenith at the 2014 Geneva week:
- El Primero Chronomaster Grande Date chocolate dial
- El Primero Chronomaster Power Reserve blue dial
- El Primero 410
- Heritage Star round case
- Pilot Type 20 GMT 1903
- Captain Winsor Annual Calendar Boutique Edition
- Captain Moonphase
- Captain Power Reserve
- Captain Central Second Boutique Edition
 

Zenith organized its traditional presentation of the first novelties of the year at the Hotel Kempinski during the Geneva Week. As usual, Zenith booked the Suite at the 7th floor which is, if I'm not wrong, the largest suite available in Geneva. At least, it offers a superb view on the lake!

Anyway, the purpose of the report is not to speak about the scenery but about these first novelties of the year. Even if the main part of the collection will be unveiled at Basel,  Zenith presented a quite wide range of new pieces in several collections. To sum up in a few words the trend, I can say that Zenith worked on new versions of existing models with a focus on more elegant and more uncluttered dials in the Captain collection.

I propose you to browse these novelties.

Let's start with the El Primero Chronomaster Grande Date.

This 45mm watch is now available with a chocolate dial.

Of course, Zenith kept the large opening on the dial which allows to observe the El Primero 4047 movement (5hz, 50 hours of power reserve).

The watch combines several complications and I find the large date well integrated on the dial.

You will notice the two tones touch with the crown and pushers which combines well with the chocolate dial:

The watch is a true beast on the wrist and a good example of what Zenith is able to offer as a manufacture with a rather contained price.

Thanks to its darker dial, the chronomaster Grande Date looks a bit smaller than the silver dial version. But I'm now less seduced by the chocolate dials and I think that I would prefer the dark version.

Pros:
+ an impressive gathering of complications
+ the large date is well integrated
+ the sober two tones touch

Cons:
- the diameter is large (45mm)
- the large opening can be boring on a long run

I have to confess that I much prefer the Chronomaster Power Reserve. Its diameter is smaller (42mm) and I appreciate the way the power reserve indicator decorates the dial.

This LE comes with a beautiful blue dial which gives a very appealing character to the watch.

Of course, we find again the large opening of the dial. Thanks to its smaller size, the dial looks here more balanced than with the Grande Date version.

The red end of the second hand of the chronograph brings a subtle touch of colour. The applied indexes gives a welcome feeling of depth on the dial:

The watch is powered by the El Primero 4021 which has a 5hz frequency of course and 50 hours of power reserve. It is as usual nice to observe thanks to its lay-out even if its finishings are plain. I would have appreciated a more refined winding rotor.

The Chronomaster Power Reserve has a lot of charm on the wrist thanks to its dial and its overall balance:

Pros:
+ a balanced dial
+ a very seducing dial colour
+ the well integrated power reserve indicator

Cons:
- the large opening can be boring on a long run


We stay in the Primero collection with the 410.

It is an iconic watch from Zenith and it was a great pleasure for me to see it again in a more sober outfit.

Its 42mm diameter looks larger than it is actually due to the very light colour of the dial.

The days and months are displayed thanks to windows located just above the subdials. It is as you know a full calendar watch (calendrier complet) and not an annual calendar so you will need to set the date when needed.



Once again, the applied dials have a positive impact on the perceived quality:


The watch is powered by the El Primero 410 movement which gives its name to the watch. Its frequency is 5hz and it reaches a power reserve of 50 hours.


The watch has a strong presence on the wrist. I consider this 42mm diameter as the maximum. The subdials are located a bit too close to the center of the dial even if the designers worked well to reduce this feeling. On the other hand, I was seduced by the overall elegance and the refined style of the dial.




Pros:
+ a nice evolution with a purer dial (what a relief to not find again the stars on the dial!)
+ a refined dial
+ an excellent value for the price

Cons:
- 42mm are the maximum for this watch: we can feel it due to the position of the subdials.


Ladies were not forgotten in the Heritage collection!

This watch features lovely "leaf" hands (aiguilles feuille in French) typical of the collection and a set case. If you remember well, the Heritage Star was featuring previously a cushion-shaped case. Now, it comes with a round case.




Even the lugs and the casesides were set:



The El Primero movement which powers the watch has the usual performances: a 5hz frequency and a power reserve of 50 hours.


Let's enter a different collection now with the Pilot Type 20 GMT 1903!

This is really an impressive watch. The character of the original Type 20 GMT is totally transformed by the new case colour, the new style of the figures and of course... the Nubuck "vintage" strap.

This watch features a 48mm titanium case with black DLC treatment. In order to enhance the vintage atmosphere of the watch, the superluminova used is a SLN Old Radium which artificially gives a kind of patina to the figures (actually this old Radium is a first layer then covered by the superluminova).

The black case works pretty well with the decoration style of the dial.

The big hand with the red hand is of course the second timezone display which is set thanks to the big pusher on the left:

The impressive strap is heat-embossed with Zenith Flying Instruments logo:

A powerful design... even if the watch looks small (yes !!!) when compared with the 57,5mm version. I consider the Type 20 GMT as the more balanced watch of the collection since I find the 40mm simple one too small.

But we don't have to forget that the caseback pays homage to the Wright brothers: we can see Orville Wright on board and his brother, Wilbur, running along the Kitty Hawk beach... this event took place more than 110 years ago.

The Type 20 GMT 1903, powered by an Elite 693 movement (4hz, 50 hours of power reserve) is available in a LE of 1903 pieces.

Pros:
+ maybe the best case size for a Zenith Type 20 watch
+ the vintage style of the figures
+ the beautiful strap
+ the GMT complication, coherent with this "pilot" atmosphere

Cons:
- at the end of the day, this watch really requires a large wrist!

This Geneva week presentation gave the opportunity to discover a lot of new versions of the Captain collection. More uncluttered, more refined, these watches seduced me thanks to their simple, effective and elegant designs.

One of the most beautiful Zenith watches (at least for my taste) is this Captain Winsor Annual Calendar Boutique Edition:

I love the railroad, the applied figures and the way the calendar displays are outlined. This 42mm combines with a lot of elegance the chronograph (a 60 minutes counter at 6 o'clock) and the annual calendar complications. Thanks to the location of the Annual Calendar module, the date window position is very close to the bezel:

The watch is powered by the El Primero 4054 (5hz, 50 hours of power reserve) movement:

I really enjoyed it a lot! Its legibility is one of its main assets:

Pros:
+ a very elegant and refined watch
+ a nice dial lay-out which enhances the legibility
+ the dial finishings

Cons:
- 42mm are the maximum size because the perceived size is higher.

I was less convinced by this Captain Moonphase.

The dial looks too simple IMHO and I regret the central guillochage of the original version. This one remains seducing but maybe I found it too plain at the end.

hopefully, the applied indexes bring some spice:

The watch is powered with the Elite 691 movement (4hz, 50 hours of power reserve) which is almost too small for the case:

Once again, the watch, due to its very light dial, looks bigger than its actual size. It has a strong presence despite the sober dial.

Pros:
+ an efficient combo of two complications: moonphase and large date
+ the applied indexes
+ a refined and (too?) quiet amosphere

Cons:
- the movement is almost too small for the case
- the watch could become boring on a long run


The same design effect was applied on the Captain Power Reserve but it works better here.

Why?

Simply because I much prefer the power reserve display! The "fan" was replaced by this elegant arch:

The watch is powered by the Elite 685 movement (4hz, 50 hours of power reserve):

When I put on my wrist, I was more seduced by it than by the Captain Moonphase for the reasons explained before:

Pros:
+ an elegant watch
+ a nicely designed power reserve indicator
+ the applied indexes

Cons:
- the date window is tiny
- once again, the Elite movement is a bit too small for the size

The last watch of the report is this Captain Central Second Boutique Edition.

It is powered by the Elite 670 movement housed (4hz, 50 hours of power reserve) in a 40mm case.

The applied figures and the big second hand are the details I prefer on this watch:

Thanks to its colour, the big second hand is the more visible element! I could appreciate its behaviour on the dial:

The Elite 670 movement:

Same comments with this watch than with the others: it looks bigger than its actual size. Hopefully, the nice applied figures and the big second hand make it charming.

Pros:
+ the applied figures
+ the behaviour of the second hand
+ the overall refined atmosphere

Cons:
- the date window is tiny
- once again, the Elite movement is a bit too small for the size (look at the date window location)

I would like to make some final remarks.

First of all, Zenith did a great job with this first 2014 collection and I could appreciate this trend towards more elegance. On the other hand, I start to fear the large number of references in the catalogue and I hope that Zenith will work later on the reduction of this number. Zenith has, with the Elite and El Primero, two efficient (can I say iconic?) in-house movements and they are strong assets for the brand. Sadly, they are, at least for me, too small for today's cases and in my opinion, Zenith should start to work on larger movements. Even with 40mm cases, the Elite looks small. I know that new movements require big investments (several millions of swiss francs) and it is almost impossible to finance such development without an increase of prices... and it is not a favourable period for this. I think that we will see these two movements during many years... what is not a problem when we consider their accuracy and their reliability.

I would like to thank  a lot the Zenith team for the warm welcome.

Fx



This message has been edited by foversta on 2014-03-01 16:33:05

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