Zenith

Second highlight of the PuristS on Tour 2014 visit at the Zenith manufacture was the Zenith El Primero Tourbillon , a remarkably elegant and in details highly sophisticated watch:

Note the clean lines of the dial (more to that further down):




Core to the watch is the tourbillon, adorned with numerous heat-blued screws. Befitting an El Primero, it beats of course at 36.000 VpH.

One very neat feature sets it apart from all other similar compilations on the market: the position of the date, which is indicated on a chapter ring surrounding the tourbillon window.

The date disk below is rotating under a fixed ring with an index window at 11 o'clock. Thus, Zenith achieved a mechanically less complex yet at the same time functionally superior solution (little risk the hands obscure the date).

The frame of the date ring is mirror-polished, beautifully reflecting the minuterie.

The hand above the tourbillon is an extension of the cage and thus serves as permanent seconds hand.

As noted, the dial is an exercise in clean and sober design, which emphasises its various elements, such as the cut-out subdials or the angled outer dial flange.

 

The case (here: red gold) is a typical Zenith case with the signature rimmed pushers and a subtle but quite effective little detail, the small opening below the crown facilitating its operation:

Below a sapphire crystal one can admire the movement (Calibre El Primero 4035 D: 381 components, 35 jewels and 36,000 VpH), which from this perspective differs not all that much from a conventional El Primero.

However, one difference is the presence on an additional plate in lieu of the escapement, and ...



... another in a much more elaborate and - importantly! - hand-applied finishing. This is what the higher complications differentiates from the more conventional ones at Zenith: Finishings like perlage are entirely hand-applied vs. machine-made. Here we could take a glimpse at the finishing department (perlage):

On the wrist, the 44mm watch has a lot of presence and creates the impression of the horological concentrate - if you like. 

One has to congratulate Zenith for eschewing the temptation of loading lots of further elements and/or text on the watch's face. It does not even state the obvious - 'automatic', 'chronograph', 'tourbillon'...

One last detail: the folding clasp is as elegant as the watch - well done!

Bottom line:

Zenith has created a watch much to the taste of a Purist connoisseur - complicated, self-sufficient, with lots of original thinking and some refreshing details. The watch does not scream 'complication!' but rather presents its delicacies matter-of-factly, an approach I largely prefer over the more 'talkative' ones.

Zenith has kept the essentialness of the El Primero without neglecting its soul, and advanced subtly (but exactly where it adds most value for enthusiasts; complication, finishing, design). 

Taken together, the watch has all ingredients of a bona fide collector's piece which will give its owner many years of non-exhausting pleasure. This should be a non-issue, but cannot be stressed enough these days (which says something about the watch market!).

Thanks for reading,

Magnus

P.S.: The lightning was (much) less than optimal, in fact I had to creep below a watch showcase to evade the harsh lights in the presentation room and to catch some soft natural lightning.

P.P.S.: The watch shown here is a prototype, thus colours might not be accurate (e.g. through use of plated brass for the case).

More posts: El PrimeroEl Primero Tourbillon

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