Hands-On Review: Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar in Dark Green

The Dial:

The design brilliance of the Chronomaster Original is manifest in the fact that at first glance, one might think that this is just another version of the chronograph. The dial’s layout is familiar, and appropriately evocative of its vintage forebear: two concentric scales on the outer rim in contrasting colors, one in dark green for the 1/10-second chronograph scale, the other inner scale in silvery white, divided into 1/100th second increments. On the main dial, which carries on the dark green tone of the outer scale, a classical arrangement of silver-toned subdials at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. At 4:30, the familiar date window; in the center, a pair of straight-sided, blunt-tipped hands for the hour and minute, accompanied by a thin, javelin-like seconds hand. 

But a closer look reveals what sets this watch apart: small rectangular apertures with curved ends, parallel to each other and abutting the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock indexes, revealing the month and weekday, respectively; and a cutout in the subdial above 6 o’clock, with a polished rose-gold moon disk against a metallic blue sky, dappled with five-pointed stars (yet another callout to Zenith’s logo and “Time to Reach Your Star” motto). Attention to detail abounds: the subdials are recessed and sport a snailed texture, the hands and applied hour markers are rose-gold-plated and luminous-treated, and the month, day, and date are all executed in a tone-on-tone style — white text on dark green background — that imparts to the timepiece a very harmonious look overall.

Putting all of this complexity in a 38mm case does, of course, come with some downsides from a sheer legibility standpoint. The text in the month and day windows is very hard to read in normal lighting, and the latter indication can be obscured entirely every time the minute hand passes over to indicate 10 minutes after the hour. 

What do all these buttons, pushers, and the crown do? The crown pulls out to two positions, the first intermediate one to advance the date; the second, outermost position to set the hour and minute hand. The inset pushers on the left side, which need to be activated with the firm push of a sharp-tipped object, are dedicated to adjusting the day and moon-phase display. The lower pusher controls the day display at 10 o’clock; curiously, it moves backwards rather than forwards in time (i.e, Monday to Sunday to Saturday). The upper pusher moves the moon disk forward in small increments. I have met very few watch enthusiasts who obsess much about the moon-phase being as accurate as the date, but if you’re one of them (like I am), the site moongiant.com can be helpful in setting this indication. 

The pump-style pushers on the right side play their traditional role in starting and stopping the chronograph and returning it to zero. A click of the top pusher sends the central seconds hand skipping briskly around the dial, traversing it once every 10 seconds (rather than the comparatively sluggish 60-second trip of most other chronographs). The small hands on the 3 o’clock and 6 o’clock subdials spring to action along with it: the former makes a complete rotation around its 60-second scale every minute, while the latter tallies up a maximum of one recorded hour of time on its 60-minute scale. Stop the central hand with another press of the top pusher to read the exact readout down to the 1/10 second, and a subsequent press on the lower pusher returns all the chronograph hands back to their starting positions; all the while the hand on the 9 o’clock subdial keeps tracking the running seconds, uninterrupted, in real time.

The dial has a sunburst finish, even though in most lighting situations it appears matte. The gold details somehow work, even with the large silvered areas that one would think might clash with them. At some point, probably not too long from now, Zenith will give us this exact dial colorway but in a rose-gold case, and that should really bring the house down, at least for the more moneyed enthusiasts.

The Movement: 

The multitasking engine inside the watch is Zenith’s El Primero 3610, a recent variation on the base Caliber 3600 which is the first Zenith in-house movement to combine the 1/10-second chronograph capability with the complete calendar functions plus moon-phase. Like all El Primero movements, it’s a wonder to behold visually as well as a marvel of high-tech horology.

The heavy oscillating weight is skeletonized and features in its center a cutout version of the Zenith star emblem. As it swings to supply the movement with its 60-hour power reserve (that's 10 hours longer than its predecessor in the El Primero series, Caliber 400), it passes over a labyrinthine construction of bridges and wheels, including a blued column wheel at bottom center to drive the stopwatch functions and the lateral clutch, with its patented two-wheel architecture, that interacts with it. The balance performs its rhythmic ballet in the upper right, beating at a lightning-quick 36,600 vph, or 5 Hz, which can be seen in the rapid rotation of the chronograph seconds hand around the dial. 

The Strap:

While it is the bracelet versions of the triple Calendar that have received probably the most critical attention, the green, softly grained calfskin leather strap on this model is worthy of praise. Enhanced with tone-on-tone green stitching and coming to a slight taper, it’s a perfect complement to the predominant colors of the dial and gives the watch a luxurious air. Securing it to the wrist is a double-folding clasp that opens with e push of two small side buttons mounted on the buckle; like the inset pushers on the case, a firm touch is required here, or at least it was on my loaner watch. Putting the watch on for the first time might take some fiddling; you have to find two proper holes in the strap in order to adjust it to the right wrist size: one for the buckle tongue, the other for the small peg that protrudes from the bottom of the buckle. Once these positions are secured, however, you’re good to go.

In actual wearing conditions, the Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar is a watch that exudes elegance despite its very utilitarian array of functions. On the steel bracelet that is also available on this model, I’d expect it would look a bit bolder and less understated, but that 38mm case is certainly more conducive to being subtly tucked under a shirt cuff than would something larger, like the 41mm case of the Chronomaster Sport. All of which, of course, begs an intriguing question: Now that Zenith has fulfilled the initial promise of its 55-year-old El Primero, as the base for both a chronograph and a triple calendar, where might we see the movement used next? Other colorways of the Chronomaster Original are probably inevitable, but it’s very tantalizing to imagine it adapted to the design language of a Chronomaster Sport or even a Defy model. Perhaps even a revival of the cult-classic Espada is not off the table.