79 2.


‘Zenith’s technical prowess is on full display in the


O


n the other hand, you could simply go looking elsewhere – Rolex, after all, is pretty much demanding it, and


in January 2021 Zenith effectively declared its intention to step into the breach with its new Chronomaster Sport. In the Nineties, Rolex Daytonas were powered by Zenith’s ground- breaking ‘El Primero’ chronograph move- ment, a period that saw the Daytona rise from also-ran to the holy grail of sports watches. Indeed, ‘Zenith Daytonas’ from the era are now a collectible genre in their own right. This business probably saved Zenith’s bacon too, not that it’s ever been able to capi- talise officially on the connection – but with the Chronomaster Sport, it comes pretty close. With its sleek lines, rippling bracelet, black ceramic bezel and high-contrast dial layout, it’s not so much a nod to the Daytona as a lasciv- ious, full-throttle twerk in Rolex’s direction. It’s all the better for it. Zenith, a historic


maker now owned by LVMH, is a wonderful, under-appreciated company, whose technical prowess is on full display in the Chronomas- ter Sport: thanks to the ultra-fast oscillation frequency of the El Primero movement (an engine that’s now more than 50 years old, but thoroughly re-engineered for modern times), the stopwatch hand zips round the dial in 10 seconds flat, rather than taking a full minute. Ostensibly that’s to enable you to time things to a tenth of a second, but really it’s a flex: a point of departure that makes the watch that bit more quirky and intriguing. For all its mastery, Zenith has struggled over the years to articulate its capabilities in its designs; the whizz-bang audaciousness of the Chronomaster Sport solves this. It’s that bit more colourful and more characterful than its Rolex rival, and deserved its gong from the watch industry’s biggest awards, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, in November.


R


olex’s all-time-classic dive watch, the Submariner, was overhauled (slightly) in 2020. At around £15,500 (at time of writing) on the secondary market for the suave black dial/green bezel option (collectors are nicknaming it the ‘Starbucks’), it’s going for twice its official price of £7,650. It’s ex- ceedingly handsome and oozes Rolex quality,


Chronomaster Sport’


3.


4.


2. Zenith’s


Chronomaster Sport is an attractive


alternative to the Daytona.


3. The Rolex


Submariner is changing hands for twice its offi cial price at the moment.


4. Omega’s Seamaster Diver 300m matches the Submariner for quality and even


features in the new Bond fi lm


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