To reach 160 is quite an achievement, particularly when you are also one of the handful of watch brands still operating - without interruption - on the site where you were originally founded. In a recent interview to WorldTempus, and twelve months into his tenure as Zenith CEO, Benoit de Clerck promised that this would be a year packed with surprises, insisting that “while reliability and timeless elegance are our DNA, we are going to try to bring a little sophistication to our design, while maintaining very high standards of quality.” So far, it’s mission accomplished, starting with this watch, unveiled for LVMH Watch Week: the first highlight in the industry calendar, when the various LVMH watch brands take the wraps off their new models. Zenith dials up the colour with a dazzling version of its emblematic Chronomaster Sport chronograph, set with a rainbow of precious stones.
Anyone harbouring doubts about whether gemstones have their place on a sports watch would do well to take a closer look at this Chronomaster Sport Rainbow, which embraces its bejewelled character without losing any of its distinctive sporty style. Innovation, sophistication and expertise in gem-setting underpin this latest offering. Steel gives way to white gold for the 41mm case, beautifully enhanced by the 50 baguette-cut precious stones that circle the rainbow bezel. Zenith demonstrates its skill not only in setting stones but in sourcing the finest quality gems, namely 40 sapphires in rainbow shades, selected for their uniform size, cut and colour. Joining them are the ten baguette-cut diamonds for the equally precious ten-second markers.
Adding depth, but also as a backdrop for the gems to shine, the lacquered dial, protected by a sapphire crystal, is deepest black. On it, the Chronomaster Sport’s signature tricolour counters take up position at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. Echoing the gems around the bezel, the indices are rainbow-coloured sapphires. More discreetly, the facetted hour and minute hands are treated with Super-Luminova to conserve the watch’s sporty style while ensuring daytime and night-time readability. Matching the case, the triple-link integrated bracelet is in brushed and polished white gold, secured by a safety double folding clasp.
The Chronomaster Sport Rainbow also has plenty of sparkle under the dial, with what else but the legendary El Primero to power this shiny new star? Having started life in 1969 as the world’s first high-frequency automatic calibre, the El Primero has been constantly upgraded and improved. The latest advances to date have given the El Primero 3600, whose chronograph function measures tenths of a second by a central hand that makes a complete rotation of the dial in ten seconds. Central hours and minutes are completed by small seconds at 9 o’clock. Automatic winding provides a comfortable 60 hours of power reserve for the movement whose architecture is exposed through the transparent caseback – not least the blued column wheel and the openworked rotor with its five-pointed Zenith star.
