Like the hour indexes, the faceted, blunt-arrow-shaped hour and minute hands have luminous material applied to their surfaces. The aforementioned chronograph registers sit in the lower half of the dial, each intersecting one another in a relatively unobtrusive way that maintains legibility. On both variants, there are two instances of red: one on the dial, in the form of the “36,000 VpH” inscription beneath the Zenith logo, and another, bolder application in the form of the chronograph seconds hand with an open-worked star symbol at one end. These details lend an even sportier quality to the new El Primero Sport, which is otherwise more subdued – compared to its line mates – due to the lack of tri-color sub-dials.
Through a sapphire crystal in the back, you can observe Zenith’s trademark in-house El Primero movement (more specifically, 400 B) beating away at 36,000 VpH, allowing the chronograph to measure all the way down to 1/10th of a second. The self-winding movement offers a minimum 50-hour power reserve, generated by an oscillating weight finished with Côtes de Genève.
Following Zenith’s last addition to the El Primero line – two elegant lacquer-dial chronographs with traditional details – the new El Primero Sport adds even greater diversity to the range of watches, without an unfortunate exercise in thematic branding. The new models are water resistant to 20 ATM and will retail for $11,000 on either the alligator or black rubber strap seen above, and $11,600 on a stainless-steel bracelet.
For more information, visit Zenith online.