BLACK IS BLACK
A Chronomaster featuring the El Primero movement, a skeleton dial and a black ceramic case. Zenith joins the dark side of the mechanical force!
As Yves Saint Laurent said, “There is no such thing as black, only different kinds of black”. This is what comes to mind when you see the new Chronomaster El Primero Skeleton. With its single-tone style, its chiselled dial and three-dimensional display, the timepiece made by Zenith will leave no one indifferent. Inside the generous 45mm-wide case, made entirely of black ceramics, is the self-winding El Primero 400 B, with its legendary frequency of 36,000 VpH (5Hz), its 1/10th of a second display and its 50 hours of power reserve. And while the 326 components are all dedicated to chronometric precision, a fair number of them also play a role in the watch’s aesthetic appearance. The open-work counters on the chronograph provide an original vision of the movement’s workings. In a decor made up of tones of grey, only the date at 6 o’clock and the tip of the central hand of the chronograph add a touch of (deep red) colour.
For the time functions, the hour and minute hands are blackened with ruthenium and have a luminous coating, and point towards indices with the same features. The chronograph elements are displayed with a central hand, a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock and a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock.
The Chronomaster El Primero Skeleton is worn with a black rubber strap with a carbon fibre coating and a triple folding clasp made of titanium and black PVD, underlining the original personality of the watch.
Price: €10,900 zenith.com
By Dan Diaconu