foversta[PuristSPro Moderator]
20814
Geneva Week 2014: Zenith including the new 410, the Type 20 GMT 1903 and several Captain
Mar 01, 2014,16:24 PM
This report gathers the comments and pictures about the hereafter
watches presented by Zenith at the 2014 Geneva week:
- El
Primero Chronomaster Grande Date chocolate dial
- El Primero
Chronomaster Power Reserve blue dial
- El Primero
410
- Heritage Star round case
- Pilot Type 20 GMT
1903
- Captain Winsor Annual Calendar Boutique
Edition
- Captain Moonphase
- Captain Power
Reserve
- Captain Central Second Boutique
Edition
Zenith organized its
traditional presentation of the first novelties of the year at the Hotel
Kempinski during the Geneva Week. As usual, Zenith booked the Suite at
the 7th floor which is, if I'm not wrong, the largest suite available in
Geneva. At least, it offers a superb view on the
lake!
Anyway, the purpose of the report is not to
speak about the scenery but about these first novelties of the year.
Even if the main part of the collection will be unveiled at
Basel, Zenith presented a quite wide range of new pieces in
several collections. To sum up in a few words the trend, I can say that
Zenith worked on new versions of existing models with a focus on more
elegant and more uncluttered dials in the Captain
collection.
I propose you to browse these
novelties.
Let's start with the El Primero
Chronomaster Grande Date.
This 45mm watch
is now available with a chocolate dial.
Of course,
Zenith kept the large opening on the dial which allows to observe the El
Primero 4047 movement (5hz, 50 hours of power
reserve).
The watch combines several complications
and I find the large date well integrated on the dial.
You will notice the two
tones touch with the crown and pushers which combines well with the
chocolate dial:
The watch is a true beast
on the wrist and a good example of what Zenith is able to offer as a
manufacture with a rather contained price.
Thanks to
its darker dial, the chronomaster Grande Date looks a bit smaller than
the silver dial version. But I'm now less seduced by the chocolate dials
and I think that I would prefer the dark version.
Pros:
+ an
impressive gathering of complications
+ the large date is well
integrated
+ the sober two tones
touch
Cons:
- the diameter is large
(45mm)
- the large opening can be boring on a long
run
I have to confess that I much prefer the
Chronomaster Power Reserve. Its diameter is smaller
(42mm) and I appreciate the way the power reserve indicator decorates
the dial.
This LE comes with a beautiful blue dial
which gives a very appealing character to the
watch.
Of course, we find again the large opening of
the dial. Thanks to its smaller size, the dial looks here more balanced
than with the Grande Date version.
The red end of the second
hand of the chronograph brings a subtle touch of colour. The applied
indexes gives a welcome feeling of depth on the dial:
The watch is powered by
the El Primero 4021 which has a 5hz frequency of course and 50 hours of
power reserve. It is as usual nice to observe thanks to its lay-out even
if its finishings are plain. I would have appreciated a more refined
winding rotor.
The Chronomaster Power
Reserve has a lot of charm on the wrist thanks to its dial and its
overall balance:
Pros:
+ a
balanced dial
+ a very seducing dial colour
+ the well
integrated power reserve indicator
Cons:
-
the large opening can be boring on a long
run
We stay in the Primero collection with
the
410.
It is an iconic watch
from Zenith and it was a great pleasure for me to see it again in a more
sober outfit.
Its 42mm diameter looks larger than it
is actually due to the very light colour of the dial.
The days and months are displayed thanks to windows
located just above the subdials. It is as you know a full calendar watch
(calendrier complet) and not an annual calendar so you will need to set
the date when needed.
Once
again, the applied dials have a positive impact on the perceived
quality:
The
watch is powered by the El Primero 410 movement which gives its name to
the watch. Its frequency is 5hz and it reaches a power reserve of 50
hours.
The
watch has a strong presence on the wrist. I consider this 42mm diameter
as the maximum. The subdials are located a bit too close to the center
of the dial even if the designers worked well to reduce this feeling. On
the other hand, I was seduced by the overall elegance and the refined
style of the dial.
Pros:
+
a nice evolution with a purer dial (what a relief to not find again the
stars on the dial!)
+ a refined dial
+ an excellent
value for the price
Cons:
- 42mm are the
maximum for this watch: we can feel it due to the position of the
subdials.
Ladies were not forgotten in the
Heritage collection!
This watch
features lovely "leaf" hands (aiguilles feuille in French) typical of
the collection and a set case. If you remember well, the Heritage Star
was featuring previously a cushion-shaped case. Now, it comes with a
round case.
Even
the lugs and the casesides were set:
The
El Primero movement which powers the watch has the usual performances: a
5hz frequency and a power reserve of 50 hours.
Let's
enter a different collection now with the
Pilot Type 20 GMT
1903!
This is really an impressive watch.
The character of the original Type 20 GMT is totally transformed by the
new case colour, the new style of the figures and of course... the
Nubuck "vintage" strap.
This watch features a
48mm titanium case with black DLC treatment. In order to enhance the
vintage atmosphere of the watch, the superluminova used is a SLN Old
Radium which artificially gives a kind of patina to the figures
(actually this old Radium is a first layer then covered by the
superluminova).
The black case works pretty well with
the decoration style of the dial.
The big hand with
the red hand is of course the second timezone display which is set
thanks to the big pusher on the left:
The impressive strap is
heat-embossed with Zenith Flying Instruments logo:
A powerful design... even
if the watch looks small (yes !!!) when compared with the 57,5mm
version. I consider the Type 20 GMT as the more balanced watch of the
collection since I find the 40mm simple one too
small.
But we don't have to
forget that the caseback pays homage to the Wright brothers: we can see
Orville Wright on board and his brother, Wilbur, running along the Kitty
Hawk beach... this event took place more than 110 years
ago.
The Type 20 GMT 1903, powered by an Elite 693
movement (4hz, 50 hours of power reserve) is available in a LE of 1903
pieces.
Pros:
+
maybe the best case size for a Zenith Type 20 watch
+ the
vintage style of the figures
+ the beautiful strap
+
the GMT complication, coherent with this "pilot"
atmosphere
Cons:
- at the end of the day,
this watch really requires a large wrist!
This Geneva week
presentation gave the opportunity to discover a lot of new versions of
the
Captain collection. More uncluttered, more
refined, these watches seduced me thanks to their simple, effective and
elegant designs.
One of the most beautiful Zenith
watches (at least for my taste) is this
Captain Winsor Annual
Calendar Boutique Edition:
I love the railroad, the
applied figures and the way the calendar displays are outlined. This
42mm combines with a lot of elegance the chronograph (a 60 minutes
counter at 6 o'clock) and the annual calendar complications. Thanks to
the location of the Annual Calendar module, the date window position is
very close to the bezel:
The watch is powered by
the El Primero 4054 (5hz, 50 hours of power reserve) movement:
I really enjoyed it a
lot! Its legibility is one of its main assets:
Pros:
+ a very
elegant and refined watch
+ a nice dial lay-out which enhances
the legibility
+ the dial
finishings
Cons:
- 42mm are the maximum size
because the perceived size is higher.
I was less
convinced by this
Captain
Moonphase.
The dial looks too simple IMHO
and I regret the central guillochage of the original version. This one
remains seducing but maybe I found it too plain at the end.
hopefully, the applied
indexes bring some spice:
The watch is powered with
the Elite 691 movement (4hz, 50 hours of power reserve) which is almost
too small for the case:
Once again, the watch,
due to its very light dial, looks bigger than its actual size. It has a
strong presence despite the sober dial.
Pros:
+ an
efficient combo of two complications: moonphase and large
date
+ the applied indexes
+ a refined and (too?)
quiet amosphere
Cons:
- the movement is
almost too small for the case
- the watch could become boring
on a long run
The same design effect was
applied on the
Captain Power Reserve but it works
better here.
Why?
Simply because I
much prefer the power reserve display! The "fan" was replaced by this
elegant arch:
The watch is powered by
the Elite 685 movement (4hz, 50 hours of power
reserve):
When I put on my wrist, I
was more seduced by it than by the Captain Moonphase for the reasons
explained before:
Pros:
+ an
elegant watch
+ a nicely designed power reserve
indicator
+ the applied
indexes
Cons:
- the date window is
tiny
- once again, the Elite movement is a bit too small for
the size
The last watch of the report is this
Captain Central Second Boutique
Edition.
It is powered by the Elite 670
movement housed (4hz, 50 hours of power reserve) in a 40mm
case.
The applied figures and the big second hand are
the details I prefer on this watch:
Thanks to its colour, the
big second hand is the more visible element! I could appreciate its
behaviour on the dial:
The Elite 670
movement:
Same comments with this
watch than with the others: it looks bigger than its actual size.
Hopefully, the nice applied figures and the big second hand make it
charming.
Pros:
+ the
applied figures
+ the behaviour of the second hand
+
the overall refined atmosphere
Cons:
- the
date window is tiny
- once again, the Elite movement is a bit
too small for the size (look at the date window
location)
I would like to make some final
remarks.
First of all, Zenith did a
great
job with this first 2014 collection and I could appreciate
this trend towards more elegance. On the other hand, I start to fear
the
large number of references in the catalogue and I
hope that Zenith will work later on the reduction of this number.
Zenith has, with the Elite and El Primero, two efficient (can I say
iconic?) in-house movements and they are strong assets for the brand.
Sadly, they are, at least for me, too small for today's cases and in my
opinion, Zenith should
start to work on larger
movements. Even with 40mm cases, the Elite looks small. I know
that new movements require big investments (several millions of swiss
francs) and it is almost impossible to finance such development without
an increase of prices... and it is not a favourable period for this. I
think that we will see these two movements during many years... what is
not a problem when we consider
their accuracy and their
reliability.
I would like to
thank a lot the Zenith team for the warm
welcome.
Fx