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Zenith Elite Ultra Thin Lady Moonphase - "On-the-Wrist" Review

By: pingtsai : August 31st, 2011-22:03

It goes without saying that visual grazers of this website who are chock full of horologic “opinion, passion and information” have a high standard when making watch purchases for themselves. Sometimes it’s about the brand – the so called Jaegers, Pateks, Audemars Piguets and Langes. Other times an in-house movement or exquisite finishing dictates the decision. Whatever the reasons, it isn’t a mystery what a Purist would buy for himself. A more challenging question is what he would buy for someone else – more specifically a wife, girlfriend or significant other. The piece would be, in part, reflective of him, his standards and product knowledge but must also take into consideration the tastes and style of his female counterpart. Throw budget on top of all of that and one might as well surrender his efforts to the jewelry alternative.

Zenith Elite Ultra Thin Lady Moonphase
An "On-The-Wrist" Review

By Ping Tsai

One needn’t go looking at gems and jewels just yet, where several thousands of dollars doesn’t get a person much these days. There is a watch that is capable of answering the challenge. The Zenith Elite Ultra Thin Lady Moonphase is elegant, sleek, intelligent, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. The watch, including the movement, is made by a company with long standing historical roots. It holds a legacy of entirely in-house manufacturing and timing performance. What true-blooded Purist would not hold these values close to heart when making a selection? The Zenith Elite Ultra Thin Lady Moonphase is quite perfectly and simply enough, a watch that a “Purist” would buy for his partner.

First Impressions

When I was first presented with the opportunity to review a ladies watch from the Zenith brand I was expecting a girly sparkly number with a heart cutout. Instead, I was offered the Ladies Ultra Thin, a more traditional looking watch with a masculine feel to it. They weren’t kidding when they decided to get back to their roots I thought. Immediately, I took notice of the thinness and light weight of the watch. After having handled a number of ladies automatic watches up to this point and getting used to how they feel in the palm of my hand, it really is quite rare to come across one that doesn’t feel like holding a block of metal. Instead, the Zenith resembles more a refined wafer-like instrument with all its sophisticated mechanisms squeezed into a disc the thickness of a Ritz cracker. It was somewhat deceiving at first. I think we’ve come to equate heft and weight with substance and quality. If I closed my eyes and held the watch, I might have guessed that it was a quartz movement. But one look undermined all expectations derived from simple tactile observation. The watch is much more than it feels. From the crispness of the dial, to the smooth sleek case and the exquisitely constructed movement, every component reflects quality and precision in its construction. Let us take a closer look at what the visual observations revealed.

Case and Dial

This particular Zenith Elite Ultra Thin Lady Moonphase has a polished stainless steel case although it also comes available in 18 carat rose gold and white gold in the full diamond set version. The 33mm width does not feel overly small or large on a female wrist. For a traditional looking women’s watch, this size may even be slightly larger than what is customary. The larger size modernizes the look of the watch. At first glance, the Ladies Ultra Thin has a very simple classic round case shape and unassuming lugs, reminiscent of vintage style Zenith watches. A closer look shows a lot more care employed in the detailing and shaping of the exterior lines giving the individual components a certain finesse and compatibility with the curves on the female wrist. A side view of the case will show the lugs curving downward to achieve a closer, more comfortable fit against the contours of the wrist.

The thin bezel angles downward, framing and allowing full emphasis to be placed on the silver dial. The center circle of the dial is guilloche finished with a tiny diamond engraved pattern which nicely balances the smooth outer band of black roman numerals. The moonphase sits at 6 o’clock and the seconds subdial at 9. The seconds subdial contains subtle circular ridges very much like on a cross section of a tree trunk. The lower part of the moonphase is engraved with a sunburst design giving a stylized effect of light rays scattered across clouds in the sky.

There’s a myriad of different types of moonphases that can be found on the market today. Some are more realistic and others more artistic. Sometimes in other watches, I find the crescent shaped window to be a little small in proportion to the size of the dial. The Zenith moonphase window is a bit more substantial arching from the 5 o’clock position all the way to the 7 o’clock position. The beveled edge is thinner creating a more streamlined and cleaner look to the moonphase indicator. Its simplistic look pairs seamlessly with the rest of the watch. However, at certain angles in moderate light conditions it was difficult to see the stars. There were times when I looked at the watch as it lay flat on a surface and the crescent window looked like a solid blue area on the dial. I would have to pick it up and tilt it to see the stars. Perhaps Zenith intended to keep the moonphase as simple as possible so as to not distract from the rest of the dial. However, I would have preferred the stars to stand out slightly more, perhaps with the use of a different surface treatment to add more shine or sparkle.

The long thin dauphine hands which are rhodium faceted also have a minimalist look to them. The crystal is curved sapphire glass with anti-reflection treatment on both sides. The standard cylindrical shaped crown with Zenith star tip was easy to operate and turn during time setting and daily winding. The single most distinguishable feature that I found to be most impressive about the Zenith Lady Ultra Thin dial is its incredible sharpness. A combination of different textures make up the dial but their application is done in a controlled balance manner resulting in finishes that are crisp and clean. The end achievement is a watch face that exhibits classic aesthetics with modern refinement.

Movement

It’s a rare occurrence to be genuinely surprised by a watch. The Zenith Lady Ultra Thin with its thin light case is beautifully subtle from the front. When I flipped it over and saw the movement in full display through the sapphire crystal caseback, I couldn’t help but gasp in awe. Not that I’ve never seen a movement before through a coin-sized circular glass window on the back of a watch. I’ve seen hundreds. However to see it on such a thin watch was truly unexpected and surprising in a good way. Viewing the watch from the front is impressive enough but looking at it from the back adds a whole other dimension. Suddenly it becomes impressive in terms of mechanics as well as aesthetics. It’s like seeing a Porsche Carrera pull up next to you. You admire the body lines and curves of it and then as it slowly starts to pull ahead, you realize that you can see the engine because the rear hood, although never so on Porsches, on this one, is made of glass.

Created by Zenith in 1994, the Automatic Elite 692 Caliber is made up of 195 components, 27 jewels and measures 25.60mm in diameter with a height of only 3.97mm. The movement beats at 28’800 VpH and has a power reserve of 50 hours. I noticed that even if I had neglected to wind the crown for a day or two or even close to three the watch did not stop running while stationary. It far surpassed the performance between windings of other watches I’ve worn.

Surface decoration of the movement consists of a combination of finishes including perlage and cotes de geneve. The rotor, with the signature Zenith faceted star and “Grain d’Orge” pattern makes up the main focal point of the movement.

Nowadays, to have an in-house manufactured movement is a huge selling point amongst true watch aficionados. There seems to be a common sentiment that in-house is better. It can be compared to having home-baked chocolate chip cookies versus store bought even if both are equally tasty. However, watches with in-house movements often command substantially higher price tags. The Zenith is unique in that the price is extremely affordable at $3900 for the stainless steel model ranging up to $11,300 for the gold and diamond versions.

Fit and Strap

The comfort of the Zenith Elite Ultra Thin Lady Moonphase is incomparable to any other automatic ladies watch that I’ve worn. The thin and light weight nature of the watch directly lend themselves to this effect no doubt. The stainless version with the roman numerals comes with a grey alligator leather strap with a protective rubber lined underside. I was told that the rubber holds up better against wear and odor from constant contact with the skin in warm conditions. I wore the watch for a few days in the warm and humid climate of summer in New York and noticed that the strap never felt sticky or uncomfortable on my wrist. The rubber stayed remarkably cool and smooth at all times.

The shade of grey that was chosen for the strap matches well with silver dial. Since it’s a darker shade compared to the dial, it does make the dial stand out even more. However, I do feel that it makes the watch look more masculine. I like the subtlety of the grey but would have chosen white for the strap to add a touch of femininity.

The buckle is stainless steel with a star accent.

In Conclusion

The Zenith Elite Ultra Thin Lady Moonphase is a watch to be seen and not to be felt. A two-folded statement being that on the first hand the watch can be deceiving if examined by touch alone. Secondly when it is worn on the wrist the watch can barely be felt at all due to its light weight, thin case and comfortable rubber lined strap. One cannot fully realize the value of the Ladies Ultra Thin without seeing it and feeling it simultaneously. The elegant crisp dial, visible in-house finished movement, attention to subtle detail and line all lead to the surprise of wearing such a light comfortable watch for a watch lover’s lady friend. But most importantly it leaves room in the Purist’s budget to spend a little more on his own watch as well.