The Chronomaster Sport, launched today by Zenith, uses a new movement: the caliber 3600, which is designed to reduce parts count, take advantage of modern materials and manufacturing processes, and offer improved functionality. .
The new Chronomaster Sport draws from a well-established design vocabulary.The De Luca broke no new ground in chronograph design, with its round case and pump-style pushers, but it's a watch I'm surprised has not generated more interest among collectors, as it came into existence at a significant moment in Zenith's history and the history of the El Primero movement – an attractive design if not a revolutionary one.Today, the Chronomaster case is a well-established part of the existing Zenith catalog, and the new Chronomaster Sport likewise establishes no new paradigms in chronograph design, but it's a handsome modern example of a vintage-adjacent watch, which goes a long way nowadays.
The Chronomaster Sport's bezel is marked off in 1/10 of a second increments, and the center chronograph hand goes around once every ten seconds.The center chronograph hand goes around once every ten seconds.The El Primero 3600 is a new movement for Zenith and the newest version of the original El Primero caliber – Zenith's used it in a handful of limited editions (including a 50th Anniversary LE), but the new Chronomaster Sport is the first regular production Zenith to use it.In the diagram above, the chronograph driving mechanism for the El Primero 400 is on the left, and the one for the 3600 on the right.When the chronograph is activated, the coupling wheel drops into contact with the central chronograph wheel and the chronograph begins running, with the center chronograph hand going around the dial once per minute.
The caliber 3600 set up looks superficially the same, but if you look closely, you'll see that the chronograph driving and coupling wheels aren't driven by the fourth wheel.Driving the chronograph off the escape wheel is what allows the caliber 3600 to measure 1/10th of a second increments – as far as I know, this is one of a very few 1/10th second chronograph to use a single oscillating system for both the chronograph and the primary going train.
Driving a chronograph from the fourth wheel is already kind of pushing it; it's the last conventional wheel in the going train, and stealing energy from the gears at that point means less energy is available to reach the balance.
The problem is even worse if you try to drive the chronograph off the escape wheel.
The amount of energy available is even less than at the fourth wheel, and adding the load of driving the chronograph is potentially even more problematic.
Movement, El Primero caliber 3600, running at 36,000 vph in 35 jewels; column wheel, lateral-clutch chronograph with 60-hour power reserve
It's Complicated The Zenith Chronomaster Sport, With The El Primero Caliber 3600
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