Whether or not the resemblance bugs you is a matter of taste – I suspect some folks will be put off by it, although considering a modified El Primero movement was used by Rolex for the first self-winding Daytonas, I'd propose that Zenith is, to some extent, entitled by history if nothing else to connect the dots a little. The color and the way the ceramic reflects the light on the Chronomaster Sport is insistently reminiscent of the Daytona bezel, but the typeface and function are quite different – the Daytona has a tachymetric scale and the Chronomaster Sport, graduations for reading off tenths and hundredths of a second.
Zenith has used ceramic bezels before in the Chronomaster line, but as far as I have been able to determine, just on the two 50th Anniversary limited edition models (which were also launch platforms for the caliber 3600).
I think what makes the resemblance seem so strong at first glance is the ceramic bezel. Zenith has gotten around this problem partly by using low-inertia silicon for the escape wheel, but a lot of the mitigation comes from customization of the driving and coupling wheels, each of which has a unique profile for the gear teeth. 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. More than just a remake of the A386, the CHRONOMASTER Original, retains the singular and enduringly relevant design of its predecessor while packing the performance of the 21st century version of the El Primero boasting 1/10th of a second precision and time measurement. The problem is even worse if you try to drive the chronograph off the escape wheel. Balance amplitude can drop significantly when a chronograph is switched on, and if the watch isn't in optimum condition, accuracy can suffer if you leave the chronograph on for long enough. 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. Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Chronograph Automatic White Dial Mens Watch 03.3200.3600/69. For watch collectors and admirers of beautiful mechanisms, El Primero will always be The First.The reason you don't usually see chronographs driven by the escape wheel is that, generally, it's a terrible idea to try. The original El Primero may no longer be the most precise – that honour goes to last year’s big reveal, the Defy El Primero 21, – but its legendary status is set in stone. As well as adding functions to its star calibre, Zenith systematically incorporates the very latest technology, such as its Zenithium alloy in 2006 and silicon in 2010. Or the El Primero 4031 with its GMT, alarm, striking mechanism and large date display. Maybe the Open, introduced in 2003 and which reveals the mesmerising spectacle of a mechanical heart beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour. It’s hard to know which of the many (more than twenty) versions to single out. The solidity and precision of the 1969 original have been enriched with numerous complications, including a tourbillon, large date, split-seconds mechanism, minute repeater, alarm, retrograde date and jumping seconds. The El Primero is the foundation on which Zenith has built its reputation.
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