Zenith’s Chronomaster Sport arrived in January 2021 with a fairly compelling proposition. It took the historical ingredients associated with El Primero, including the three overlapping counters first seen on the A386 in 1969, and put them into a contemporary 41mm steel sports chronograph with a ceramic bezel. More importantly, its El Primero 3600 used its 5Hz frequency to measure 1/10th of a second, the central chronograph hand completing a lap of the dial every 10 seconds. In November that year, the Chronomaster Sport won the GPHG Chronograph Watch Prize.

Five years later, Zenith has decided to see what happens when you take the chronograph out of it – a move that means far more than simply losing a pair of pushers and three subdials. El Primero was born in 1969 as an automatic high-frequency chronograph calibre, and Chronomaster has become inseparable from that function. Yet here is a 40mm Chronomaster displaying hours, minutes and central seconds, with a date on three of the four versions.

In other respects, the new watch is actually more sporty than the Chronomaster Sport. Water resistance rises from 100 to 200 meters, the crown screws down and gains protectors, and the fixed 1/10th-second scale of the Chronomaster Sport is replaced by a unidirectional rotating ceramic bezel. It begins to look almost dive-watch adjacent, although Zenith stops short of calling it one.

Inside, the El Primero connection remains. The automatic calibre 3620 is derived from the 3600 and runs at the familiar 36,000vph, or 5Hz, with 60 hours of power reserve. The ceramic dial introduces another new element, a repeated 45-degree Z motif, bordered by a sharply segmented “shark tooth” minute track.

There are white, black and brown date models, plus a black no-date version that may well tur out to be a collector favorite. And that is where things become interesting. Some will see the Solo Sport as the Chronomaster they have been waiting for – 40mm, robust, uncomplicated and suitable for everyday wear. Others will reasonably wonder whether removing the chronograph has taken away the very thing that made a Chronomaster a Chronomaster. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Solo Sport is that both sides have a point.

Tech Specs: Zenith Chronomaster Solo Sport

Movement Automatic El Primero 3620; 36,000vph / 5Hz; 60 hours
Functions Hours, minutes, central seconds; date on three references
Case Stainless steel, 40mm; unidirectional rotating ceramic; 200m water resistance
Dial Ceramic with repeated 45-degree Z motif and “shark tooth” minute track
Strap Three-link stainless steel bracelet with Zenclasp folding clasp and tool-free micro-adjustment
Versions White/date; black/date; brown/date; black/no date
Price CHF 9,900 (with date); CHF 8,900 (no date)