Hands On with the Prettiest Chronograph Watch of 2025

Last year was a massive one for the watch industry, with countless compelling new watches launched from myriad brands, making 2025 one of the market’s most exciting years in some time.

Some great chronographs were launched over the past year, including Audemars Piguet’s incredible Royal Oak RD#5, Longines’ bar-raising Spirit Pilot Flyback and Zenith’s unexpected Defy Chronograph collab with furniture designer USM — all of which made it onto the 2025 GP100, Gear Patrol’s annual countdown of the year’s 100 most important new products.

But the title for the most beautiful chronograph watch released in 2025 — and perhaps the prettiest watch of the year, period — goes to another Zenith that debuted back in May: the Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar Lapis Lazuli.

I spent some time with the watch over the holidays and came away with the realization that this watch is a whole lot more than just a pretty face … but damn, what a pretty face.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

Blue beauty

The watch is just like its name implies: It’s an example of Zenith’s Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar, which launched in 2024, fitted with a dial cut from lapis lazuli stone. As I had never previously spent extended time with the non-lapis versions of the Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar, this piece will serve as a review for the model overall, as well as this really, really, really, ridiculously good-looking stone-dialed variant.

I’ll begin with the star of the show, which, of course, is the dial. Stone dials were everywhere in 2025, and many brands offered a lapis lazuli variant. But Zenith seemed particularly enamored with the stone, also utilizing it in its GPHG-winning G.F.J. dress watch, the halo model Defy Zero G and the Defy Extreme Lapis Lazuli. This is likely due to lapis’s naturally brilliant deep blue color being a near-perfect match for Zenith’s signature shade of blue, which was ever-present in 2025 as the brand celebrated its 160th anniversary.

Whatever the reason for Zenith’s lapis infatuation, the stone proved a perfect match for the Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar. The stone dial appears to be relatively thick, cut into a disc with precision cutouts for the three chronograph subdials and three color-matched windows showing the day, month and date at 10, 2 and 4:30, respectively. The lapis disc is raised above a contrasting silver second track that matches the silver subdials, and which is surrounded by a dark blue 1/10th of a second track (more on those later).

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

The stone used is, of course, very high-quality lapis lazuli. Lapis itself isn’t a mineral but a combination of the deep-blue mineral lazurite with inclusions of calcite and pyrite. Cheaper lapis has higher concentrations of calcite, visible as white streaks, while pricier lapis is heavier on pyrite, which appears as gold flecks. The dial on my sample is devoid of calcite entirely but features plenty of pyrite, glittering like gold stars on the dial. As with all stone dials, no two examples will be alike, so your mileage may vary.

The dial has an astounding level of depth, with the calendar windows, subdials and silver track, 1/10th scale, and the lapis dial itself — not to mention its applied indices — all sitting on different planes. It’s mesmerizing to look at from all angles, a visual treat made all the more enjoyable by the spectacular box sapphire crystal.

Zenith doesn’t sweat the small details. Despite its dramatic height and the finely crafted sloped edge, the sapphire crystal here is remarkably clear from all angles. There’s no “milky white ring” that’s often seen in these types of oversized sapphire crystals, and the distortion it provides at extreme angles is clear and reminiscent of Hesalite. It seems like a negligible detail, but the crystal here feels uniquely special.

The stainless steel case is simple, but nicely finished. There’s a very thin, mirror-polished bezel that allows more room for the gorgeous dial to shine. The straight lugs are radially brushed with a sharp, polished chamfer on the side transitioning to mirror-polished case sides. The left side of the case has two pin pushers for adjusting the day and moonphase complications, while the right side has polished pump-style chronograph pushers and a polished coin-edge crown with Zenith’s star logo in relief.

The case is compact, measuring just 38mm across, 46mm from lug to lug and 13mm thick. The watch appears thinner than it sounds, thanks to a chunk of that 13mm height coming from the crystal and the way the case side is broken up, especially the case back, which features a twelve-sided polished bezel surrounding the sapphire exhibition window.

The display caseback shows off the modern incarnation of Zenith’s in-house El Primero high-beat automatic chronograph movement, Calibre 3610, and the finishing is Zenith’s typical modern, industrial style, with a lot of brushing, some heat-blued elements (including the column wheel) and a noted lack of traditional finishing techniques like perlage and Geneva stripes. The skeletonized rotor, which features Zenith’s star logo, is the perfect match for the calibre’s contemporary aesthetic.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

The movement is capable of measuring 1/10th of a second via its central chronograph hand, which whirs around the dial once every ten seconds. It’s quite the sight to behold and makes the watch far more dynamic than your average chronograph, and while I’ve heard criticism that the complication is useless, I don’t agree.

Granted, I have no need to track any event down to 1/10th of a second, but that doesn’t mean no one will. What’s more, you’re not sacrificing functionality with this setup. Regular chronograph seconds are still tracked in the counter at 3:00, and chronograph minutes — up to 60 — are counted in the 6:00 subdial. The only thing missing is a register for chronograph hours, but plenty of chronographs lack such a feature without offering 1/10th of a second precision.

The 9:00 subdial is the running seconds indicator, so it’s a little confusing at first having three subdials that all go to 60, but it doesn’t take long to get the lay of the land. One thing I don’t understand about the design, however, is the silver inner seconds track that goes to 100. The blue outer track tracks 1/10th of a second, and that should be given a more prominent placement in my view, since the 100 track is meaningless. 100 adds up to 10 seconds, which … just doesn’t make sense. I’d prefer this to be the 1/10th of a second track, with the outer track reserved for a traditional minute track.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

My other quibbles with the watch relate to the moonphase and the lugs. The moonphase indicator sits within the 6:00 subdial, and while it’s quite pretty, I would’ve preferred a more natural-looking moon here. The polished silver disc Zenith went with can be difficult to see at certain angles.

As for the lugs, they are very straight and are mounted high on the case. This causes the watch to sit somewhat awkwardly on the wrist, creating a gap between the spring bar and where the strap meets my wrist. It isn’t uncomfortable, but it makes the watch sit higher than I would like, and I would prefer more of a wrist-hugging fit.

The strap, like the case, is simple but nicely made. It’s very dark blue calfskin with a black rubber lining and is supremely supple, flexible and comfortable. It’s secured via a tri-folding deployant clasp with dual release triggers, a mix of brushed and polished finishes and a gorgeous Zenith star logo in relief.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

Pricing and availability

There’s no way around it: the Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar Lapis Lazuli is an expensive watch. It’s priced at $22,700, which also includes a three-link steel bracelet (I did not test the bracelet). That’s more than a $8,000 premium over non-lapis examples of the Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar on a bracelet, but is it worth that much more?

Honestly … I think it is. This thing is just so beautiful to look at, and it has a certain je ne sais quoi that those other references — which I also like, by the way — just don’t possess. This is the one to get, and since it’s thankfully not a limited edition, you should be able to snag one if you so desire.

Zenith

Zenith Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar Lapis Lazuli

Specs

Case Size	38mm
Movement	Zenith El Primero Cal. 3610 automatic triple-date chronograph
Water Resistance	50m

• $22,700 at Zenith

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