This Legendary Chronograph Watch Gets a Head-Turning Revamp

Copper has the unusual characteristic of looking better after it oxidizes. While other metals rust and deteriorate, the ancient alloy takes on a beautiful, tonal green.

The Statue of Liberty is the most famous example in America, but Paris is littered with patinated copper statues, ornaments and rooftops. That’s why Zenith chose the distinctive hue to represent the City of Lights on the dial of the new Chronomaster Original Paris Edition.

Zenith

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This is the second time Zenith has paid homage to the French capital, following the 2024 Defy Skyline Paris Edition. Where that integrated sports watch was modern with sharp, angular architecture, the Chronomaster Classic channels the timeless elegance of the world’s most celebrated city.

The new Paris Edition sports the same distinctive aged copper hue, known as verdigris, on its dial. Zoom in close, and you can see that it mimics the tonal green texture of the lovely chemical phenomenon.

Zenith

The main dial plate is flat with cutouts for the Chronomaster’s distinctive overlapping trio of subdials, each decorated in a snailed texture. A fumé fade envelops the subdials and culminates in black at the outer rim, which is framed by a glossy black rehaut.

All six hands and the applied baton indices are rhodium-plated, with white Super-LumiNova in the hour markers, hour hand and minute hand. All other dial markings, including the tenth-of-a-second track on the rehaut, are white.

Fade to black

The Chromomaster Original Paris Edition has a 38mm stainless steel case with satin brushing on top, chamfered edges and polished sides. It is capped with a box sapphire crystal and operated by twin pump pushers and a crown signed with the Zenith star.

Zenith

This beautiful special edition Chronomaster comes on a three-link steel bracelet with brushed outer links and polished center links, fastened with a Zenclasp folding clasp featuring a proprietary tool-free micro-adjustment system.

Typically, I prefer a metal bracelet on a watch. But in this case, the distinct green dial with black accents is better complemented by the black nubuck strap that comes with it. It is fastened with a stainless steel triple-folding clasp.

The chrono-GOAT

This limited edition Chronomaster Original is powered by Zenith’s El Primero 3600, the greatest chronograph movement on the planet (I’ll die on that hill). It is a direct descendant of Zenith’s iconic Caliber A386, one of the original trio of automatic chronograph movements released in 1969.

Zenith

The El Primero 3600 is a high-frequency automatic chronograph movement, featuring a column-wheel, horizontal coupling and a 60-hour power reserve. The central chronograph seconds hand makes one rotation every 10 seconds, allowing accurate and legible tracking down to the tenth of a second.

The triple 60 subdials consist of a 60-second totalizer at 3:00, a one-hour minute totalizer at 6:00 and a small seconds dial at 9:00.

Availability and pricing

I feel like I should recuse myself from the conversation because I’m too obsessed with the Chronomaster Original to be objective, but this verdigris dial makes it possibly the most beautiful watch I’ve seen all year.

Unfortunately for my fellow Americans, even if you can spare the €11,800 (~$13,470) to buy one, the Zenith Chronomaster Original Paris Edition is offered online exclusively in the French market and in-person only at Zenith’s Paris boutique. Complicating things further, it is a limited edition of just 50 pieces.

Bon voyage!

Zenith

Zenith Chronomaster Original Paris Edition

Specs

Case Size	38mm
Movement	Zenith El Pimero 3600
Water Resistance	50m

• $13,470 at Zenith

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