Zenith Updates the Chronomaster Sport with Two New References, One of which Looks Familiar, the Other…Not So Much

It’s been a big week for Frédéric Arnault and LVMH Watches. Arnault took charge of LVMH Watches earlier this month, so this is his first LVMH Watch Week at the broader helm (he has spent the last few years as CEO of TAG Heuer), and I would say it has been a strong kickoff to his tenure.

Wild Hublot Masterpieces, El Primero Triple Calendars from Zenith, and yellow gold Octo Finissimos are all worthy of celebration, but it wouldn’t be LVMH Watch Week without some new additions to the Chronomaster Sport lineup.

The Chronomaster Sport was first introduced back in 2021, and initial reactions were very clear that it was built as a sort of “Daytona-killer.” In the now three years since, it has proven to be so much more. Built on more history than just about any chronograph on the market, the Chronomaster Sport has proven to be a fantastic modern interpretation of the longstanding El Primero.

Zenith has trickled out new variants of the Chronomaster Sport since its introduction, and despite the signature multi-colored subdials that have been both a hallmark of El Primero watches across the decades and the Chronomaster Sport, these variants have been mostly sedate. Today that changes, and in a big way. Zenith has dropped two new iterations of the Chronomaster Sport, one steel, one decidedly not.

Starting with the steel release, we have what essentially amounts to a steel Chronomaster Sport with a green ceramic bezel and matching dial. While the watch is striking, this isn’t the first time in the last few months we have seen a Chronomaster Sport in green. 2023 saw two green Chronomaster Sports, one as part of a quartet of watches intended for Only Watch 2023, the other a boutique-exclusive limited edition inspired by the brand’s relationship with NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

This latest execution retains a similarly vibrant green as those, but with a much more down-the-line execution, opting out of the Arabic numerals that set the Aaron Rodgers edition apart, and choosing to keep the iconic gray and blue subdials of the standard production models.

New for this model is the option to get the watch on a color-matched rubber strap. The strap is a nice complement to the Chronomaster Sport and emphasizes the green’s slightly more casual energy. Green seems to be having a continued moment over at LVMH, with TAG Heuer and Hublot also releasing new watches in the popular hue.

That said, if green doesn’t offer you quite enough pop, don’t worry. Zenith has you covered with their latest gold release. Like the green Chronomaster Sport, this new gem-set model is, at its core, the watch we’re all familiar with. That is to say, a thoroughly modern, well-finished, high-end chronograph equipped with a 1/10th of a second El Primero 3600 column-wheel chronograph movement.

Beyond that, this is something we haven’t seen before. To start, while previous rose gold and two-tone releases of the Chronomaster Sport have come with either gold or ceramic bezels marked with 1/10th of a second scales, this new Chronomaster Sport eschews those options in favor of a fully gem-set bezel made up of sapphires, diamonds, and spinels.

The bezel still retains the functions of the scaled bezel thanks to a ten-diamond layout marking the scale, and the tricolor bezel reflects the Chronomaster Sport’s subdial layout with blue stones from 12 to 4, black from 4 to 8, and gray from 8 back to 12, echoing the tricolor ceramic bezel found on the Boutique Edition Chronomaster Sport released at Watches & Wonders 2022. I’m a big fan of that watch, and bringing that coloring to this new model is a win in my book.

The fun doesn’t stop with the bezel though. A rose-gold tone meteorite dial and diamond markers round out the package and create a wonderfully over-the-top watch that I very much look forward to checking out in person at some point (hopefully soon).

Both models are available now, with the newly green Chronomaster Sport in steel priced at $11,300 on a bracelet and $10,800 on the new rubber strap, and the gold, gem-set model priced at $98,600. Zenith