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It was only a matter of time before Zentih added a meteorite dial to the Chronomaster Sport collection, and now, they have! We’ve gone hands-on with it to test it out on launch.

Believe it or not, this is the first time I’m officially reviewing the Zenith Chronomaster Sport. And lucky me, it just so happens to be the newly released meteorite dial version. Ok, it’s not that I haven’t worn the Zenith Chronomaster Sport before, I gave my thoughts on the green dial variant post its release at LVMH Watch Week in 2024, and then I subsequently took it on tour with me to New Zealand to see how it holds up as a watch you can travel and holiday with. But I never reviewed it in the true sense of the word, or gave it a rating. Until now. Hot off the press, or should I say, from the Manufacture in Le Locle is the new Zenith Chronomaster Sport Meteorite Dial.

Meteorite dials are nothing new, but they do transform the look of a watch. The use of meteorite also elevates the price, too, thanks to the difficulty in working with the rock, not to mention the obvious fact that you’re not just creating a dial from steel or brass; it’s a rock from space that isn’t found on every street corner. Zenith has been working with Lapis Lazuli a bit this year, so making stone dials in well within their wheelhouse, so why not meteorite?

Initial Thoughts

It’s hard to give my initial thoughts on a watch that I’ve had a lot of experience with and worn for lengthy time periods. So instead, I’ll focus my energy on the dial. It is the star of the show here after all. And, please, allow me to be a little poetic as I feel this deserves it.

The dial isn’t something man-made. Yes, it’s crafted by man, but at its core, it isn’t enamel, lacquer, or even ceramic. It’s a fragment of a meteorite, a piece of rock that has travelled through space for millions of years before landing on Earth. Not only this, the rock itself is most probably billions of years old. Zenith hasn’t said where this particular space rock came from, but the many dials in the watch world are cut from the Muonionalusta meteorite – a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite, which is one of the most famous and oldest iron meteorites ever found. It was discovered in 1906, but crashed to Earth sometime around 800,000 – 1,000,000 years ago between what is now Sweden and Finland.

This ancient space rock has now been reimagined into something you can wear on the wrist. That knowledge alone completely changes how you see this watch. It feels less like a “variation” of the Chronomaster Sport and more like a story – a story which started long before Zenith ever existed, and not only this, but somehow is fitting given Zenith’s origin and the inspiration of the name Georges Favre-Jacot came up with, staring into the night sky.

The Design

The Zenith Chronomaster Sport doesn’t need too much of an introduction here. Released back in 2021, it was a modern take on Zenith’s Chronomaster for those watch enthusiasts who wanted a more modern-looking sports chronograph. It was also recognised at the GPHG awards that year, winning the Chronograph prize, outperforming a hotly contested field with the likes of the Tudor Black Bay Chrono, Breitling’s Premier B09, IWC’s Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Tribute to 3705” and even some higher-end pieces such as the Parmigiani Fleurier Tondagraph GT Rose Gold Silver Black and the Louis Moinet Memoris Vesuvio, to name a few. Zenith was figuratively reaching its “Zenith” at GPHG that year.

The new Zenith Chronomaster Sport Meteorite still retains all the core design elements of the Chronomaster Sport released in 2021. The 41mm x 47mm lug-lug x 13.6mm thick case and ceramic bezel remain recognisable hallmarks of the Chronomaster Sport line, as do the angular lugs and three-link bracelet. But the moment your eyes fall to the dial, you’re not looking at the normal Chronomaster Sport. Instead of just one colour, you’re met with the Widmanstätten pattern that is found in sliced meteorite stones. It is a natural crystalline structure that only occurs in iron meteorites. The effect is extraordinary: tilt your wrist and the lines seem to shimmer, revealing new textures depending on the light.

Against this backdrop sit Zenith’s iconic tri-colour sub-dials. This is one design cue that is a throwback to the vintage Chronomaster A386 and also found in the modern Chronomaster Original collection today. While I love the tri-coloured sub-dials normally, I feel that on the grey/silver meteorite dial, they do blend in a little, especially the dials at 9 and even more so, 6 o’clock. I feel that on this, Zenith could have created the subdials to contrast more with the dial, like the anthracite coloured dial at 3 o’clock. Perhaps if it were a dark grey at 3 and 9, then maybe a lighter colour in between would have added more depth and contrast to the grey dial.

The one thing I’ll add in here, which I have mentioned in previous articles on the Chronomster Sport, is the bracelet. For me, this is a love/hate relationship. On one hand, I feel the bracelet on the Chronomaster Sport could be a little better engineered to be just a little more robust and solid. I’d also love an easy-adjust micro-adjust on the clasp as well, as opposed to the traditional hole and pin bar system. But, having said this, it is light and easy to wear, so there is a little silver lining to it. When I took the green dial variant to New Zealand, once sized right, I found it never bothered me, and in the cooler weather with almost no wrist size fluctuations, it was great to wear. So this is more a nitpick than anything else, but compared to other watches on the market that now have a sliding or easy extension style micro-adjust clasp as standard, I feel Zenith should add this to the Chronomaster Sport as well.

How It Wears

On the wrist, the Meteorite Dial Chronomaster Sport feels immediately familiar. The proportions of 41mm x 13.6mm thick, and a comfortable 47 mm lug-to-lug, are spot on for my 17.5cm wrist. This size will, however, wear well on a variety of wrists. Below, you can see the comparison of my 17.5cm wrist versus Champs’ 16.5cm wrist. If I were to suggest a minimal wrist size, I’d say you could go as low as 15cm on this before it looks too out of place.

By now, I’ve had what amounts to many, many weeks wearing a Chronomaster Sport of some kind. Every time I put one on my wrist, it somehow feels at home, and as I said, a little familiar. It is both classic and modern in design, and I have always liked the way the Chronomaster Sport sat on my wrist, with the tapered lugs that allow the bracelet to sit just that little bit better. I won’t go into any more detail here on the bracelet, as I have covered this in the design, but I will just reiterate my previous comments. Yes, the bracelet could do with an on-the-fly micro-adjust, and would be nice to feel a little more solid, but after you put it on the wrist, these are things you don’t really notice too much, unless you live in a climate where your wrist changes sizes a lot throughout the day.

Yet while the dimensions are unchanged from its siblings, the experience is entirely different. The green dial Chronomaster is bold and confident. The black and white dials are classic. The Meteorite Dial is more introspective. It doesn’t shout for attention; it earns it quietly – it’s subtle but in a good way. With the silver/grey dial, it does mute this version down a little, and at a distance, will stand out in the right light at the right angle, but this is a watch that will and should give me joy to its wearer, better admired from a shorter distance than afar.

I found myself catching glances of it throughout the day, not because it was flashy, but because of its depth and patterns on the dial, thanks to the iron in the meteorite. In bright sunlight, the geometric Widmanstätten pattern comes alive; in softer indoor light, the texture takes on a muted, almost mysterious quality. Told you I’d get poetic! But it is a watch that looks good no matter what you’re wearing. The polished case and inner links are enough to make it look a little more dressy, but without taking away from the sporty feel. It’s a good piece to have on a daily basis.

On that note, the Super-LumiNova isn’t super bright on the Chronomaster Sport, one small bugbear of mine with this piece. This is due to Zentih using C1 Super-LumiNova, which is on the lower end of the brightness scale and only has small lume pips at the end of the hour markers, rather than filling them with it. I’d love for the team in Le Locle to increase this in future models, and this would make this an even more well-rounded watch for all conditions.

The Movement

Of course, as captivating as the dial is, the Chronomaster Sport has never been just about looks. Flip the watch over, and peering through the sapphire caseback is the El Primero 3600 the modern evolution of the world’s first high-beat automatic chronograph. It’s a good-looking movement. The blue column wheel, crisp bridges, and skeletonised rotor, which is shaped into the Zenith Star. It’s not over-decorated, but it doesn’t need to be, as the movement’s architecture speaks for itself. Running at 36,000 vibrations per hour (5Hz), it drives the central chronograph that is able to measure down to 1/10th of a second.

It’s a feature that is always fun to use. Simply depress the pusher at 2 o’clock and watch the hand race around the dial, completing a full revolution every ten seconds. While you may not need to time anything in normal life down to the 1/10th of a second, it’s kind of cool knowing you can. Plus, if you have kids, trust me, they’ll love playing with it as they stare in amazement at the 1/10th of a second hand whirling around the dial. It’s a great way to get them interested in watches and some quality time with you as well!

The other great fact about the El Primero 3600 is the 60-hour power reserve from a high-beat watch. In watchmaking, energy and accuracy are a balance. The higher the frequency, or the faster it beats, the more accurate the movement will be. However, the trade-off is then power reserve, as a higher beat rate means more energy consumption. With the El Primero calibre, Zenith has struck a good balance of accuracy with the 5Hz / 36,000VpH and power at 60 hours.

Final Thoughts

Spending time with the Chronomaster Sport Meteorite Dial has changed the way I think about this collection. Where other versions emphasise sportiness and modern design, this one tells a story – a story that began in the stars or some other faraway solar system. That aside, it looks amazing and changes the look of the watch during the day and at night. The meteorite dial adds more depth than standard Chronomaster Sport models, and adds another element to an already good watch.

Yes, the Zenith Chronomaster Sport Meteorite is essentially a new dial in an already established watch. But sometimes a dial change can make all the difference. After all, aesthetics is a major decision factor when choosing a watch to buy and wear. If you don’t love it or like the look of it, then you won’t wear it.

When it comes to meteorite dials on the market today, the Zenith Chronomaster Sport is at the lower end of the price spectrum at A$27,100. This is because this is a steel sports watch, whereas many others include meteorite in a precious metal. There are other meteorite options out there, but they won’t have the same lineage of the El Primero, nor the DNA of the Chronomaster. When it comes to Zenith, part of the allure is the history and the story of Georges Favre-Jacot, and in a timepiece that is, let’s face it, a luxury want, not a need, the story matters. The Chronomaster Sport Meteorite Dial is a reminder that sometimes a watch can be more than a measure of time. Sometimes, it can be a piece of the universe itself.

Reference: 03.3120.3600/76.M3100

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 41mm, 47mm lug-lug, and 13.6mm thick
• Case Material: Brushed and Polished Steel with green ceramic bezel
• Dial: Meteorite dial with tri-coloured sub dials, date window at 4:30
• Crystal: Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside
• Water resistance: 100 meters
• Movement: El Primero 3600 high-frequency automatic movement. Beating at 36’000 VpH / 5Hz with 1/10th second chronograph function
• Power reserve: 60 hours
• Bracelet: Stainless Steel Bracelet with brushed outer and polished inner links and a folding clasp.

Australian Retail Pricing: A$27,100

Availability: Available now through Zenith Boutiques, Authorised Dealers and online at Zenith-watches.com

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