# Latest acquisition "Zenith El Primero Pilot Chronograph"



## ABoen

Liked a lot it in photos when it first came out, loved it inthe metal, looks great on the wrist...had to have it. :-!

First impressions&#8230;











- Excellent finished case, Beautifully brushed finished with subtle touches of high polished areas on the beveled lugs, between the lugs,pushers and crown.




















- Highly legible dial enhanced by AR coating on both sided of the sapphire crystal. 
- Easy to read date display











- Well-proportioned and good looking hands











- Great size at 42mm and 11.8mm thick, it's smaller than my typical 44mm watches, but it has great wrist presence (to be honest, the smaller case size is actually refreshing)




















- I dig how the caseback is secured to the watch case using four screws and cool looking flanges.











 - The El Primero cal.4002 movement looks great inside the case; I was expecting it to look small like many I've seen inside some of modern Zenith watch with large cases.











- Sexy as hell large crown and rectangle pushers. 











- This Zenith gator strap are some of the best quality I've ever handled, I like the fact that Zenith utilized rubber as a backing material on the strap; it should prolong its life.











The not so good&#8230;
-They could have left the word "Automatic" off the dial (apet peeve of mine) :-|
-wish the water resistant were rated at 100m instead of 50m and a screw down crown would have been nice&#8230; I guess no swimming with this one. :think:

In conclusion:
Great value considering you get a very nicely finished great looking watch with a legendary in-house chronograph movement. These current Zenith watches are such a great deal; most of the entry level pieces are priced about the same or less than many Mid/high end brands that utilizes pedestrian ETA or Valjoux movement. (Not a knock on ETA or Valjoux...I'm actually a fan)
I see great things coming from Zenith currently and expect even more so in the next few years. :-!


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## vbomega

Stunning timepiece, and great pictures.

I agree with your review, the word "Automatic" should've been kept off the dial. I am guessing that you didn't get a Chronometer card with your watch.

My other "complaint" is the use of a cheapo tang buckle, especially with high quality alligator straps. This watch is definitely a "steal" at its price. While not as iconic as i.e. IWC Classic Pilot, it uses a true manufacture column wheel chronograph movement.


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## D N Ravenna

Very nice pictures ABoen! Thanks for sharing!

Dan


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## porschefan

Really a very nice piece.


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## metatime

Congratulations! Very nice! And thank you for the wrist shots. I don't like the "Automatic" being there either. 

I am debating whether to get this or the Captain Chrono Black. Any thoughts on that? How is the lume btw?


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## huntershooter

Love it, a beautiful watch.


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## ezinternet

Thanks for sharing. I really like it too! 

I reconcile to the "Automatic" labeling with the thoughts: 
(1) If "Automatic" were missing then I think that the 36k would look out of balance in its font size, and certainly the 36k label needn't be any larger. 

(2) The watch harks back (in the accumulator subdial) to the 50's/60's handwounds, like the cal 146 chronos. So declaring their automaticity seems to be a part of the modern update. 

One other neat detail, that I quite like, is how Zenith preserves the sub-minute marker track running along the edge of the date window. (I last saw that on the de Luca dials, but not on the early El P's in LouS survey). On those "date at 4" dials it's not as obvious, but here with the date at 6, the vertical hashes stand sort of proud, like a histogram  and are a nice touch.

-ez


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## vbomega

I think the main issue here is that Zenith replaced the word "Chronometer" with "Automatic".



ezinternet said:


> Thanks for sharing. I really like it too!
> 
> I reconcile to the "Automatic" labeling with the thoughts:
> (1) If "Automatic" were missing then I think that the 36k would look out of balance in its font size, and certainly the 36k label needn't be any larger.
> 
> (2) The watch harks back (in the accumulator subdial) to the 50's/60's handwounds, like the cal 146 chronos. So declaring their automaticity seems to be a part of the modern update.


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## Fantasio

*Absolutely beautiful!* |> Would love to own an El Primero someday, and this would suit my taste perfectly.

Are the indices painted or applied? Hard to tell from pics only.


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## LouS

Painted. I must say, this watch makes an even better impression in the metal than it does in these pix.


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## ABoen

Yap..It painted. Extremely well done though.
I do agree this watch looks so much better in the metal than pics.

Here's a few pics with a leather nato strap I like alot.


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## Cybotron

Very nice!!!!


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## ohnedich6

Aboen,

Love the pics and congrats on the piece. I actually got the first one from Toppers back in May as a graduation gift from college. I gotta ask would you mind PMing me or emailing me where you picked up that leather nato; it's quite sexy!


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## D N Ravenna

Aboen,
Sweet shots!

|>

Thanks!
Dan


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## Fantasio

May I ask what is the height of this beauty. I do not mean thickness, but the measurement from lug end to lug end.


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## vbomega

Fantasio said:


> May I ask what is the height of this beauty. I do not mean thickness, but the measurement from lug end to lug end.


 49-50mm


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## WTSP

That certainly looks like the right strap for it. Congrats!


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## pborrica

I apologize in advance for replying to this thread so late, but thank you for your review OP! Just recently saw this and it's a beautiful watch!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## dlack

*How about my Zenith El Primero Pilot Chronograph on Mesh Bracelet...*

WatchGecko actually now makes a "21mm" (just under 3mm thick) mesh bracelet in its "Classic" line, perfect for the Zenith Pilot 03.2117.4001. See first picture below. Decent quality build and function, and relatively inexpensive. One reviewer compared this WatchGecko bracelet to an identical-looking, less costly Chinese-made one. The review is found at: 




Very hard to source a 21mm aftermarket, as almost all mesh or Milanese bracelets are 20mm or 22mm (or other even-integer variants like 18 and 24). Vollmer makes a 21mm too, but much thinner at only 1.7mm, as does Junghans at 2.0mm.

While the factory-installed rubber-backed alligator strap that comes with the Zenith Pilot is classic and of absolute first-rate quality, the mesh bracelet presents a very different look (more formal with a business suit IMO) and a rather different feel (particularly for those who prefer bracelets, as I generally do). There's of course no right or wrong here, just a matter of style and preference. That said, I expect the purists would argue that historically or otherwise, true pilot watches innately partner with leather, not steel, on the wrist.

Zenith does provide a mesh bracelet for its Pilot Big Date (see second picture below), however it is of a very different design than the aftermarkets mentioned above, in that it is styled like a strap with pin-holes and has an elaborate Zenith deployment closure. Very nice indeed, but to purchase one separately would probably command a king's ransom compared to the aftermarkets.


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