Zenith Chronomaster Sport vs Rolex Daytona

[ThatOtherGuy7]

Some folks on a different forum turned me onto this watch. While I have heard of Zenith, I don’t know much about the brand. Curious what the folks on here think and which would they choose.

I personally think it looks great! Very similar to the Daytona looks that I like. Should be easier to get. Just not sure on the quality and movement vs Omega, Rolex, JLC, etc.

[RJRJRJ]

Good looking, amazing movement, but its a straight up copy of the 116500.

[BLNR Nairobi]

Amazing movement and looks great.

[bp1000]

Fantastic watch, movement is spectacular, looks interesting. A bit Daytona ish. Not sure zenith ever did PCLs before stock, and with the black ceramic, its looks are similar but it has the history and movement to be a very credible if not better alternative.

[WatchNutcase]

Seems like the "easy" alternative to the Daytona 116500 which turns me off from it. Comparisons aside it is a beautiful watch.

[inadeje]

I’m not into the multicolored sub dials. Otherwise it’s a great piece.

[2001jesper]

You should probably not be too concerned about the movement, as Zenith used to power the Daytona until 2000. With the ceramic bezel, it has definitely been inspired by the 116500 and then it begs the question - Which watch did you actually want?

Nevertheless, great looking watch

[Chester01]

So its more legible than the Daytona, has a date, fantastic movement, and the elprimero (unlike the Daytona) actually broke new ground and is one of the most important chrono movements ever made. Its at least equal to the daytona and the Daytona only wins on hype or stylistic preferences.

[stewester]

It's a fantastic looking watch but that's because it's essentially iterating on the design of the Daytona. It's pretty shameless really, especially the bracelet and clasp. Could never buy one for that reason, regardless of how good a value proposition it is vs. the Daytona.

[1665fan]

If one had to settle I’d go the speedmaster route

[Mifune]

best Watch... Chronomaster.
best value retention... Daytona.

make your choice... Chronomaster for me.

But then again, no one has ever offered me a Playtona at MSRP

[Miker86]

The resemblance to the Daytona is unavoidable. However if I saw someone wearing this I wouldn’t think they just went for a Daytona look-a-like, would probably have more respect to be honest..l A seriously nice watch.

[Robf52]

If you're not a die hard fan of Rolex or the Daytona, it's a great alternative to the 116500LN.

[ThatOtherGuy7]

Ideally I’d like to get a Daytona and stay with the Rolex family. That’s mainly because I’m not so familiar with Zenith. Everything about Zenith seems great though so will seriously need to think about this. I do like the date function although it’s not a deal breaker for me. I’m not a big fan of Speedmaster. It’s great but looks-wise it doesn’t do anything for me

[train-time]

I think it's a great alternative to a Daytona unless you can get the Daytona at MSRP. It's also 41mm so it's more in tune with sport watches. It is clearly on my radar. I prefer the strap variation.

[Cmmatthews]

It doesn't look nearly as much like a Daytona in person as it seems to in the pictures. I would encourage you to handle one. The case is quite different, the dial is different, honestly, the similarity is the bezel and the PCL.

[JAEP]

I love that Zenith and want one but have heard that it’s movement requires more frequent services due to its high beat mechanism.

[OrangeSport]

Well, they got the numbers on the sub dials the right way up, unlike Rolex, but they screwed up the numbers on the bezel..

I Don know which is worse, but I couldn't live with either..

[tymonster]

I'd just say that I wouldn't include JLC in your comparison of quality vs Rolex, Omega, or Zenith. For the money a Polaris Chrono is a far better watch than a Daytona, Speedmaster, or Chronomaster - my opinion anyway.

That said, a Speedmaster or the Chronomaster are great watches in their own right vs the Daytona. If it wasn't so hyped and say it was readily available in stores, I bet you'd pick up the Chronomaster, then the Daytona, and end up walking out with the Zenith.

Daytona doesn't have a whole lot going for it. No date, pretty small all things considered, lacking legibility, screw down pushers you'll probably never use, polished lugs UGH. It's a dainty sports watch if I've ever seen one.

Everyone's got their own preference - get what you like and can actually enjoy wearing cause the hype isn't gonna die down from the Daytona any time soon.

[Tavli3]

A Zenith is no Rolex and a Chronomaster is no Daytona so for an extra 3 grand I’ll take Rolex Daytona in white dial. Black dial looks great but useless unless you have 20 20 eyesight.

That being said the Zenith is a very nice watch. And if no chance of getting Daytona then that and or a Speedy are great alternates.


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[jb335]

Originally Posted by WatchNutcase

Seems like the "easy" alternative to the Daytona 116500 which turns me off from it. Comparisons aside it is a beautiful watch.

My thoughts exactly.


I also do not like the 1/10th of a second writing on the tachymeter.

[OrangeSport]

Originally Posted by Tavli3

a Chronomaster is no Daytona

No, it's arguably better

[Ghost410]

I have one and love it. Amazing watch with fantastic history. Hard to argue with the fact that Zenith has been around longer than Rolex, and made the movement for the Daytona for a period of time.

[t60]

That date at 4:30 is gonna be a no from me dog.

[Driver8]

The El Primero, especially in it's latest guise of the 3600 which includes hacking seconds (which was always the El Primero's Achilles heel), is one of the finest and most historically important chronograph movements ever made. Of course the 4130 is also a superb chronograph movement, but the El Primero has the more esteemed history (if that's important to you), plus it's simply the more interesting movement with its 36,000 vph and the 1/10th second display. I'd also go so far as to say, the Zenith is a much less "obvious" choice than the Daytona for the WIS.

That said, there will always be claims of the Chronomaster Sport's design owing more than a little to the Daytona, and that's a fair point. Also the clasp on the Zenith just isn't up to the Daytona's quality, but the real killer for me personally is the 4:30 date position. I find it absolutely HIDEOUS on any watch.

And lastly, the elephant in the room for many people is the brand recognition and value retention aspects. Personally I couldn't care less about either of those things if I like a watch, but I know for many those are some of the most important considerations.

[Xerxes77]

For me Zenith

[subprimero]

The El Primero has a great history. Buy the El Primero because you want an El Primero. Don't buy it as a substitute for the Daytona.

[DC116710LN]

The designs are too similar and I don't care for the multi-colored dial or the placement of the date

[Seaswirl]

Not a fan of the overlapping registers or the date placement. The 1/10 of a second measurement isn’t of much use to me either. Cool to see the seconds hand fly around the dial when activated though.

[WatchNutcase]

Originally Posted by jb335

My thoughts exactly.


I also do not like the 1/10th of a second writing on the tachymeter.

Also the date location kills it for me