As much as it hurts to admit it, more often than not, classic is better. It's the reason we all clamor for vintage, a time before incredible mass-scale production and the decline in quality that comes with it. No industry exemplifies the beauty of a classic like automotive and watches. Both will leave you in a nostalgia trap, wishing you were born in another era – and we have pieces like Zenith's El Primero to thank for that.
Steeped in history, the original Zenith El Primero touched down in the late 60s, bringing a new wave of design and engineering to the industry. Heralded, to this day, for being the best automatic chronograph movement of its time, it's only right that the watch served as the basis for the latest collaboration between Zenith and Hondinkee.
Delivered as a celebration of the watch's legacy, the Zenith Chronomaster Original Limited Edition For Hodinkee is a labor of love, a modernization that maintains the highest regarded elements of the piece while elevating them to a contemporary standard.
Regarded by both brands as an evolved classic, the watch borrows the "perfectly-sized" 38mm x 12.6mm case of the 2021 Chronomaster Original, outfitting it with a matte salmon opaline dial, resulting in a luxurious finish that is equally as modern as it is classic.
Touches of grey-green contrasted with white elevate the watch's face, while the stainless steel case gives the overlook a truly vintage finish.
Unfortunately, like all good classics, the Zenith Chronomaster Original Limited Edition For Hodinkee is very limited, with only 300 pieces produced worldwide – which you can shop online at Hondinkee.
