The Chronomaster Sport has been Zenith's best-selling watch for the past several years. It runs the El Primero 3600, one of the most important automatic chronograph movements in watchmaking history. And until now, you could not see it from the front.
At Watches and Wonders 2026, Zenith changed that. The Chronomaster Sport Skeleton removes material from both the main dial and all three subdials, exposing the El Primero mechanism in a way the brand has never done with this model. It is the first skeletonized Chronomaster Sport.
What You See
The El Primero has always been a visual movement. It was designed in 1969 with a high-beat 36,000 vph escapement and a column-wheel chronograph, and its architecture is recognizable to most watch enthusiasts. In skeleton form, the three chronograph counters, small seconds, 60-second counter, and 60-minute counter, become windows into the running gear train.
The central chronograph seconds hand still sweeps the dial once every 10 seconds, which remains one of the fastest continuous-sweep chronograph displays in production. A date window sits between four and five o'clock.
The 41mm case is available in four versions. Two are stainless steel: one with a green ceramic bezel and grey counters, the other with a black ceramic bezel and the classic grey-anthracite-blue tri-color counter layout. The third is 18k rose gold with a black ceramic bezel. And the fourth is a limited edition of 10 pieces in rose gold with 52 diamonds on the bezel and baguette-cut diamond indices.
The ZENCLASP
The steel models debut a new bracelet closure that Zenith has patented under the name ZENCLASP. Three years of development went into the design, which uses 41 components and 10 ceramic balls for a locking mechanism that Zenith says is both more secure and smoother to operate than a conventional deployant clasp.
More practically, the ZENCLASP includes a micro-adjustment system with 10mm of resizing in 2.5mm increments. Adjustments can be made on the wrist without tools. Bracelet comfort adjustability has become a competitive feature in the mid-luxury segment, and Zenith's version is among the more technically detailed implementations so far.
Pricing and Context
Steel models start at EUR 16,500 (approximately $16,700). That is a premium over the standard Chronomaster Sport, which makes sense for the additional finishing work that skeletonization requires. Every exposed surface needs decoration, and Zenith applied both satin brushing and beveling across the visible movement components.
Zenith also expanded its G.F.J. collection at the fair, introducing models in bloodstone and tantalum, though the Chronomaster Sport Skeleton drew the larger share of attention on the floor according to Oracle of Time and Boss Hunting.
For collectors who have wanted to see the El Primero running but preferred the Chronomaster Sport's proportions over the smaller Chronomaster Original, this is the watch they were waiting for.
