ZENITH Chronograph ref.27.0140.203 cal.146HP / 1990s Manual Wind

Zenith ref.27.0140.203.

The resonance of a manual chronograph, born in a period of revival.

A watch Zenith released in the 1990s, as mechanical watches were coming back into the light.

It carries the scarce Cal.146HP, a movement Zenith refined on the base of Universal's Cal.285.

Through the 1980s Zenith had begun producing the El Primero again with Ebel's support, but production of manual chronographs was extremely limited, and their appearance on the market is rare in itself.

The case is gold plated, 38mm across, with a white dial carrying gold baton indexes and dolphin hands.

Its bearing is not showy: a quiet, understated luxury.

The caseback is an aftermarket glass back, so the fine movement of the Cal.146HP can be enjoyed with the eye.

(Where the original caseback went, nobody knows.)

When this model was born, Zenith was still concentrating on reviving the El Primero.

That it nonetheless produced a manual chronograph can be read as evidence of Zenith looking again at the origins of mechanical watchmaking.

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