Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Zenith · Chronomaster
Zenith Chronomaster 44 mm Slate Sapphire
Reference 64971OR.25
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Zenith
- Collection
- Chronomaster
- Model
- Zenith Chronomaster 44 mm Slate Sapphire
- Reference number
- 64971OR.25
- Year / era
- 2003 · 2000s — modern production
- Complication
- Flyback chronograph
- Movement
- In-house manual-winding
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Dial type
- Slate grey
- Strap / bracelet
- NATO textile strap
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 50 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 44 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.1 mm
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Bezel
- Fluted 18k gold
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Slate grey
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Diamond-set hour markers
- Bracelet / strap
- NATO textile strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 100 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 82A — In-house manual-winding
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 5 days
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Flyback chronograph
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 2003 – 2006
- Limited-edition quantity
- 50 pieces
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Zenith Chronomaster 44 mm Slate Sapphire sits within Zenith's Chronomaster line, introduced in 2003. It carries the house codes established since 1865 — sapphire crystal case case, slate grey dial and in-house manual-winding — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Zenith
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1865
- Founder
- Georges Favre-Jacot
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- El Primero, Chronomaster, Defy, Pilot, Elite
- Signature technologies
- Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · In-house hairspring production · Certified chronometer regulation
- Famous movements
- In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer · In-house automatic, chronometer certified · In-house manual-winding · In-house automatic chronograph
- Notable watches
- Zenith El Primero 42 mm Slate Platinum (1954) · Zenith El Primero 42 mm Mother-of-pearl Ceramic (1965) · Zenith El Primero 41 mm Skeletonised Sapphire (1975) · Zenith El Primero 40 mm Silvered 18k (1995)
Brand history
Zenith has spent more than 161 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's El Primero, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Georges Favre-Jacot established Zenith in 1865, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Zenith calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1865
Georges Favre-Jacot founds Zenith in Switzerland.
1899
Zenith earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Zenith to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Zenith enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Zenith continues to produce El Primero, Chronomaster, Defy and other icons in limited numbers.