Zenith Class Elite Luxury Watch Review

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Behold the best-kept secret in high horology: the Zenith Class Elite.

Although Zenith of Le Locle is rightly renowned for its historic "El Primero" high-beat chronograph, the manufacture maintains a broad base of competence and movements that extend beyond the El Primero legend, and the Zenith Class Elite proves the point.

This 37mm stainless steel dress watch is a classically styled ultra-thin automatic companion for an owner of impeccable taste and a connoisseur's eye for quality. At only 7.85mm thick, this watch does justice to the term "ultra-thin" and puts to shame rivals using the term to describe 10+mm pretenders.

The Class Elite sits on the wrist like a second skin. It's so discreet that it won't cause a ripple under a sleeve or cuff. The delicate polished case is unmistakable in pedigree and distinction, but when the owner diverts his attention, he may forget he's wearing the watch. Simply put, it wears like an extension of the wrist.

Inside the graceful tapered case, Zenith offers its modern masterpiece. Designed in 1994, two-and-a-half decades after the El Primero, the Elite caliber 680 was the first Zenith movement to be designed with the assistance of modern CAD/CAM software, and the quality is self evident. The 3.28mm automatic Elite easily surpasses the refinement of rivals such as the Rolex 3135 (6mm) and the Omega/ETA 2892-A2 (3.6mm). Yet the Elite features none of the quirks or usage restrictions that often accompany truly thin movements.

With 26 jewels, smooth bidirectional winding, and a superb bidirectional quickset date, the caliber 680 is "Elite" in every sense.

Now that you know horology's best kept secret, check out the Zenith Class Elite for yourself. See this hidden gem in high-resolution images on www.thewatchbox.com Video and content by Tim Mosso.