[Interview] Zenith Product Development & Heritage Director Romain Marietta

Zenith's new Chronomaster Sport was released in January of this year and immediately became a hot topic. We spoke to Romain Marietta, who oversaw the development of the watch, to find out the inside story behind it.

The secret story behind the development of the "orthodox Chronomaster" that inherits Zenith's DNA

Roman Marietta
Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 1982, he joined Zenith's marketing department in October 2006. After working as a product manager, he has also served as head of product development since 2009. From 2011 to July 2020, he served as head of product management, focusing on streamlining Zenith's collections and ensuring consistency between the aesthetic codes of each collection and Zenith's overall DNA. In July 2020, he was appointed Director of Product Development & Heritage, streamlining Zenith's collections from its previous 12 to the current 4.

"The Chronomaster Sports ticks off tenths of a second, so we worked hard to make the tenths of a second even more visible. We placed the tenths of a second index on the outermost ceramic bezel, and after laser engraving the ceramic, we applied a lacquer finish."

　When did development of the new El Primero begin in the first place?

"Development of this movement began in 2017. We started work on this project immediately after the completion of the El Primero 21, which can measure to one-hundredth of a second. The serial batch for this model began at the end of 2019 when we released the Chronomaster 2, a limited edition celebrating the 50th anniversary of El Primero. So it took a full two years from 2017."

　I do remember covering the Chronomaster II, equipped with the then-new El Primero movement, when it arrived in Japan at the end of 2019, but has it evolved further since then?

"Compared to the Chronomaster II, the idea of ​​displaying one-tenth of a second and the integrated design are new to us. However, for us, who have been working on high-frequency movements for many years, this is not something that started three years ago, but something that has been built up over the course of about 50 years. We have now optimized the display/expression of one-tenth of a second. Another major advance is that we obtained a patent for the escapement in 2020. In order to display this one-tenth of a second, we obtained a patent for the structure that draws energy from the escapement (escape wheel) and drives it."

　When did the idea of ​​deriving power from the escape wheel rather than the fourth wheel as in a typical chronograph come about?

"If you think about it logically, it makes sense. Where does the energy come from? And if you think about what drives it, it comes from the oscillating part called the 'heartbeat' that ticks off every tenth of a second. In this sense, it was a very natural and logical progression to take power from the escapement and transmit it to the chronograph hands."

　During development, the team delved into the 50-year history of the El Primero and looked back at the history of the chronograph from the perspective of what constitutes sporty chronograph design. This is how the "orthodox Chronomaster," which inherits Zenith's DNA and has returned to where it belongs, was born.