For the past several years, Zenith has focused with stubborn precision upon its Defy line. Sure, the Chronomaster is a killer watch that has received some love, and just last year the brand finally revamped its Pilots collection, but the brand has always made dress watches under the Elite line. To be sure, my first in-the-metal encounter with a Zenith was an Elite at a local watch shop. Yet the entire line has been left untouched since 2020. With its relative simplicity compared to the ultra-modern Defy watches, the Zenith Elite Classic perhaps not surprisingly represents the brand’s cost of entry.

As is the case with many brands’ cost-of-entry models, this is one of which most people may be entirely unaware. Zenith has been pushing the Defy line hard, and it’s its largest series by a decent margin: the Pilots has 6, the Elite has 12, the Chronomaster has 58, and the Defy has 72. You can tell where the brand is putting its energy, and it’s not into dress or pilot watches (though the Pilots is essentially a new collection, so only time will tell).

The Zenith Elite Classic is a clean dress watch design, but as can happen with such styling, it wears a bit larger than its dimensions suggest. You really feel every bit of the 40.5mm case due to the slim polished bezel. My Frederique Constant Slimline Auto is the same, as are many modern dress watches, especially those that haven’t been sized down to current market trends. I actually found this entirely pleasant on the wrist. Even with 40.5mm, the 9.1mm thickness and angled 22mm lugs, which measure 44mm end-to-end, keep it snug against the wrist. The 22mm lugs are a bit odd on a watch like this, though likely helps the case from feeling even larger: If the lugs were 20mm, the round main case would be more pronounced, amplifying the 40.5mm further.

The watch has a sapphire crystal, 50m water resistance and is fastened to a blue alligator strap with a rubber lining and curved ends, which fastens with a simple tang buckle and is comfortable around the wrist. From a case design perspective, this is a classic watch as the name implies, but is a far cry from the ultramodern angularity of the faceted Defy cases.

This watch is dominated by slim, polished surfaces and an emphasis on wearability, whereas the Defy series seems to prioritize style and function over comfort. I’m a big fan of the entire Defy line (e.g. the Extreme Mirror, the Revival A3648, and especially the Extreme Diver), but half of the models size out half of the population. The Elite Classic has more in common with the Chronomaster collection, including the Original Triple Calendar and Sport models, which feature a similar if not quite as slim silhouette.

Certainly, the modern Zenith catalog has no shortage of incredible dials. The new Pilots are simple but dynamic, the Chronomaster has its tricolor El Primero thing going on, and the Defy collection seems inclined towards either skeletonization, an acid trip, or both. Far more restrained than most of those, but to my eye more enticing, the Zenith Classic Elite dials. I’ll take a risk and let you know that I love almost everything about this dial.

The fan-like rays that radiate from the center of the dial bring texture, depth, and plenty of light play. The slim, beveled indices and hands are sharp and elegant, befitting a watch of this type. The applied Zenith star is a welcome accent. There’s also limited printing on the dial. While there’s plenty here for me to love, there are two elements I could do without but that do not ruin the dial for me.

The first and most obvious is the date. Lots of brands these days won’t just give you a watch without a date, with many perfectly willing to ruin a dial with one. This one is well executed, but I think the watch would’ve been better without it (though it does have a neat trick I’ll discuss below). Similarly, I think the minute track pulls this away from being a more formal watch and adds a dash of sportiness that I think is unnecessary; I’d much rather see the fan pattern extended to the dial’s edge.

There was a period not too long ago when Zenith may have been better known for its movements than for its watches. This is perhaps thanks to the El Primero being the first announced automatic chronograph in 1969 (don’t bug me with any discussion of that debate, thank you) and its use by Rolex for the Daytona from 1988 to 2000. While Zenith was one of the first vertically integrated Swiss brands (producing almost everything in-house), nowadays, it’s far more renowned for its watches. It does, though, still love to rest on its El Primero laurels: The El Primero is no longer just a chronograph movement but an entire series of movements that power every existing Zenith model except the Elites.

The Zenith Elite Classic is powered by the Elite 679 caliber, which provides a 50-hour power reserve at 28,800 vph. The movement features excellent finishing for this price point, with circular striping and perlage as well as a skeletonized and branded rotor. I mentioned above the date has a neat trick: unlike just about every watch I’ve ever worn, the date can be moved ahead or back with the crown. That makes correcting a bit faster when you’ve had this in the watch box for a while.

I’m not sure how much longer the Elite collection will remain in the Zenith stable. It only has four base models (really two models in two sizes each) and it’s been neglected for four years, with the brand’s focus being on watches that bear no resemblance. While dress watches are having a bit of a moment among more affordable brands, it’s hard to tell if they’ll have a place in the future at Zenith. For the time being, I’m thankful that these remain and hope that if the current models get phased out, Zenith has the sense to replace them rather than discard them. The Zenith Elite Classic is priced at $6,100 USD. For more information, please visit the Zenith website.