24 Hours In Cambodia With The Zenith El Primero Sport
Haute Time Director of Photography, Alex Teuscher recently travelled to Siem Reap, Cambodia to capture the beauty of its temples. He brought along a Zenith El Primero Sport, and shares his thoughts on this sporty chronograph…
8:34 AM – First stop: Ta Prohm. Now lovingly referred to locally as Angelina Jolie temple. The temple was used as the setting for various scenes in the Tomb Raider film series. The structure is made even more beautiful by the way the roots of the massive trees are fused with the walls themselves.
Ta Prohm is an icon, one that is instantly recognizable, even for those who have never seen it in the flesh. The same can be said of the El Primero. The sporty chronograph, made by Zenith, is the brand’s flagship, and the one on my wrist today is its most recent iterations. Will it stand the test of time? We shall find out.
8:54 AM – Time seems to have stood still, in order to admire the beautiful textures inside the grounds of Ta Prohm temple. It is full of life, inhabited by some of the largest and oldest trees on earth.
In contrast, the Zenith El Primero Sport has a cold and sharp finish, which gives a modern edge. Presented in a stainless steel case, it combines a polished bezel and a slate grey-toned dial, two textures that don’t usually mix well.
11: 03: PM – On to Angkor Wat. The temples here are intricately adorned with numerous Apsaras, heavenly women from the Hindu mythology who are often depicted dancing. Angkor Wat alone has over 3000 of these nymphs carved into its numerous walls.
The Zenith El Primero Sport is all about detail, and there’s a lot to love about the dial. The overlapping subdials are surrounded by twelve rhodium-finished faceted hour markers as well as a small tachymeter scale, providing depth to an otherwise minimalistic and monochromatic dial. The red chronograph hand provides a sharp highlight, while the date at 6 o’clock is very legible over a white background.
6:15 PM – A Stunning Farewell. We end our trip at the jaw-dropping and beautiful Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world. Very few places in the world evoke the same reaction when viewed for the first time. Angkor Wat, with its five towers, represents Mt. Meru aka the Mt. Olympus of the Hindu Faith. It also stands as the heart and soul of the Cambodian people, and is even depicted on the national flag.
While the Zenith El Primero Sport represents a departure from the classic Zenith El Primero with red, blue and white subdials, it may very well convert a new generation of watch collectors to the brand. Aldo Magada has stated on a number of accasions the need to reinvent the icon of Zenith, and this sporty version could be the first of many positive changes under his leadership.
Photo Credit: Haute Time. For more information, please visit the official Zenith website. Follow Haute Time on Instagram to catch all of the new releases as they happen.
