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Hardly anyone would dispute that one of Zenith’s most iconic models is the famous “Rainbow” – created in the 1990s for the needs of the French Ministry of Defence, this watch carried a great deal of modernism and deservedly became one of the icons of watchmaking art in general.

We have always wanted to see the return of the “Rainbow” – up until the launch of the watch presented here, Zenith had played with the design of some of its El Primero chronographs, but none of them could be called a direct successor to the legendary “Rainbow”. With the appearance of the El Primero Stratos Flyback at Baselworld 2011, all questions disappeared – this was the true heir to the legend, and after the launch of the El Primero Stratos Rainbow, this was further reinforced by the colour scheme of the dial.

14 October 2012 – that was when Zenith was proudly displayed on the capsule, balloon and spacesuit of Felix Baumgartner.

In fact, the watch presented here is the basis on which Felix Baumgartner’s original watch was developed – the differences are minimal. First is the dial – his had the three coloured circles; the other is the caseback – in his case it was solid, with a relief image of the Austrian. Everything else is the same.

But let us return to the watch.

This watch carries that perfect balance between sport and refinement that each of us seeks when asking the question: “If I had one watch, what should it be?”. The level of detail is fantastic, with all this texture and purity of execution. We can confidently say that after the tendency towards rough and overly sporty designs at the beginning of the new millennium, Zenith are returning to the tradition of presenting elegant watches with great design.

And despite the fact that this watch is more a representative of the brand’s sporty line, it cannot be denied that it has incredible presence and a superb finish. At its heart, the watch hides the brand’s in-house Zenith El Primero Calibre 405B movement. It operates at 36,000 vibrations per hour, or 5 Hz, and has a power reserve of over 50 hours. It features a 12-hour column-wheel chronograph and a Flyback complication.

The dial layout is fantastic, and we really like this new style with overlapping subdials. The transparent caseback gives you the opportunity to enjoy this movement – pay attention to the new rotor design, another very beautiful innovation.

The case of the Stratos comes in a modern 45.5 mm size, but despite the impressive dimensions, it feels very comfortable on the wrist. We admit, the size was one of the things that attracted our attention even before we had seen it in person. This particular watch comes with the original metal bracelet – the most expensive option offered by the brand for this model, more than 20% more expensive than the others – with Zenith’s new, much more comfortable deployant clasp and a large star on the clasp.

The other modern element used in the watch is the ceramic bezel insert in dark blue. Note that in order to rotate the bezel, it needs to be slightly “pressed down” towards the case – which protects it from unintended rotation.

The dial is extremely good-looking and legible – everything is properly proportioned, and the hands are highly visible against the blue dial. The hour markers are applied and coated with Super-LumiNova. Another distinctive feature of this model and an innovation for the brand is the inner “flange”, positioned at a 90-degree angle to the dial and carrying a partial minute scale – this brings a great dose of elegance and aristocratic character. The sapphire crystal has double anti-reflective coating, allowing the indications to be observed without any obstacles or distortion.

The present watch is fitted with Zenith’s original bracelet, while the other options are a crocodile strap and rubber, with dimensions of 23 mm at the lugs and 18 mm at the clasp.

This Stratos is powered by the classic El Primero Calibre 405 chronograph with Flyback complication.

Personally, we like the Flyback very much, and Zenith’s version in particular – a complication originally invented to help pilots reset their chronograph and immediately start a new timing measurement.

This complication introduces not many, but significant changes to the base calibre 400. The main difference is that, unlike a conventional chronograph, with Flyback the lower chronograph pusher acquires another function – when the chronograph is running, it can reset and restart the chronograph with a single press. This seemingly small difference is very significant, appreciated by fans of the brand and increasing the value of the watches.

The bezel is unidirectional, with 60 clicks, and of course, as expected, it is perfectly aligned with the inner indications. The crown is screw-down, and the chronograph pushers are rectangular – sufficiently large in size and requiring a certain amount of pressure to operate, which from our point of view is a plus, because it makes your actions more deliberate.

As an overall impression, we can say that for us this Zenith is the most beautiful, fully balanced and multifunctional watch from this brand – and undoubtedly one of the best we have had the opportunity to present.