Zenith Chronomaster Original Lapis Lazuli hands on – beautiful, brilliant, blue

Iconic Swiss watch brand, Zenith, has been celebrating its 160th anniversary this year, and it has done so in style. The brand has unveiled stacks of watches across the year, with the majority enjoying the blue hue which is synonymous with the brand.

Now, if you're designing luxury watches all year with a blue theme, at some point you'll almost certainly turn to Lapis Lazuli. For the unaware, that's a naturally occurring stone which has a deep blue colour and flecks of interest throughout – it's stunning.

Most recently, we've seen an impressive Defy Extreme chronograph, but prior to that, the brand gave its Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar the same treatment. Recently, I got hands on with that model, to see what all the fuss was about.

First impressions were magical. Lapis Lazuli is one of my favourite materials to see on a watch dial, but the slice used on the model I saw was especially pretty, complete with lots of flecks of sparkling material throughout.

It's the perfect base for a watch like this, too. The Triple Calendar stole my heart when I first saw one a few years ago, with the moonphase, chronograph and calendar fusing to offer a lot of complication in a simple package.

Inside, you'll find the brand's iconic El Primero movement. That's something of a signature these days, with a 5Hz beat rate and around 60 hours of power reserve.

Naturally, this model carries a bit of a premium over the base version, owing to the added cost and complexity of using that dial. Priced at £20,500 (approx. €23,500 / US$27,500 / AU$41,250), you're paying almost double what you would for the common or garden version.

Still, that doesn't detract from the value on offer. This watch is a real peach, whatever variant you go for, with the kind of slim profile which works a treat under a dress cuff.

If you've got cash to burn on a really gorgeous watch from an anniversary year, this might just be one of my top picks.