Reply With QuoteThe Zenith Rainbow range are great watches and vastly under appreciated, that’s a beauty you have there.
Not many of these around so I thought I'd do a review as I just stumbled across the brochure and price list from back then ...
I was bought this by my then girlfriend, now wife, in 1998 as an engagement gift.
At the time I didn't want a Rolex 14060 which would have been the equivalent as I viewed it as an old mans brand and that this Zenith was superior as it was much thinner and with a nicer bracelet. It's list price was higher than the Sub at the time I believe.
Anyway ... this was my daily wearer for most of the last 20 years until I ended up here digging around about some old Omegas I had inherited whilst the Zenith was away at service.
Now I have a bit of a collection and so this Zenith only gets worn in rotation; it is a great watch; very comfortable and I still like it and will be keeping it for ever.
It was serviced by STS in 2015 and I didn't wear it much on return ... as I had bought an Explorer 114270. I wish I had as I didn't notice it was running 12s/d fast and it is a bit too late to send it back and I had already sent it back once as the bezel fell off when the jeweller who'd sent to STS for me handed it over ... It runs consistently 12s fast which is a bit of an annoyance but not something I am going to bother to fix as I don't wear it enough for it to be a problem.
Had I bought the 14060 I would have a more valuable watch but it is a sentimental item anyway so that is no big deal ...
It is a great watch and much more rare that the Submariner so I like that ... anyway we see plenty of subs so here is an alternative.
I’d say I have given it a pretty tough life using it for sports, swimming, sailing and have never had a problem with it.
Here are some images and scans.
Zenith Rainbow Elite 670 - 1998
02.0473.670 - SS with white dial & black bezel
Zenith Price List
Zenith Brochure p14-15
Zenith Brochure Cover
Case back – (Not my image/watch)
Last edited by Montello; 29th December 2017 at 17:31. Reason: Typo.
The Zenith Rainbow range are great watches and vastly under appreciated, that’s a beauty you have there.
I really like that! Were the hands replaced at service?
I have had it serviced twice by Zenith / LVMH and once by STS.Originally Posted by groyn
The chip by the 45 was done by LVMH. They had had it so long I couldn’t face sending it back again.
I don’t know about the hands, I wasn’t really taking note of these matters before I arrived here. If LVMH had recommended replacement hands I would have accepted it ...
None of the service records I have say hands replaced.
Last edited by Montello; 29th December 2017 at 17:38.
Duplicate.
Beauty of a watch sir and even more precious with the history behind it, i've been on the lookout for a blue faced dial for ages with no success (even yellow dial non existent). Have seen the odd one with the date at 3 o'clock which I believe houses the non in-house movement.
What a delight. Lovely watch, but then I do admire Zenith. Far more interesting than a Sub, because rarer. Glad you will always have it.
How is zenith service compared to Rolex. Are parta availeble after years? I'm considering to buy zenith rainbow chrono.
Great city Tampere. I had a lovely time there when I lived in Helsinki. But then I loved Helsinki also. Fine country Finland...and you won't get wrenched out of the EU by a crazed right-wing government.
Anyway, I am no expert on Zeniths, but my understanding is that they are well-supported. The Rainbow models get regularly serviced. Others will know more.
And guess what, we've got snow too.
That is lovelynice proportions
Anyone know where the "Rainbow" name comes from? Seems a bit odd on a beautiful but basically black and white watch.
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It was named after a yacht - see http://forums.watchuseek.com/f27/zen...a-1028001.html
Rainbow was named after a famous single masted yacht in the 30's that won the Americas' Cup in 1934
Thanks for the quick replies!
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I don’t think you will have a problem with parts, I’ve never read of anyone having any problems. The Rainbow Chronograph is my favourite, I used to own the Flyback version and currently own this very rare Yellow dial variant which surprisingly gets more compliments than any other watch in my collection.
Interesting enough the Rainbow Chronograph was voted the number one Chrono ahead of the Rolex Daytona and Omega Speedmaster by Chronos magazine in Germany back in the nineties when it came out so well worth considering as they are still very well priced as they are obviously no where near as popular as the afore mentioned Chronograph’s.
Last edited by shalako; 29th December 2017 at 23:02.
Lovely!
A friendly ahoy from a chrono step brother! I listed this for sale recently but I'm wearing it daily on the NATO and it's stuck to my wrist firmly now :)
I just had it serviced by LVMH for £480 so in line with other mid range prices but much cheaper than the AP!
Nice review and lovely story behind it. Can I ask what is your total number of watch in your collection right now?
Over a Speedmaster or Daytona any day
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Beautiful watch bud.
Love this brand.
I can appreciate why folk prefer the Chrono's over a Daytona it's a shame Zenith doesn't get the recognition it deserves.
I much prefer the the older style watches, above.^^
The only criticism I have of modern Zenith's, is they have produced too many different model changes, which sadly reflects on depreciation.
I went to the opticians yesterday to get my specs adjusted. The optician was wearing a stunning Zenith ChronoMaster Open El Primero XXT, a watch I previously owned and sold on SC.
The first ten minutes of our conversation revolved around he's watch and the Zenith brand, much to the amusement of the staff.
Zenith have produced some amazing quality watches for sure, but you never see many folk wearing one.
Great to see an appreciation of the brand on here though....
It's also interesting that their movements are used in other watches, Rolex, Panerai and even Dunhill, which speaks volumes regarding the quality of Zenith movements.
After that being my only proper watch for 18 years and a few plastics I’m now up to 7.
Zenith is an LVMH brand so no worries about parts.
Nice story, sentimental or watches with a story are the most loved in the end. I still miss my zenith ep 42mm, my first luxury watch. Been browsing the 38mm this morning and they seem to have resolved the overlapping dial issues of the previous where it was difficult to read the minute counter between 15 and 20. Might have to reconsider getting one in the future!
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A very beautiful watch and as someone already said much under appreciated. The only time I've ever seen them was in Southampton and that was years ago.
Love the white dial, definitely the best looking at the brochure!
Absolutely a lovely looking watch
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Trouble is landmarks that I can use to buy another watchare drying up.
Great write up Montello on your lovely white dialled 3-hander Rainbow! We swapped some emails/PM's a few years back on these very under-rated Zenith's. I've got the blue/gold 2-tone model that's in the pic of the catalogue you've posted, plus the yellow/orange dialled black bezelled model. I think it was universally decided amongst the 'Zenithisti' on WUS forum a few years back the colour of the yellow/orange one is mango
39mm case may seem rather small to some peope these days but it's more than big enough for most wrists.
For your info I had both my Rainbow's serviced earlier this year by Brendan 'webwatchmaker' who did an excellent job, Brendan actually worked at Zenith for many years and still has contacts there as he was able to source a replacement bezel very promptly. I highly recommend Brendan
Thanks again for sharing your story of your white Zenith Rainbow, still looks fab after 20 years
Happy New Year!
Mark
Backdate some previous ones if you haven’t “used them” yet!
Totally agree! Zenith’s line-up is hard to navigate and if you look at vintage models some of them lacked proper naming and I think that makes it harder to attract a following (like Seamaster, Constellation and Speedmaster). And the El Primero movement doesn’t make it easier I believe. It’s more famous than the models they stick it in.
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Is there a serial number on this watch anywhere?
Itll probably be on the winder weight or the movement, but some Zenith's don't have any serial numbers at all apparently.
Well I have never seen that so would not know ... that said I don't think I have ever had the bracelet off so it could be between the lugs.
There is no serial number mentioned anywhere on the box or papers ...
One thing this thread does highlight is how the future value of a watch has very little to do with the price paid or the quality of the watch.
Arguably this is a superior watch to the 14060; it had a higher list price at the time and now is worth probably worth just 30% of a 14060 today ...
My rainbow chrono is off the bracelet and has no number on the lugs that I can see.
Hi Montello and Pete, I'm fairly confident that Zenith Rainbow's don't have serial numbers. I have the paperwork for the mango one and no serial number mentioned.
Incidentally there's a NOS white one for sale in Italy, has been for a while now.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OROLOGIO-Z...0AAOSwax5Y2DRt
Last edited by CafeRacer; 31st December 2017 at 17:00.
That's in line with my papers too. Sent to LVMH for service this autumn and they only put the ref in the papers not a s/n.
Readers of this thread maybe interested in this one of mine which when last serviced was referred to be a reference number rather than a serial number .
It was dated to 1997
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Interesting, seems that some has the same mismatch on hands/dial Lume as mine. I guess they just age differently.
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