Exceptional watch for the money! That domed acrylic is just wonderful.
However, you can't go wrong with one of those either.
Hi everyone
I am new to the forum, although I've been reading threads for a long time. I really want a Zeno explorer ETA and just wondered how owners are finding them a few years down the line re: build, etc?
I look forward to any responses. Also I saw recently a pvd'd Zeno in my local Austrian Zeno stockists window, it looked like it has interchangeable coloured crystals. It looked quite military and I hade never seen one before. Anyone know anything more about it?
Many thanks
Peter
Exceptional watch for the money! That domed acrylic is just wonderful.
However, you can't go wrong with one of those either.
I'm not as think as you drunk I am.
Wow! That was the strap I had in mind too!!! The others are great, but the Explorer is the one for me. Glad to see it look so good. I'm all the more determined to get one!
Thanks for the images
Great watches. Love mine. :)
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
Hello again 1973
Saw you are in Salzburg. Greetings from snowy Kaernten!
After my PRS-17, I wear my ZEX more than any other in my small collection. In my case it's the Miyota movement which I have no complaint about. It's a great all-around watch. I like Mike's brown strap a lot!
Rick
i,ve always [since the addiction] wanted a rolex explorer ...now after seeing some of these pics i,ll settle for a zeno explorer 8) now ....who wants to sell ? :mrgreen:
Love em 8) getting desperate now gripped with 'the fever' to get mine back from being modded
karl
Enough now! These images are hard to see when you don't own one yet. I think a really nice aged brown leather strap would look great. Now all I have to do is find the watch!
As if that isn't bad enough, I am also weakening toward a Zeno Phantom. I tried the Omega Dynamic and it just didn't work for me, it looked better in pics than on my wrist!
Oh well, this could be the start of a Zeno collection.....
P.m sent Peter
karl
Yes! Had a bit of a Zeno day yesterday and managed to get a NOS explorer with Swiss movt and a mark 2 Phantom. Can't wait to see them and will take a lot of pleasure in finding some nice straps. I really like the cotton and leather combinations. Will try and upload some pics when they are ready!
Thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts and pictures.
...older pic but I have been wearing mine the last few days on a maratac zulu. With this strap it even works on my large wrist. Got it in 2006 I think - still running strong. I do let it rest for long periods though as I have many watches.
Here's mine, received it a couple of weeks ago from the US. Practically new, I'm loving it :
Jim
Mine (ETA) gets worn more than any other watch I have. And, despite Zeniths, Omegas and other brands it gets more compliments too. It's fallen off motorcycles, gone swimming, gone climbling, played tennis and been quad-biking in the Saraha and it just keeps ticking away very happily indeed. Great watches - and still my fave.
Good morning all Zeno Time-Zoners,
As all others have said before:
Great value for money, especially when equipped with the forever going strong Miyota mechanism.
Anything you can endure this watch will too!
I own two of them with different dials and small variations in their crowns, crystals and bracelets.
They spend a lot of my time on a Bond or Nato-strap and a black Teyu-lizard from Di-Modell suits them just as well as a red sharkskin from Morellato. So they are very versatile as well as tough!
Just two pictures to show their different dials:
My first one bought for a hundred dollars from Chris at Chronometers.net( still available)
Later I bought this one from a dealer nearby for a slightly higher price (but with a dial I never saw before but which is probably quite common).
So, all in all, a very recommendable watch, every one of them.
Greetings from overseas,
Marc
I've always loved the look of that watch and regret not buying one when they were available :( Jim that photo is fantastic!
Rod
Thanks Rod. I felt the same way and I'm soooo glad I made the effort to find one now.Originally Posted by Rod
Cheers,
Jim
Originally Posted by rickf
You can probably just make it out in this pic from Rick, the hands on these Zeno Explorers are not just flat, they have a 3 D shaping to them looks wonderful and you would not normally expect to find in a watch of this price.
regards
siggy
If that's what you're looking for this cropped in picture shows it a little better:Originally Posted by siggy
Rick
Yep, an amazing little watch.Originally Posted by rickf
regards
siggy
Wearing very comfortable (but to be honest, a little bit to small for me)
i know theres two different movements in these is this why some models say super precision on the dial and others dont ? :?:
Could someone tell me what the Miyota based model is worth is decent nick please ?
Thanks,
Pete
Not familiar with these watches- but they look great & the feedback seems to be good value.
The last one I had I sold for £65, but that was April 2006. No idea what they're worth now, particularly as they can't be got new any more.Originally Posted by ptcoll
Dave E
Skating away on the thin ice of a new day
I gave mine away always regretted it.
It's the price you pay for not having a decent local watchmaker.
Have one on a nato and it´s beautiful!
Can anyone remember what these cost new?
**edit**
Ah, I just found out that they were in the region of £80. Remarkable value.
Great photographs Mike and Rick - I'd not come across the Zeno Explorers before but love the look of the domed acrylic. That's another watch on the WTB list!
Here's a side view that shows the domed acrylic crystal:
Rick
The almost 'sterile' version with only 'Zeno Watch - Basel' and nothing else dates from the last few months of production. Maybe Zeno just wanted to make it less of a 'fake Rolex', as Rollies are typically recognized by the whole manual of specifications and blurb on the dial, and other makers of homages try to make their products look as much as a Rolex as possible without infringing brand rights, by inventing a fake brand logo that resembles the Rolex one from a distance, and by printing as much blurb on the dial as the original. Personally I like the sterile ZEX a lot, after some time getting used to it. It does not pretend to be anything else but itself. I now also like the mercedes hands, as the hour hand remains distinguishable even when the minute hand covers it.Originally Posted by jimmerjammer
OTOH, the ZEX contains a standard ETA movement that has not been tested/certified as a chronometer, so there is something to be said for not pretending things like 'super precision'. Any cheap quartz will usually leave even a good auto in the dust in that respect. My own ZEX (shown above on a Bond, now sitting on leather) is about one minute per day slow, which is no problem for occasional wear as a sort of 'dress beater', as one needs to wind and set a mechanical anyway after it has been sitting in a box for a few days. That one minute is pretty constant, so you can still say it is 'precise' even if not 'accurate'... If I would want to wear it on a daily basis I would ask a watchmaker or the factory to regulate it, as setting it every day or two days would wear the crown out too quickly.
I wore mine more frequently as my daily watch before I bought a Precista PRS-10B. The latter is now on my wrist almost 24/7, the Zex on leather gets worn to 'formal' events (visits to clients, parties etc.) and in such cases never needs to run longer than a day.
Originally Posted by Karl
And nobody noticed.....
Blimey Karl, that's so great witht he BC! Glad you still like it!
I'm not as think as you drunk I am.
A few years ago there was an issue about the various Zeno Explorers sold by companies and individuals and whether or not they were "legit". As I understand the issue, the "legit" Zeno Explorers use the ETA 2824 caliber and most of the "non-legit" Explorers use the Miyota caliber. As the story I heard from the Zeno folks in Texas, a lot of Zeno Explorer parts got distributed to a variety of sources who then shipped them to China and installed the Miyota caliber. They were then sold under a variety of names. I think one can go to the home Zeno site and read about this as well as a few posts here at TZ. Case in point, a dealer of "Zeno" watches here in the USA sells the Miyota caliber Explorer for about $100 and the Zeno site sells the ETA caliber Explorer for $385. Big difference in price no doubt reflecting the labor cost in China. This might explain the difference in the dial as well.
That said, the Miyota caliber is a good one--not quite as good as the ETA 2824 but still a good one. I suspect the Chinese made Explorers might not hold up as well as the "legit" Explorers but since I have not done research on both of them I cannot say for sure. here is the link to what was posted at zeno a few years ago.
http://www.zeno-watch.ch/en/watches.html
There are "legit" Zeno Explorers that also use the Miyota. I got my Miyota ZEX from Eddie:
I think what tends to confuse many people are the ones marked "Zeno-USA" which look nearly identical, use the Miyota movement, are much cheaper but are actually a completely different company.
Rick
rick, yes you are correct. i wrote that many of the non-legit had miyota calibers but i should have included that many legit ones had miyota calibers. yes the zeno-usa company was a major player in the non-legit market. by the way, i see you live in massachusetts. i moved from boston to chicago 4.5 years ago-- i gotta say i miss the east coast. 1 hour from boston one is in the mountains or by the ocean. 1 hour from chicago one is in a corn field, in gary indiana or stuck in traffic on one of the many miles and miles of concrete.
How domed is the glass?
Dom you have a picture from the side?
just got a miyota zex myself rick 8) loving it all for £65.00 delivered :shock: :mrgreen:Originally Posted by rickf
Well done. That's a lot of watch for little money.
Rick
Hand on heart, the Zex is the only watch in my entire collection that i could honestly say, i'd never sell.
Not a hope in hell, for the money, it's that good.
had never seen this model.
very nice watch, although I do not think it is easy to get one.
I have one inbound...hopefully be on my wrist next week.Originally Posted by cannedheat
Originally Posted by cpys11688
I now have my Zeno Explorer...it's a real nice watch.
Congratulations!
Jim :)
Well done that!
I still regret selling mine and am thinking of replacing it soon...
Wear it in good health,
Regards,
Marc
Originally Posted by Griswold
It' wonderful.
Is it ETA or Myota based?
Acrylic or sapphir crystal?
Thanks. Mine is the ETA based one with acrylic crystal. They really are something special. :)Originally Posted by watch111
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
Sapphire crystal!!?? :shock: :shock:
Bloody 'ell!
Jim :wink:
Originally Posted by Jim:
Sorry Jim, too many glasses of Lagavulin :!: :wink: :lol:
Post above amended. Still a great watch though. :D
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
That highly domed chrystal gives the watch a lot of character.