The history of mechanical alarm wristwatches is quite interesting and extensive. The first true alarm wristwatch was developed by Vulcain in the early 1940s. Since then, more than 50 different movements have been created, and almost every serious watch company has issued at least one model with an alarm complication. However, the fact remains that only a few of them developed their own movement, while most used one of the “standard” movements.
What is somewhat unusual is that despite the variety of mechanical alarms, only two companies—Fortis and Zenith—developed chronograph movements with an alarm function. Even more surprisingly, no other company has tried to launch a chronograph alarm watch using either Fortis or Zenith movements. And that’s not the end of the surprises. The first alarm chronograph was developed quite late—in fact, it was made for Fortis by Paul Gerber after the Russian space agency commissioned such a chronograph in 1995!
Paul Gerber developed a movement called the F2001, based on the Valjoux (ETA) 7750 chronograph movement. It is a movement with two mainspring barrels—one dedicated to the watch and chronograph functions, and a separate one for the alarm. Both barrels are powered by the same rotor. The rotor is bigger and heavier than the one in the 7750 to provide enough power to wind both barrels. For the alarm sound, a tone spring is mounted beneath the rotor, which is why the alarm is not very loud.
The day-of-the-week complication was removed and repurposed for setting the alarm hand, while the freed-up window was used as an alarm on/off indicator.
For your information, ten years later the F2001 was upgraded to the F-2012, which added a GMT complication. Watches with this movement are extremely rare—I don’t have one...
The first alarm movements were installed in a 38 mm case, which at that time was the standard case size for the Cosmonauts series. I also have this version of the watch, and you can see pictures above. However, Fortis continued to use the movement in other series as well, resulting in quite a few different models of Fortis chronographs housed in larger cases. For better comparability between the two companies in this article, I will not compare the 38 mm Fortis Cosmonauts but rather one of its bigger brothers—the B-42 Marinemaster.
I must also emphasize that even though both watches use the same family of movements, the B-42 uses the sub-version F2001-5, which has a COSC certificate, while the official Cosmonauts used the first version, which was not COSC certified.
Of course, there are many other differences, but since I will focus on Fortis vs. Zenith, I will stop here regarding the “old” version of the Fortis alarm chronograph. As mentioned, for this comparison, I have chosen the Marinemaster to represent Fortis.
Now, let me introduce the competitor — the Zenith Pilot Doublematic.
It is only logical that Zenith decided to use its own chronograph movement, the El Primero, as the base for developing the chronograph alarm.
Based on the El Primero, in 2005 Zenith launched a state-of-the-art watch called the Zenith Grande Class Traveler Repetition Minutes, featuring the alarm chronograph movement known as Zenith 4031. Besides the alarm, the basic chronograph movement was also upgraded with GMT, minute repeater, big date, and double power reserve complications. This watch was released in a very limited edition and is almost impossible to acquire (and very expensive!). Unfortunately, I don’t own this watch either.
In 2009, a simplified version of the 4031 was released. This simplified alarm movement was called Zenith 4046 and was integrated into two Zenith models — the Class Traveler Open Multicity and the Pilot Doublematic. Compared to the original 4031 movement, the 4046 lost the minute repeater complication, and only the alarm power reserve remains (the alarm is hand-wound). It is clear that two spring barrels are used with two separate crowns. Besides the alarm and alarm power indicator, the big date and GMT complications remain in the simplified version. Of the two models with this movement, I own only the Pilot, so choosing the candidate for the “race” against the Fortis Marinemaster was easy.
Okay, everything is set now to begin the comparison. I will evaluate different aspects and give my subjective assessment with a score from 1 to 10, where 10 is the best.
General outlook and comfort:
| MEASURES | FORTIS | ZENITH |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter of the watch without crowns | 42 mm case; 46 mm bezel | 45 mm |
| max. diameter with all crowns | 49,1 mm | 51,2 mm |
| Height | 17,75 mm | 15,7 mm |
| Weight | 158 g | 124 g |
| L2L | 47 mm | 50 mm |
| Diameter of the dial | 35 mm | 37 mm total / 29,5 mm "pure" dial |
Some remarks are needed before drawing any conclusions. Both watches are stainless steel versions with sapphire crystals on both sides. The weight was measured including the strap — Fortis comes on a rubber strap, while Zenith has a leather strap. Both straps use similar clasps (Fortis’s clasp is larger).
Even though the Zenith is the bigger watch, it is quite obvious that it is more elegant and comfortable to wear. The main reason is the movement’s construction: since the base movement is the bulkier Valjoux 7750, the Fortis’s height becomes problematic.
I should also point out that the Marinemaster has a very large bezel with pronounced teeth. Most Fortis alarm chronographs have the standard 42 mm final diameter, and on those watches the proportion between diameter and height is even more drastic. Interestingly, the original “official cosmonaut” version in a titanium case with a titanium backplate is not as thick — it measures just 16 mm.
Despite being a large watch, the Zenith has some issues with dial size. In the table above, I presented two measurements: total diameter and “pure” dial size. If you look closely, you’ll notice that a large portion of the dial space is taken up by the GMT complication.
On the outer ring, the names of the cities representing different time zones are displayed, followed by an inner ring that shows the time for each respective zone. These two rings reduce the effective watch and chronograph dial size to just 29.5 mm.
Having said that, I must admit that both watches are very wearable — assuming your wrist is large enough for 44+ mm watches. For smaller wrists, Fortis might actually be the better option due to its smaller lug-to-lug length and simpler case design.
I decided not to rate the straps themselves, only the clasps. Zenith features a thinner, more elegant double clasp, while Fortis opts for a more robust single clasp. Together with the straps (Fortis on rubber, Zenith on leather), the clasps reflect the character of each watch.
Here I have to point out — I like rubber straps, but I dislike when they need to be cut to adjust the length. It’s an irreversible operation... And the Marinemaster has exactly this type of strap. I did not factor this into my rating.
Both watches have excellent luminova. In the picture, you can see the Marinemaster, Zenith, and Official Cosmonauts watches in a night view. The larger dial allows Fortis to have bigger numerals, giving it a slight advantage over Zenith; however, Zenith compensates with very clean and sharp numbers. By the way, I always wonder what the purpose is of having lume on the chronograph seconds hand — and only on that one out of all the chronograph hands. But that’s another story. Let’s just say both watches are equal in this regard.
Before giving the final verdict, I have to mention the rotor that powers the barrel(s). Namely, as mentioned in the introduction, Fortis has a very heavy rotor that powers both barrels, and this weight can be felt by the wearer. During sudden hand movements, you can often feel the rotor spinning on your wrist, and you can even hear it. Initially, this is interesting, but it becomes annoying over time. Zenith, on the other hand, runs quietly, almost unnoticed.
One final remark: Fortis offers better overall visibility of the hour and minute hands compared to Zenith. On the Zenith, the alarm hand can sometimes be mistaken for the minute hand since both hands share a very similar design and length, which can cause confusion in different lighting conditions. As mentioned, this issue doesn’t occur with Fortis, where the alarm hand is clearly distinct from the minute hand.
Based on all the information above, I have decided to rate the general outlook and comfort of wearing the watches as follows: Fortis 6/10 and Zenith 8/10.
Complications:
Both watches feature chronograph and alarm complications. While Fortis has a standard date display, Zenith offers a big date. Additionally, Zenith includes a GMT complication, which Fortis lacks (as said the F-2012 movement introduced the GMT function).
Interestingly, Zenith does not have a seconds hand for the watch itself. The usual small seconds subdial, common in El Primero movements, is omitted. Fortis, on the other hand, has the standard 7750 small seconds.
The 7750 movement generally includes a day-of-the-week complication, but as mentioned earlier, this feature is sacrificed in Fortis’s alarm chronograph to accommodate the alarm function (which will be considered in the alarm evaluation). So, there is no added value here compared to Zenith.
Fortis clearly has a bezel with 15-minute markings, while Zenith does not. Although this bezel could provide some competitive advantage, it is not a critical feature for a chronograph watch.
When deciding on the final assessment, I also considered whether to weigh the big date versus the standard date differently. In the end, I rated them equally since both serve the same function for the end user.
My final verdict: Fortis 7/10 and Zenith 8/10.
Watch and chronograph:
Here we can open a discussion about which chronograph is better — the 7750 or the El Primero. Even though my heart is with the El Primero, the fact remains that the 7750 is an extremely reliable and robust movement, easy to maintain, and by far the most popular automatic chronograph movement in the world. Meanwhile, Zenith’s El Primero is a more complicated column wheel chronograph, with a higher frequency (A/h), a higher price tag, and a more visually appealing movement.
Since both have chronometer certification, I decided to value them equally. Again, as with the big date, my main consideration here is the experience of the "normal" user rather than the horological masterpiece aspect of the movement. I’m sure there are many pros and cons to this decision.
However, I cannot treat equally the fact that on the Zenith only a 30-minute sub-dial is present, while on the Fortis there are two sub-dials — a 30-minute and a 12-hour. So with the Zenith, you can measure only up to 30 minutes, whereas with the Fortis you can measure up to 12 hours. That is an important difference! Therefore, for the watch/chronograph function, I decided to give 9/10, Zenith 7/10.
Alarm:
For the beginning, let us first hear the alarm in action. All three watches ring at a similar volume, though the type of sound differs. The duration of the ringing is also very similar. I recorded all three watches, including the Official Cosmonauts watch:
Before starting a discussion about the alarm complication, I must point out an important difference — although both watches have a separate barrel for the alarm, there is a conceptual difference in how the alarm barrel is powered. In the Fortis, the alarm barrel is powered automatically together with the watch barrel, while in the Zenith the alarm barrel is powered independently and manually.
At first glance, it seems obviously better to have the alarm barrel powered automatically, so by default Fortis should be better. But the truth is not so straightforward. Manual winding of the alarm barrel gives much more control over the alarm status. What’s the most important thing about an alarm? That it rings at the desired time, right? If the spring barrel is empty, it won’t ring. With manual winding, you can be sure if the barrel is fully wound or not. With automatically powered barrels, that certainty is lost. For example, JLC — one of the most important producers of alarm movements — deliberately does not power the alarm barrel automatically in their automatic movements.
This makes the presence of an alarm power indicator very important for automatically powered barrels. And Fortis does not have one. Fun fact — Zenith does! Even though its alarm barrel is hand-wound, it has a power indicator for the alarm. Why? Because the alarm spring barrel can be wound indefinitely. You cannot overwind it. The power indicator (which is quite unusual) shows when the alarm barrel is fully wound, so you know when you don’t need to wind it any further. But if you want, you can keep winding without any consequences.
What works in Fortis’s favor is that you can also wind the alarm barrel manually. So, if you’re unsure of the alarm power status, just wind it a few times to be safe. Since the alarm has a separate barrel, it remains fully powered until the next ringing — the watch movement does not exhaust it! This is far better than some other automatic alarm watches where the alarm and watch share the same barrel.
Back to the main point: Is Fortis really better than Zenith just because the alarm is also powered automatically? No — the truth is quite the opposite. Hand-winding Zenith’s alarm is probably the better solution.
Both watches have an alarm indicator to show whether the alarm is on or off. Here, they are equal.
Setting the alarm time is done by the central alarm hand on both watches. Fortis shows only 5-minute intervals on the hour dial, resulting in about a 12-minute accuracy span when setting the alarm. Zenith, however, has minute markers on the hour dial, allowing for approximately 2.4-minute accuracy. But you’d need excellent eyesight to set the alarm that precisely. In practice, it’s easier to set the alarm on the Fortis, especially in the 6:00–8:00 range (when most people need their alarm, right?). Interestingly, Zenith’s power indicator sits exactly over the number 7 in this range.
Both watches allow setting (or activating) the alarm only 12 hours in advance, which is common for mechanical alarm watches. But better options do exist — for example, some watches allow setting the alarm 24 hours ahead, and the Glashütte Diary/Terminkalender even allows setting the alarm up to 31 days in advance!
Verdict on the alarm function: Fortis 7/10; Zenith 8/10.
Price:
This is tricky. All watches discussed here have been out of production for a long time. So the only relevant comparison is the price of used watches on today’s market. A very rough estimate for the EU market is: Official Cosmonaut versions (38 mm) around €3,000; Marinemaster or other 42 mm versions around €5,000; and Zenith around €9,000, give or take 20%. Based on this, I give Fortis 7/10 and Zenith 5/10 for price.
FINAL VERDICT
Do we have a winner? Yes and no.
If we sum the individual points, Fortis and Zenith both score 36 points. I was not trying to equalize the scores — so there’s no outright winner here.
But the truth is more nuanced and lies in the details. The key question is: why do you want an alarm chronograph? Depending on your answer, you should weigh each criterion differently. For example, for some people, general outlook is paramount and complications matter little; for others, the alarm function is key, and the chronograph is irrelevant (or vice versa). Price might be the deciding factor for some, and unimportant for others.
To add some weight to these evaluations as I see it, I assigned the following weights to the parameters:
a) General outlook – weight 3. Reason: in this section, I covered the main standard questions any user values in every watch;
b) Alarm – weight 3. Reason: at the end of the day, this is the most important feature of these two watches. If you don’t want or need an alarm complication, you can choose from tons of other chronographs, right?
c) Price – weight 2. For the majority of us, price is always a factor...
d) Chronograph – weight 1.5. I know that in fact 99% of chronograph users don’t need a chronograph at all, but similar to the alarm, there are tons of alarm watches without chronograph functions, so chronograph still deserves some extra weight;
e) Complications – weight 0.5. Nice features but not the main reasons to buy this kind of watch.
Applying these weights, the total scores become:
-
Fortis: (18 + 21 + 14 + 13.5 + 3.5) / 100 = 70/100
-
Zenith: (24 + 24 + 10 + 10.5 + 4) / 100 = 72.5/100
So, Zenith edges out Fortis by a small margin.
To complicate things further, many users would actually choose the 38 mm Fortis version — the smallest and cheapest one — which offers almost everything the Marinemaster has. For smaller wrists, that choice is clear.
In conclusion: you can’t really go wrong with either watch. Both (or all) are excellent!
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