Chronographs - Heuer or Zenith?

I know you specified modern available pieces, but what about fictional ones? 🤣

Personally, if I could somehow divine from thin air a vintage style Heuer Carrera case with the El Primero 1/10th second movement in it and slap some tricolor subdials on that sucker... Oh boy. 

Otherwise, if you're going to make me follow the rules, I GUESS I'd go with Zenith for their technical prowess with movements. You know, if I HAD to... 

Both pretty, but I‘d go with the Zenith.  The El Primero movement is simply superior from a technical point of view, provided that you can handle the shorter service intervals which come from the higher beat rate.

Zenith, duh. The brand live on the reputation of their chrono movement. 

It is tough call, but the movement weighs in favor of the Zenith.

Zenith for the win!

ohhh do We really have to choose … ok Zenith like all the knuckle heads above me..

I really like the relative low contrast between the dial and the sub dials in both watches. I made my choise last week and I say the different colors on the sub dials on the Zenith made it more playful and were the tipping point for me.

I like both but Zenith is the much better watch.

Both really nice, but the Zenith is the best.

Zenith.  Movement is special.

I will say Zenith too. The movement is better and that has been beaten to death, but for me its the design. I like the multi-colored registers. Gives the watch a bit of a pop. But I might be the only person on the planet that prefers the Chronomaster Sport with a black dial over the white.

My favorite Zenith is the A384 Revival with the Cappuccino dial. That watch is simply stunning.

Gotta be Zenith..

Zenith is the answer you're probably you'll get the most.  However, calculations may change once you factor in the price.  If I were going to go with the Heuer, I'd go with the Monaco as it's the most unique and interesting design of theirs imo.

I love my Heuer CBE2118. I’m a huge motorsport fan, so I appreciate heritage and history even more in this watch category. It looks very similar to some of the watches Mario Andretti owned back in the day. I know the Zenith is more impressive on a technical note, but my Heuer brings me joy only found from  having a shared experience with top racecar drivers. I love putting on my watch and pretending I’m a Formula One driver from the 70s.

Here’s a fun promotional image that came out with the CBE2118.

And an ad that promoted the Autavia “Viceroy” in the 70s.

Niki Lauda wearing his Heuer.

Niki’s teammate, Clay Regazzoni, wearing his.

Jo Siffert wearing his Heuer Autavia. He’s often credited for convincing Steve McQueen to wear a Heuer in the movie Le Mans.

Everybody’s seen this one.

Sticking with movies: here’s Matt Damon playing Carroll Shelby in Ford vs. Ferrari wearing a Heuer Carrera. I know it’s just a movie, but it‘s a testament to Heuer being associated with racing.

My favorite driver, Mario Andretti, wearing his Heuer Autavia.

Last, but not least: reigning 2 time F1 champ Max Verstappen wearing his Tag Heuer Monaco.

I am not one of the Tag haters…. But zenith all day long presuming money isn’t a factor. 
besides the El Premiero being an icon the build quality of just much better on most zeniths.  

That Huer looks awesome. That would be my choice. Both are awesome though. 👌 

Heuer. 
better balance between movement and looks (which is subjective, I know). 
zenith has the better engine under the hood but vintage styled Heuers are timeless and the 4:30 date wart (sorry - window) is why ill never own an el Primero.  😢

Apologies in advance to all non-meat eaters for this analogy - it’s like choosing between a cowboy ribeye (Heuer) and a bone-in filet (Zenith).

I love a good cowboy ribeye, but will always choose the bone-in filet, if available.

Can‘t go wrong with either.

Have you put a Monaco on your wrist? The square size and the prominent thickness make it a watch that I personally cannot pull off with my 6.75" wrist. Your mileage my vary, but it is certainly not for everyone. Great design, but wearability is an issue for me at least.

Looks vs specs? This may be sacrilege for those that geek out on movements and like to argue specs but Heuer. 
 

Waiting for my TAG chrono to come back from service. Returned under service warranty 4 times. 
 

That being said classic Heuer Would be great but as a new watch and it’s in budget Zenith for the win

The Zenith is generally in higher price tier (I think) and their heritage, movements and designs can't be denied so all OTHER things being equal, I prefer the Zenith.  

Still, as @christian108108 pointed out, I love pretending to be a boy racer and the reissues of classic Heuer racing designs have almost caused one to land in my collection (only reason it didn't was because the "new" watch at the AD had pealing protective stickers and a clearly worn leather band that already had conformed to someone else's wrist).  

I get the feeling Tags are valued less in general by collectors these days but don't know why. 

Heuer, FTMFW!  I might agree the specs of the Zeinth look better, but I don't care about that.  Not all decisions are based on specs.

While I love vintage carreras, I prefer the modern Zenith‘s design and movement. 

You can’t go wrong with either brand. I have a 12 year old Tag Aquaracer Chrono that I can’t seem to walk away from. 

I'd love a Carrera or an Autavia reissue. Here's my unpopular opinion: TAG chronos are way more pleasant to operate than the El Primero. I have handled several TAGs, and in my previous job as a watch salesman, I sold some. I don't know what magic TH worked on the Sellita SW-500, or how did they pull it off in the Heuer 02, but that chrono action was butter-smooth. Even the SW-500 aka Calibre 16 beat the hell out of the Longines L688 column wheel...and of the Zenith Striking 10th. Don't get me wrong, the El Primero is a fantastic movement, and I'd especially love the A384 reissue, but... Zenith EP prices - IMO - no longer reflect the quality I'd expect of them. TAG Heuer, meanwhile, even works wonders on a Valjoux 775X/SW-500 without actually altering its architecture. Speaks volumes of how much work they choose to do on an ebauche rather than leave it all to Sellita.

Between these two id go with the Zenith, then the red carrera.... But there is a Heuer that I would choose over both... the jack heuer 40th anniversary

Shamelessly plugging #zenith yet again. Love everything about the brand especially the #chronograph movement, tri-color subdials, size, heritage, and reliability. Zenith all the way in this battle royale! 

Heuer. All the more because it's decades long involvement in F1 as its official time keeper, is its ultimate demo of its pedigree. It's heritage in the sport is legendary. Plus, they look cooler, hands down. 😎 

So after numerous responses, here is my assessment...

Heuer - wins the heart

Zenith - wins the mind

And I think that is about right.

I do have to say though, that when it comes to vintage watches...I'm more of a Heuer collector. I was scrolling through my database and I only found these vintage Zenith chronographs (including Movado/Zenith so as to be historically correct since they were once the same company from 1968 through 1984)...

Here is what I have for Heuer in vintage...

And made by Heuer white labeled for Thermidor...