This Zenith desk chronograph was intended, so I am told, for use in a laboratory. It's difficult to judge how old it is, since it is quite possible that the movement was a NOS item sitting on the manufacturer's shelves for decades until a small special order came along.
The casework and base are nickle-plated brass and they provide a mass which ensures the unit stays steady when you press the button. The dial is enameled and at magnification shows some of the hairline cracks which such a dial tends to accumulate. The whole chronograph stands around 12cm or a little less that 5 inches tall.
The mechanism is based on a pin set single button pocket chronograph movement. Turning the crown winds the mainspring. The chronograph sequence is Start -> Stop -> Reset. Pressing the small spring-loaded button next to the crown allows the hands to be set by simultaneously turning the crown. The movement is not particularly decorative, but the implementation of the various levers and springs has a kind of vintage delicacy and elegance that it would be hard to find in a chronograph today.
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