Posts Tagged ‘El Primero’
01.0210.415 ‘Surf’ Zenith El Primero
The El Primero story is lore, not only for its extreme ambition in engineering but equally that the world almost lost the calibre through the quartz crisis. Thank god for Charles Vermot, the watchmaker who disobeyed Zenith’s head office instructions to sell off all things to do with mechanical watchmaking, hiding away the plans, spares,…
Read MoreTropical A384 Zenith El Primero
1969 was quite the year. Aside from Omega’s all-time greatest product placement, the Swiss were manufacturing some seriously attractive metal. There was the iconic Speedmaster, the 6263 Daytona, and the El Primero. Zenith’s chronograph did not receive attention in proportion to the impressiveness of its engineering in period. The El Primero has really only been…
Read More01.0372.400 Black Dial Zenith El Primero Rainbow
This Zenith is, by definition, an oxymoron. Black rainbows don’t exist in the physical world, but do exist—if only just—in El Primero. The Rainbow is an El Primero with a complex and fascinating history, from 1992 introduction with one calibre, to 1995 Elite Rainbow introduction with another, to 1997 EP Rainbow with flyback. The models…
Read MoreTropical A384 Zenith El Primero
1969 was quite the year. Aside from Omega’s all-time greatest product placement, the Swiss were manufacturing some seriously attractive metal. There was the iconic Speedmaster, the 6263 Daytona, and the El Primero. Zenith’s chronograph did not receive attention in proportion to the impressiveness of its engineering in period. The El Primero has really only been…
Read MoreA3818 ‘Cover Girl’ Zenith El Primero
Make no mistake, this is no revival reissue. I once described Zenith’s easy, breezy, beautiful 1971 Cover Girl both legendary and seemingly unattainable, something of a Mewtwo amongst El Primeros. Obscure Pokémon references aside, that changed today when this gem was listed. The Cover Girl isn’t just a pretty dial, but one of the rarest…
Read MoreA3817 Zenith El Primero
Perhaps not terribly well known, the storied A386 is not the sole Zenith chronograph to sport the famous ‘tricolore’ dial. One lesser known, latter analogue took the theme and moved the design forward substantially. Moreover, this latter four-digit reference brought in a sportier ‘cover girl’ A3818-styled tonneau case and the famous ‘sharks tooth’ seconds track,…
Read MoreValue Prop: Mk3 02.1310.400 Zenith De Luca
The quantity of inconspicuous vintage Zenith references whose value remains unrecognized bewilders me. This is probably the result of a somewhat chaotic and ever-changing brand philosophy filtered through the El Primero name. The De Luca took Zenith’s incredible hi-beat calibre 400 base (or 3019 PHC in the very early ones) and added an opaline-porcelain dial.…
Read MoreMk1 Porcelain Zenith De Luca
When I say El Primero, you likely imagine the A386. You may even think A384, A3818, hell maybe you even think of the G381. What you almost certainly do not imagine is this: the early 90s chronograph which goes by De Luca. And yet, that’s a shame, because it’s one of the more classical modern El Primeros (if a…
Read More1 of 100 Zenith x Revolution ‘Cover Girl’ A3818 Revival
The easy, breezy, beautiful 1971 Zenith A3818 Cover Girl is something of Mewtwo to me. That is to say, it is legendary and I simply cannot seem to capture it. Despite that, the modern world has offered one hell of a consolation prize. Zenith has been on something of home run in recent years with…
Read MoreMk1 Zenith A386 El Primero
‘The want’ is very strong with vintage Zenith. I want an original covergirl, G381, A277, Moonphase Calibre 3019 PHF Prototype, I could go on. . . In that list most definitely lies the Mk1 A386. This is, to put it on the nose, the first of the first automatic chronographs. Why do I seek that?…
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