2012 Zenith Chronomaster El Primero

In 1969, Zenith joined Heuer and Seiko as the first brands to develop and launch an automatic chronograph watch. Zenith’s mechanism was the most complex of the group, utilizing a column-wheel chronograph within a high-beat movement that could maintain accuracy down to 1/10 of a second. They dubbed their achievement the “El Primero” and later that year paired it with a distinctive tri-colored dial under the iconic A386.

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Zenith would continue producing its El Primero movement for only a few short years before the company was sold to the Zenith Radio Corporation in 1971. The new ownership focused the brand’s efforts on emerging Quartz technology instead, and by 1975 the mechanical workshop was closed and its machinery removed. However, one of Zenith’s senior engineers, Charles Vermot, secretly stored the El Primero’s manufacturing equipment and instructions in the building’s attic.

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In the 1980s, when industry titan Rolex was in need of an automatic movement for its flagship chronograph, Vermot and Zenith — now back under Swiss ownership — were able to deliver by quickly resuming production of the El Primero. While the caliber is no longer used by Rolex, the partnership catapulted the El Primero’s reputation, and Zenith has made it their focal point ever since.

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The watch offered is part of  Zenith’s post-millenium effort to recapture the visual essence of the brand’s first El Primero models. Using the original A386 as its inspiration, this counterpart from the 2010s bears the same tricolor subdials, angled lugs, and red chronograph seconds hand. Even the dimensions are shared at 38mm. However the modern version has a few compelling differences, including a case design that better contours to the wrist, and an exhibition caseback that proudly displays the 36,000 VpH movement.