This Zenith Chronomaster Revival Manufacture Edition is part of a new collection, and although it is not limited in production, it is intended to be an exclusive piece, available uniquely to visitors of the Zenith Manufacture. The best thing about this edition is the choice of stainless steel making it substantially more accessible than its three gold counterparts. As such, the new Zenith Chronomaster Revival Manufacture Edition is housed in a 38mm case, with faceted lugs, radial brushed and polished surfaces, flat (and thin) bezel, pump-style chronograph pushers and a box-shaped sapphire crystal (identical in design to the original Plexiglas). To accommodate this special, historic dial, there was no other option than to use the Revival case, a model based on the design of the original 1969 El Primero A386, recreated to its exact dimensions and using the blueprints of the original watch, in order to preserve its proportions. No records exist of these presumably prototype blue tri-colour dials, but considering that they were kept with prototype dials of the A386 in the same configuration it was commercialized in 1969, one can assume that is was part of the original prototype dials for the A386, and that Charles Vermot himself hid them in the attic along with all the other El Primero tools.” The beauty of this dial, and the story behind how it was found, compelled Zenith to produce it in a modern re-edition. In it, remarkably preserved after decades, were a number of dials, (…) as the signature El Primero tri-colour dial of the A386, and more remarkably, another version of the tri-colour dials, using three different shades of blue.
The Zenith Chronomaster Revival Manufacture Edition, inspired by a tri-colour prototype dial found in the attic.Īs for today’s topic, Zenith explains that: “ there in the attic, among the countless artefacts and pristinely preserved tools, a small, unassuming and unlabeled box was uncovered. This act allowed Zenith to resume the production of El Primero without having to redevelop tooling in the mid-1980s. Ignoring orders, Vermot secretly hid all the equipment and tooling necessary for the production of the chronograph movements behind a sealed wall in the grenier or attic of the Zenith Manufacture. But it was saved by Charles Vermot, a specialist in chronograph movement construction at Zenith.
Aiming to market quartz watches exclusively, the Chicago-based company decided to stop the production of all mechanical movements, including the venerable El Primero. So today, not only is there a new model paying tribute to the legendary chronograph, but it is available in a more accessible material.Īs quartz watches were gaining popularity in the mid-1970s, Zenith was sold to an American company called the Zenith Radio Corporation. While the first one was re-edited and is now part of the permanent collection, the most iconic of the lot, the A386, has only been offered in very limited series, for the 50th anniversary of the El Primero, in steel or in gold. Without reviewing the story behind the 1969 El Primero movement ( which you can read here), which was one of the three first automatic chronograph calibres ever created, it is worth noting that it was, in fact, a trilogy of watches that Zenith launched to inaugurate its innovative, integrated, high-beat automatic chronograph, with the references A384, A385 and A386. So, let’s have a closer look at this new Zenith Chronomaster Revival Manufacture Edition.
Finally, this watch marks the “Manufacture Edition” series. Second, it reproduces a previously unknown prototype dial, which was once made for the A386 but never used. First of all, it will be the final version of the A386 available with the original Revival case. At first, you might think that this new watch is a vintage re-edition of the iconic 1969 El Primero A386 – which it is, and that’s already quite something, as this one is stainless steel.
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