Zenith El Primero

Details

This Zenith comes in it's original box with papers, warranty card dated and present.

There are light resting marks on on the side of the case, minor scratches on the 11 o'clock lug. Leather strap slightly worn.

ZENITH

Zenith is a watch brand with a storied and genuinely interesting history. Like many other brands, it began its early history making watches for the rich and famous, including a pocket watch which was gifted by Indian independence leaders Indira Nehru to Mahatma Gandhi.

In 1969, Zenith became one of the three companies that released an automatic chronograph movement. This was particularly notable as prior to this horological arms race an automatic chronograph was considered extremely difficult to design.

When the Quartz Crisis hit, however, Zenith's run ended. The El Primero, once Zenith's flagship, went out of production. While other brands scrapped or sold their tooling, Charles Vermot, a senior engineer who helped develop the movement, decided to dismantle but keep the El Primero's tooling.

This saved Zenith. Only a few years later, Rolex chose the El Primero movement to power its new, revamped Daytona. Zenith was able to return the movement to the production line, and as a result won the contract to supply Rolex. This provided them with a lifetime, which allowed Zenith to make its comeback into the globally-recognised brand which it is today.