With that, it's possible that other parts may have been found. The ‘shadow’ A384 has a similar story, and it seems like the sample case shown on the Zenith site is legit. Given the Zenith manufacture apparently only has a few hundred employees, I find it plausible that there were unexplored parts of the Vermot attic that held secrets within.It’s already been discussed on this thread that Zenith's story regarding the subdial colors may be a little 'sus'.That kept me from really getting into Zenith until the release of this manufacture edition.įor those who don't already know, some context:
That said, the modern interpretations of the A386 didn’t interest me at the time, and there wasn’t (and still isn’t) a whole lot of readily available information regarding vintage versions. (A384, A385, and A386) Really, all I knew about the watch was that it was smartly sized despite being automatic, and vintage pieces looked pretty great.
CHRONOMASTER REVIVAL A386 MANUFACTURE EDITION ZIP
However, I didn’t know zip about the different models. When this watch first came out, I had already known of the El Primero’s story.There are a decent amount of pictures though! Heads up, this first post is pretty long. The Zenith El Primero is a watch I had seen threads and posts about but never managed to really dive into, until now. Beating within it is the same movement it would have had if it was made in 1969, the venerable El Primero high-frequency automatic chronograph with column wheel.Many watch enthusiasts, myself included, typically think of only a few watches when considering chronographs. What makes this edition significant and even more unique is that the Chronomaster Revival Manufacture Edition is in fact the final version of the A386 available with the original “Revival” case. The 38mm stainless steel case with pump-style pushers is an exact reproduction of the A386 from 1969, using the blueprints of the original to preserve the proportions of the iconic chronograph. To bring this prototype to life, it was only appropriate that Zenith produces it as a Revival piece. We may never know if the dial with three shades of blue was intended as an alternative to the A386’s dial or intended for a different model, but its striking beauty and intriguing history compelled the watchmakers at Zenith to finally put it into production.
No records exist of these presumably prototype blue tri-color 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. In it, remarkably preserved after decades, were a number of dials: The signature El Primero tri-color dial of the A386 that became a design icon, and more remarkably, another version of the tri-color dials, using three different shades of blue. There in the attic, among the countless artifacts and pristinely preserved tools that the heroic Charles Vermot had hidden away in the 1970s during the quartz crisis, a small, unassuming and unlabeled box was uncovered. While going through the grenier or attic of the main historical Zenith Manufacture building last year during the El Primero’s 50th anniversary, an unexpected discovery was made. Like a time capsule sheltered from our ever-changing world, the grenier or attic of the Zenith Manufacture is a special place indeed, with many secrets still being uncovered today. The Chronomaster Revival Manufacture Edition is exclusively available on Zenith’s newly launched e-commerce platform, as well as to visitors of the Zenith Manufacture in Le Locle. For its first Manufacture Edition, Zenith has reproduced a previously unknown prototype dial of its most iconic chronograph. While the anniversary is over, Zenith continues to celebrate the venerable calibre with a number of new and exclusive watches. Zenith uncovers a never-before-seen prototype dial for the special Chronomaster Revival Manufacture EditionĢ019 was a year of commemoration for the El Primero, the world’s first automatic high-frequency chronograph movement, which marked its 50th anniversary last year.
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