Lot 321

Zenith

El Primero

A very rare and attractive wrist chronograph with full calendar, moon phase and tachy scale

Sold

From 1983 to 1984, only 210 watches of this reference were produced. It was made for the US-American market, the tachy scale is divided into miles, the day of the week and the month are in English writing.
This timepiece spent the last 25 years untouched in a safe and a layer of gold oxide has formed on the case. This is highly appreciated by collectors, it can, however, easily be removed by polishing the surface.

"El Primero surely is one of the best known calibres in the watchmaking industry. Even non-insiders or those who take only a fleeting interest in watches are likely to have heard of El Primero - it is a name that stands for supreme quality chronometers. This should not come as a surprise; it is after all a movement built to meet the requirements for over 40 years.
Today’s collectors are particularly keen on the models with featuring 3019. As only small series of the individual models were produced that also had a lot of variants, some watches from this time are almost impossible to find nowadays and the prices asked for them are suitably high."
Source: Manfred Rössler, El Primero - der Chronograph, Forstinning 2015, p. 10f.