A Zenith 384 The Zenith El Primero 384 A 1971 Zenith From 1997, the Zenith El
from 1969 from 1969-1972 AH 781 Primero Rainbow Flyback.
ZENITH EL PRIMERO TIMELINE:
1962: The idea of launching an automatic chronograph takes root at
Zenith.
1966: Between 1966 and 1967, Zenith’s management decides to create
the first ultra-thin, high frequency integrated automatic chronograph
caliber, beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour, and thus able to measure
one-tenths of a second.
1995: The first appearances of the El Primero through a sapphire case-
back were fully highlighted with the top-of-the-range ChronoMaster line,
which displays its flagship movement through the transparent back.
1997: El Primero adds a new flyback function dedicated to aviation
enthusiasts in its Rainbow Flyback models.
1999: LVMH buys Zenith.
1969: On January 10, 1969, at a press conference held in Le Locle,
Zenith-Movado announces the birth of El Primero. Zenith-Movado
was therefore the first manufacturer to publicly announce its own
automatic chronograph. Two other groups (Seiko and the Chromatic
group composed of Hamilton-Buren, Breitling, Heuer and Dubois-
Dépraz) launch–and distribute– automatic chronographs in 1969,
1971: U.S.-based Zenith Radio Corporation, originally a radio and
then television manufacturer based in Chicago, buys Zenith. The
American administrators no longer believed in the future of mechanical
watchmaking, but they had faith in quartz.
1975: In the midst of the watchmaking ‘quartz’ crisis, the new owners
decide to cease production of mechanical movements and thus to
dispose of the stocks of tooling and machinery required to manufacture
the movement.
1976: Against management orders, Charles Vermot, the foreman of
Workshop 4 and who had written to management pleading to save the
tools (to no avail), decides to safeguard the tools necessary for the
manufacture of El Primero. In all, he managed to save about 150 presses
along with many small tools and cams, which he hides in an attic (see
accompanying story). After storing all the tools, he builds a wall in that
part of the attic so no one would discover its secret.
2003: Zenith launches Chronomaster Open.
Through a purpose-built dial opening, the El
Primero’s escapement is visible.
2004: Under the LVMH group, El Primero welcomes a tourbillon for a
model named Grande ChronoMaster XXT Tourbillon. This was the first
high-frequency tourbillon on the market. Zenith also releases the
first feminine version of the ChronoMaster Open, called Open Star. Its
opening was heart-shaped.
2010: Zenith launches the El Primero Striking 10th. Its seconds hand
performs a full spin of the dial in ten seconds and the watch displays
tenths of a second.
2012: Felix Baumgartner breaks the speed of sound in a free fall while
wearing Zenith’s El Primero Stratos Flyback Striking 10TH.
2014: At the GPHG, the Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Lightweight
wins the Sports Prize. This El Primero lightweight chronograph teams a
titanium and silicon movement with an ultra-sporty carbon case.
2015: Zenith celebrates its 150th anniversary with the launch of the
Zenith El Primero: Chronomaster 1969, a 150-piece limited edition.
1978: Zenith Radio Corporation sells Zenith Watches SA to a consortium
of three Swiss manufacturers.
2017: Zenith launches the Defy El Primero 21, able
to measure and display a degree of accuracy
representing an authentic mechanical feat: one
hundredth of a second. Zenith also presents the
Defy Lab, equipped with a revolutionary new
monobloc oscillator made of monocrystalline
silicon. The Defy Lab wins the GPHG Innovation
Watch Prize.
1984: Rolex wants to modernize its Daytona model and equip it with an
El Primero caliber. Zenith could not afford to invest from scratch, and
one employee contacts Vermot, who had retired. Vermot returned to
Zenith and showed the new owners where he hid the El Primero’s tools,
dies and manuals.
1988: As part of a new ten-year contract signed with Rolex, Zenith
delivers the first new El Primeros. The first Daytona watches equipped
with a Zenith movement are presented at the Basel Fair.
2019: To commemorate fifty years of El Primero, Zenith launches a
series of celebratory El Primero watches (see this article for details).
Source: Zenith
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