THE ATTIC’S SECRETS
Inside a little box hidden in the attic of its building, the brand from Le Locle came across one-of-a-kind dials which it turned into a timepiece which is also one-of-a-kind as it’s only sold to those visiting its manufacture and on its e-commerce platform.
Although the history of the famous El Primero started out in Zenith’s workshops back in 1969, its roots are actually to be found in the brand’s attic. It’s somewhat thanks to the eaves of this historic building and, more especially, thanks to Charles Vermot that this high-performing motor, now in its fifties, is alive. Today, the attic is once again in the limelight as dials, most likely prototypes from the 1970s, were discovered there in perfect condition. Dials which led to the creation of the Chronomaster Revival Manufacture Edition, a model exclusively on sale to those who visit the manufacture and on the e-commerce platform which Zenith rolled out this May.
The particularity of these tricolored dials is that their counters are snailed and boast three different nuances of blue: light for the small seconds, in-between for the hour totalizer and dark for the minutes, whilst the chronograph seconds are displayed in the center via a red direct-drive. The hours and running minutes are hovered over by a pair of baton-shaped two-tone black and white hands and the date features at 4:30. The white-lacquered dial also hosts a seconds scale on a black ring and a tachymeter on the flange.
On the right side of the 38 mm-diameter steel case, the pushers used for the chronograph take on a piston-style look typical of the 1970s. The El Primero 400 caliber, a self-winding movement set at a frequency of 36,000 vibrations an hour and delivering a power reserve of 50 hours, nestles inside the metallic case.
Price: CHF8,900 zenith.com
By Sharmila Bertin