An iconic timepiece: Zenith El Primero

A watch must be beautiful, of course, but above all it must tell the right time. The movement is literally the ticking heart of the watch. Despite the fact that the movement is usually hidden inside and, at most, can be viewed through a sapphire glass in the back cover, some still grow into icons. And this is certainly one of them: the Zenith El Primero.

Why the name? 

El Primero translates to "the first," but the first "what? Well, the first timepiece to combine the chronograph function with automatic winding. Both functions had existed independently in wristwatches for over a quarter century, yet no one had combined the functions. In the course of the 1960s, both functions became increasingly commonplace, so an automatic chronograph was a logical next step. So it was that three parties were in the race to produce the first: Seiko with the 6139, a consortium of Heuer, Buren and Breitling with the chrono-matic cal. 11 and Zenith with the El Primero. Which of these parties was really the first, opinions are divided. What is certain is that 1969 marked the beginning of a technical leap forward with a whole new category of timepieces and watches.

Not a success story

Super convenient such an automatic chronograph, that must have been an instant commercial success! Well, no.... The movement was complex, counted many parts and was therefore expensive to produce (and buy). In addition, this innovation came at exactly the wrong time. In the early 1970s, Zenith was getting tough: the quartz era was dawning and mechanical watches were suddenly old-fashioned.

The Swiss brand was taken over by an American company that thought enough was enough with all those gears and balance springs - quartz was the future. Production of the legendary El Primero timepiece had to stop, and orders were given to destroy the machines and production drawings. But one courageous watchmaker, Charles Vermot, thought otherwise. He secretly stored parts, tools and technical documentation in a locked room in the attic of the factory. Many years later, in the 1980s, the love of mechanics returned. Watch brands wanted to reintroduce the automatic chronograph, but the development of such a movement was very expensive and too risky an investment for most brands. Therefore, brands such as Ebel and Rolex knocked on Zenith's door to reintroduce automatic chronographs. The management initially thought this was not possible because all technical knowledge had disappeared, until Vermot's hidden treasure emerged. Thanks to his disobedience, the El Primero timepiece was able to make a glorious comeback.

Technical properties

To this day, the El Primero movement is central to the Zenith brand. This while, for example, the chrono-matic movement of Buren, Heuer and Breitling was withdrawn from production quite soon. What makes this timepiece so special?
Apart from the combination of automatic winding and a chronograph, the movement also integrated a date function with fast advance and a particularly high tick rate (hi-beat) of 36,000 per hour, or 10 ticks per second. This made the movement more accurate and even brought the ability to measure elapsed time to the tenth of a second. The more than 275 parts needed for this were assembled into a movement only 6.5mm thick, compared to the 7.7mm thickness of the chrono-matic cal. 11 movement, for example. This made it possible to produce much thinner and thus more comfortable to wear watches.

A favorite ofn the industry

So the movement was revived after interest from other brands. Zenith produced the movements and sold them to other manufacturers to put in watches. Over the years, almost no timepiece has been used by as many manufacturers as the El Primero. It is notable, however, that most brands only ran a single model/model line with it. Think of:

• Movado cal. 401 and 403 - Movado Datron HS 360
• Ebel cal. 134 - Ebel Sport Classic Chronograph
• Rolex cal. 4030 - Rolex Daytona ref. 165xx
• Panerai cal. OP IV - Panerai Luminor chronograph
• Parmigiani Fleurier cal 19001 - Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Chronograph
• Hublot cal. HUB 4700 - Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Chronograph
• Daniel Roth DR 400 - Daniel Roth S247 chronograph
• Urban Jurgensen 3019 PHF - Urban jurgensen reference 1 (triple date chronograph)
• Tag Heuer cal. 36 - multiple models such as Tag Heuer Monza, Tag Heuer Link, Tag heuer Monaco, Tag Heuer Grand Carrera

Oscar Waldan

Nor should the name of Oscar Waldan, founder of Waldan Watches, go unmentioned when the story of the El Primero is told. This watchmaker purchased some of the El Primero timepieces and parts from Zenith in the 1970s when the brand ceased production. They were specifically the 3019 PHF movements, the variant of the movement with triple date and moon phase. He used the movements for watches that he offered to brands and retailers. Thus, watches using this movement were created with the likes of Ulysse Nardin, Tourneau and Tiffany & Co. on the dial.
It is also said that Waldan later played an important role in putting both Ebel and Rolex in touch with Zenith when they were looking for an automatic chronograph in the 1980s.

Conclusion

The El Primero movement has become part and parcel of the history of watchmaking and the history of the many brands that have used it. Do you have a watch with this movement for sale? Or are you just looking for one of these legendary watches? Let us know!