Among them was the A385, a tonneau-shaped steel chronograph with an eye-catching brown gradient dial, which was the first “smoked” dial ever to be made in the watch industry and for Zenith. It made its debut in three distinct stainless steel models. It was the year that the Zenith El Primero, the world’s first automatic high-frequency chronograph, was unveiled to the world. Recommended retail prices as at Ī legend is born again: Zenith is bringing back one of the earliest and most emblematic El Primero- equipped chronographs from the earliest days of the revolutionary calibre in the form of a Chronomaster Revival model.ġ969 was certainly a year to remember for Zenith and would go down in the annals of watchmaking history as the year that forever changed the chronograph. Prices: CHF 7,900 (strap) and CHF 8,400 (bracelet). The model is available on a choice of steel ‘ladder’ bracelet or light brown calf leather strap. The acrylic glass of yesteryear is supplanted with tougher sapphire crystal and the caseback sets aside the solid item of 1969 in favour of an exhibition caseback.
The Zenith Chronomaster Revival A385 makes some concessions to modern-day thinking.
The tonneau shape of the case delivers an eye-catching contrast with the circular dial. Zenith state that its brown gradient dial was ‘the first “smoked” dial ever to be made in the watch industry and for Zenith’. The Zenith Chronomaster Revival A385 pairs a modern-day version of the famous movement, the El Primero 400, and combines it with a smoked dial and a tonneau-shaped steel case. Zenith has repeatedly shown a propensity for nostalgia. To this day, the famous calibre continues to be spoken of in reverential tones. However, from the outset, Zenith showed that it had overcome such technical challenges. Potentially higher frequency movements can suffer from greater wear, excessive lubricant consumption and poor power reserves. The high frequency conferred greater precision and allowed the wearer to measure time intervals to the nearest ⅒-second. At the time, this frequency was ground-breaking and even today few brands are able to match its high-beat behaviour. The most interesting movement of the period was the Zenith El-Primero, a fully integrated chronograph with column wheel, horizontal coupling and, most notably, a frequency of 5Hz. Simultaneously, Seiko was developing its own self-winding integrated chronograph, the Seiko 5 Sports Timer, featuring a column wheel and vertical coupling. Codenamed ‘Project 99’, the movement was of modular construction, cam operated and featured a micro-rotor.
Breitling, Heuer, Seiko and Zenith all released a self-winding chronograph that same year.īreitling, Buren, Dubois-Depraz and Heuer were industriously working on a new self-winding chronograph. However, back on earth, there was another space race taking place, particularly relevant to horophiles. In 1969, most people were looking to the heavens, eager to know more about Armstrong, Aldrin, et al and their lunar adventures. The Zenith Chronomaster Revival A385 pairs a modern-day version of the iconic El-Primero movement with a smoked dial and tonneau-shaped case.
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