2019 has been a very important and eventful year for Zenith, as well as the 50th anniversary of the Zenith El Primero, one of the great classics of watchmaking, which will be celebrated with the auction house Phillips.
For the last stage of this Anniversary World Tour, Zenith has chosen Geneva, where on November 8th it will present a unique and unreleased El Primero.
The El Primero legend
The El Primero has recently been the flagship of the maison, founded by the visionary Georges Favre-Jacot.
Since its inception in 1865, Zenith has always stood out for the precision of its productions and, in particular, for chronometric records. So, to celebrate the centenary of the foundation, in 1962 the ambitious El Primero project was born: the first automatic chronograph in history.
The research and implementation of state-of-the-art, accurate and quality technical solutions took longer than expected. The final model was not completed until 1969, when the 3019 PHC movement was launched.
A perfectly integrated caliber inside the watch, without additional modules and above all able to guarantee the high frequencies at which it worked (36000 alternations per hour), which allow the movement of the hand at every tenth of a second.
Zenith, in addition to an exceptional movement, proposed on the market new aesthetic standards that made the El Primero one of a kind. The dial was animated by an original play of colors: in particular the dials, slightly overlying, went from light gray to anthracite to blue.
Increasing the myth of the El Primero is the latest 4052B caliber, mounted in 2010 on the Striking 10th.
A mechanism capable of accurately measuring even the tenths of a second, by means of the hand, which every ten seconds performs a complete rotation.
An only-piece for the 50 years
On this occasion Zenith collaborated on the creation of the watch, for the first time in history, directly with an auction house: Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo.
The extraordinary result is the realization of a creative and contemporary visions, respecting the traditional model.
Called THE ONE-OFF, the watch recalls the iconic G381, but, for the first and only time, according to Julien Tornare (CEO of Zenith), made in PT950 platinum.
The dial is made of lapislazzuli, a stone that stands out for its intense blue color and characteristic golden streaks.
To complete the dial there are, more externally the tachymetric scale, more internally the scale for counting tenths of a second. At 4 o’clock, on the other hand, the date display, while in the center we see three white counters, typical of this chronograph: at 3 the chronographic minutes, at 6 and at 9 hours the continuous seconds.
The movement that animates the
watch is the El Primero 400, made visible on the back thanks to the sapphire
back.
Finally, for this only piece Zenith has chosen a calfskin strap that gives an
elegant vintage touch.
The auction
This precious and unique Zenith El Primero will be offered by Phillips among other important collector’s watches during the Geneva Watch Auction: X, which will take place on November 9th and 10th at the Hotel La Réserve in Geneva.
The auction base and reserve price for now are not fixed, but we will see what happens in the hall…
In addition to the importance of the model that will be auctioned, we cannot help but remember Zenith and Phillips’ commitment to social work.
The entire proceeds of the sale will in fact be donated to the Zoe4life association, actively engaged in the fight against childhood cancers, funding research and support for families in need.
Translated by Lorenzo Spolaor (@lorenzospolaor)
