Zenith Chronomaster El Primero 'Range Rover'

For many years, the words El Primero held little meaning outside of serious vintage watch enthusiast and collectors groups. But that all changed a few years ago when Zenith began reissuing many of its famed designs from the 1960s and 1970s. The El Primero was the culmination of a years-long research and development process undertaken by Zenith to develop the world’s first automatic chronograph movement. While other brands had sought to achieve the same feat — including Heuer (in concert with Breitling and Hamilton) and Seiko — Zenith intended to make the El Primero something entirely unique. Instead of taking an automatic module and merely sandwiching it onto the chronograph, Zenith fully integrated the two; moreover, the movement is a high-beat calibre offering significant added accuracy. Zenith announced the El Primero at a press conference on January 10, 1969. This was four years later than the brand had intended: the brand had begun developing the calibre in 1963, hoping to bring it out for Zenith’s centennial in 1965. Nevertheless, on that winter day in 1969, Zenith proudly displayed a working model of its chronograph. The A386 was the first model to be fitted with the El Primero movement, and therefore commands a hefty premium among collectors for its horological import. Over the past decade, Zenith has used this important model as the basis of numerous reissues, among which was a cool collaboration in honor of Land Rover's Range Rover series from 2017. This Chronomaster El Primero Range Rover Special Edition features a 42mm ceramised aluminum case with pump pushers, a signed crown, a smooth bezel, and a box sapphire crystal. Its vertically brushed, satin black dial features an outer silvered tachymeter scale, a white-printed 1/5th-seconds track, applied 'wedge' indices, a triple-register chronograph layout with overlapping totalizers, a luminous 'baton' handset, and a 6 o'clock date window. Powered by the Zenith El Primero automatic Calibre 400B movement with 5Hz beat rate and paired to a cool perforated leather and rubber strap with a DLC-coated titanium buckle, this cool automotive-inspired piece comes with its factory goodies and warranty card. If you're a Ranger Rover driver or simply in need of a neat, left-of-center sports watch with premium appointments, then this is the timepiece for you!