Zenith El Primero Chronograph Gold Ref. 30-0380.400, circa 2003

Identity

Zenith El Primero chronograph, chronometer, 18-carat yellow gold, Ref. 30-0380.400, circa 2003. Automatic movement, El Primero 400 calibre with column wheel, 36,000 vibrations per hour. 18-carat yellow gold case, 39 mm in diameter, snap-on back engraved with the reference, gold crown and pushers. White dial, applied gold Roman numeral at twelve and applied baton markers at the other hours, tachymeter scale on the flange, 30-minute counter at 3 o'clock, 12-hour counter at 6 o'clock, running seconds at 9 o'clock, date aperture between 4 and 5 o'clock, faceted gold dauphine hands. Sapphire crystal. Leather strap, original monogrammed Zenith gold pin buckle.

Horological context

Founded in 1865 in Le Locle by Georges Favre-Jacot, Zenith unveiled the El Primero calibre on 10 January 1969, some weeks ahead of the rival consortium: the first automatic chronograph, and the only one beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour, which let it measure a tenth of a second. In 1975 the manufacture's American owners ordered production stopped and the tooling scrapped. Charles Vermot hid the plans, the documentation and some hundred and fifty presses in the factory attic. Nine years later, in 1984, production resumed on those saved tools and the calibre was reborn as the 400. Rolex signed a ten-year supply contract that same year: the Daytona Ref. 16520, launched in 1988, runs on a modified El Primero. Thus a legend of twentieth-century watchmaking was born.

Character

A single Roman numeral at twelve, applied baton markers at the other hours: the dial holds to the register of a dress watch. It carries nonetheless two nested scales — the tachymeter on the flange, the fifth-of-a-second graduation just inside it — and three counters at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock, which assert its true nature. The word CHRONOMETRE on the dial attests to official certification, and the manufacture's motif appears on the crown as on the buckle.

Serviced. Very good condition. Delivered with its original box and papers, together with the Contre-Temps 24-month warranty certificate.