Why Is The El Primero So Admired / Loved?

[LouS]

haga888

The seller is mistaken or lying. Might be original Zenith hands, not original to the watch. Case is polished and the tachy is probably service as well.

which hands are you taking about not being original?

 

[haga888]

I'd say all of them except for two of the subdial hands. They don't look like tritium from the picture.

 

[papaebetu]

Subdial's hand haven't tritium insert in all EP cal3019
Tachy reàut is correct, maybe changed in service because more white of "grey" dial
Case over polished

GIGI

 

[cicindela]

LouS

This from a reply to a question long ago on another forum far, far away about how I got involved collecting El Primeros:

In answer to your question, more or less by coincidence. I stumbled across one by chance, offered by a clueless estate jeweler for a giveaway price and bought it on the strength of its visual appeal. Of course, I had heard of the "El Primero" at the time, but no more than that. Once I had the watch in hand, I started to educate myself (, and the more I learned, the more I found to like. There's
1. the name, which to my ears sounded almost tongue-in-cheek, like a masked mexican wrestler (that's a positive to my sensibility)
2. the great story and enduring controversy of the race to the first automatic chronograph between Zenith, Buren-Breitling-Hamilton-Heuer and Seiko
3. the even greater story - as close to epic as a watch story can be - of the courageous single-handed Saving of the El Primero during the dark quartz years by the intrepid watchmaker Charly Vermot
4. the amazing longevity of the movement itself - still in current production with minimal change 41 years after its introduction, and still among the best movements you can get
5. the quality - sought after by Panerai, Rolex, Parmigiani, Concord and others for use in their own pieces.
6. the instant visual appeal and variety of the watches themselves
7. the chronograph + date function
8. the high-beat chronograph seconds sweep - smoooooth. Maybe that's trivial, but I find it to be nice visual reminder of the machine within.
9. the power reserve which laughs at lesser engines
10. the amazing precision
11. the reliability -- I am still in awe of this. 40 year old movements, at least two of which sat in a drawer for decades, all run at 36000 BPH with excellent consistency and power reserve - all you have to do is strap them on. I have 10 of these, and none have ever given me a moment's trouble (yet -- I know, but it still impresses me)
In brief, layer upon layer of fascination that continues to unfold.

Or it could have been my subclinical OCD.

So it wasn't the influence of your admired older brother??

 

[Stewart H]

Steve. That is just WRONG.

 

[cicindela]

Stewart H

Steve. That is just WRONG.

Yes something should be done worldwide about these Sciuriphiles

 

[LouS]

cicindela

So it wasn't the influence of your admired older brother??

Boy, have you got that backward. You think Thierry loves El Primero? Have you glanced at the Zenith catalog from when he was in charge?

Thierry was a vindictive boy - flushed my goldfish down the toilet, wrecked my bicycle, traded away my baseball glove for more wet-look hair gel. Anyone who knew him could have told you what was gonna happen when I expressed an appreciation for the movement.

 

[cicindela]

LouS

Boy, have you got that backward. You think Thierry loves El Primero? Have you glanced at the Zenith catalog from when he was in charge?

Thierry was a vindictive boy - flushed my goldfish down the toilet, wrecked my bicycle, traded away my baseball glove for more wet-look hair gel. Anyone who knew him could have told you what was gonna happen when I expressed an appreciation for the movement.

So it was a way of hurting you .
Well that also explains the squirrel abuse

 

[LouS]

Yes, there is not one within a mile of the familial manse. Word got round, even among the rodents.

 

[Time Exposure]

Sorry to stray on topic, but...
Zenith is the poster child of dumb luck, and everyone loves an underdog.
When the rest of the Swiss watch market was grappling for cost-conscious movements, Zenith built a top-quality, cost-be-damned kick-butt chronograph movement.
When the Zenith brass said "destroy the machinery," M. Vermot said "allez te faire foutre" and not only hid the machinery but documented how to run it again.
When the market changed and the industry recalled the masterpiece that was the El Primero, Zenith was poised to return.
When Nataf redesigned the lineup to resemble costume jewelry, Zenith survived if not benefitted from the attention and rediscovered what made them so great to begin with (overlapping dials aside).
A movement with a history like that HAS to be the darling of the watch nerd community. The El Primero is fulfilling it's destiny!

 

[nicola1960]

Ciao.

 

[ELV web]

nicola1960

Ciao.

Is this the same Nicolas that did the research on Martel and had that long debate with our Lous? I read that thread (thanks to MMMD) and must say it was really educative.

 

[LouS]

I didn't debate with Nicola - I was arguing with another guy. But it was Nicola's exhaustive research that settled the issue and taught me a few things. Nicola is the source of much of the primary documentary evidence regarding El Primero.

 

[nicola1960]

LouS

I didn't debate with Nicola - I was arguing with another guy. But it was Nicola's exhaustive research that settled the issue and taught me a few things. Nicola is the source of much of the primary documentary evidence regarding El Primero.

Grazie.

 

[ELV web]

My mistake, clearly there was another guy that you were debating with while Nicolas seems to be adjudicating with hard facts anyhow, it was truly educative!

 

[pitpro]

Wish I spoke French or could paste the text into Google Translate
Can anyone help me out?

nicola1960

Ciao.

 

[LouS]

If there were more hours in my day, I'd translate it verbatim, but it is essentially an industry spokesman commenting, apropos of the debut of El Primero, that the horological industry remains vibrant and innovative, and at the technological cutting edge. The significant bit is the mention of the new Zenith-Movado chronograph movement and the date of the piece, 21 January 1969.

 

[LouS]

The second piece (April 19 1969) is a wrapup of that year's Basel show. It highlights that two types of automatic chronograph movement had been introduced ("Triumph of the Chronograph"). It doesn't mention the manufactures in the text (although Zenith is mentioned in the figure caption) but clearly describes the features of El Primero and the calibre 11. It also mentions in passing a chronograph with a vernier scale - presumably the Longines Ref 8225 "Nonius" - I don't know of another.

 

[nicola1960]

Esatto.