Rivals entered global production in August of 1969, while Zenith made the 3019 PHC publicly available in October the same year. Having begun research and development as early as 1962, it debuted a working prototype at a pre-emptive press conference in Switzerland in early 1969. Much of the argument has subsided in recent years, thanks to almost a decade’s tireless documentation by the original sports-chronograph collectors, such as Jeff Stein, founder of On The Dash, and author of Project 99 - The Race to Develop the World's First Automatic Chronograph.Īccording to the latter, Zenith was the first to announce the innovation.

But this year, Zenith offers something that will certainly fulfil your need for vintage-reproduced watches.There has been a continuing and passionate debate as to which manufacturer developed world’s first self-winding chronograph, amongst the consortium of Heuer, Buren-Hamilton, Breitling, Dubois-Depraz and Seiko. What’s problematic today is that this colour combination linked to the historical A386 case is no longer accessible in the permanent collection – it was only released in four batches of 50 watches in steel, yellow, pink or white gold, in 2019. One of the signature elements of the original A386 was its tri-colour dial, with different shades of grey and blue to differentiate the indications. This includes a compact 38mm case with beautifully shaped surfaces, a dial that faithfully replicates the original with a tri-compax layout and overlapping counters, painted hands, coloured accents and a no-nonsense style that perfectly befits the collection. The Chronomaster Revival is a very attractive watch and is an almost one-to-one reproduction of the original El Primero launched in 1969. But for 2020, you still have a chance to enjoy the classic iconic look of the A386 in steel with a very special dial thanks to the Zenith Chronomaster Revival A386 Manufacture Edition, which is the topic of our video review of the day. Last year, the brand celebrated the 50th anniversary of the El Primero with a series of highly limited models, all of which are now sold-out. And, in addition to that, the watch fitted with it, the Zenith A386, was very good looking.

In 1969, the El Primero was one of the first automatic chronographs to be launched. No one can overlook the importance of the El Primero – both the movement and the watch – when it comes to chronographs.

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