2013/06/06

*Zenith "El Primero"

Zenith El Primero 36’000 VpH

 

El Primero 36’000 VpH
When inventiveness meets aesthetics, the result is naturally spectacular. Zenith provides fresh proof of this truth with this unusual new interpretation of the El Primero 36’000 VpH line. Embodying the quintessence of the El Primero spirit expressed in a resolutely contemporary form, the El Primero 36’000 VpH combines all the identity codes of the legendary chronograph with the specific characteristics of its exceptional mechanism. In 1969, when monochrome dials were all the rage, the El Primero stood out from the crowd with its multi-coloured dial featuring three counters in different shades and a red chronograph sweep seconds-hand for enhanced readability. These now iconic colour codes have lost nothing of their visual impact and vividly enliven the dial of the El Primero 36’000 VpH, in this 2013 version: midnight blue for the 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, anthracite for the 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock and light grey for the small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock. The sunburst silver-toned dial is rimmed with a tachometric scale. Water-resistant to 100 metres, the 42 mm steel case topped by a sapphire crystal is a paragon of harmoniously proportioned construction – exactly like the mechanism it houses.

El Primero 400 B movement
A worthy descendant of a mechanical icon is duty bound to carry its essential genes. This is certainly true of the El Primero 400 B movement with its integrated column-wheel construction and exemplary character proudly testifying to its exceptional heritage. Its cadence of 36,000 vibrations per hour guarantees the 1/10th of a second precision that has been part of the El Primero movement’s legend since 1969. The feat achieved by the engineers at the time lay in combining high frequency with a remarkable over 50-hour power reserve that is matched by today’s El Primero 400 B movement. This accomplishment is all the more noteworthy in that El Primero movements are still the only series-produced high-frequency chronograph calibres on the market. The birth of a legend owes nothing to chance.