- Zenith el primero open heart power reserve update#
- Zenith el primero open heart power reserve series#
To his delight, the parts and tools were discovered by new ownership and were instrumental in the continuation of Zenith’s mechanical chronographs.
Vermot had hoped, the manufacture of automatic chronographs once again became a priority at Zenith. Instead of carrying out this task, he secretly hid away the presses, technical plans, and equipment used in the creation of El Primero. The watch’s namesake, Charles Vermot, was a foreman at Zenith’s factory, and was charged with the task of disassembling Zenith’s El Primero production assembly and selling it off for parts. In the mid 70s, Zenith was sold to American owners who decided to discontinue the manufacture of mechanical chronographs altogether.
Zenith el primero open heart power reserve series#
While Zenith had come out with the first El Primero in 1969 and designed a series of attractive chronographs in the early 1970s, the company struggled financially. The first era that the watch evokes is that of the mechanical watch industry’s struggles during the mid 70s.
The watch is priced at CHF 9,900 for steel.The skeletal opening on the Chronomaster Power Reserve Charles Vermot Limited Edition is very similar to the shape of the models from the early 2000s, though the watch features modern elements like a silicon pallet fork and escapement wheel. A rose gold version featuring a white dial with a blue cordura-effect rubber strap is also introduced in the new line, along with a boutique-exclusive edition in steel with a blue dial and steel bracelet. Sold at all Zenith boutiques and authorized retailers around the world, the Chronomaster Open is available in steel with a white or black dial, with either a steel bracelet or cordura-effect rubber strap. The loss of size does come at the loss of space on the dial which makes the open heart design seem less balanced. But the tachymeter is now at the rehaut, and the applied indices and logo seems more cluttered than before. The key improvement in this iteration is the downsizing from 42mm to 39mm. The automatic winding mechanism with an open star-shaped oscillating mass efficiently delivers a power reserve of 60 hours. Visible through the sapphire display back, the El Primero 3604 1/10th of a second automatic chronograph movement is a modified version of the 3600 that debuted in the Chronomaster Sport, featuring an open base plate and bridges that allow for a clearer view of the high-frequency 5Hz escapement with lubricant-free silicon escape wheel and pallet lever. The steel bracelet option follows the contours and mixed polished and satin-brushed finishes of the case. The opening itself has also been reinterpreted, foregoing the former version’s applied frame and instead opting for circular openings with chamfered edges, revealing the movement with more straight bridges and a more contemporary grey tone.Ĭatering to the prevalent demand for watches with more modest proportions, the round case now measures 39.5mm wide compared to the previous 42mm model, with slimmer lugs and more pronounced polished bevelling. The transparent hesalite crystal element that serves as a readable sub-dial allows more of the dial to be open to view the silicon star-shaped escape wheel while keeping the 60 second markers. Revisiting the iconic tri-colour dial, the latest iteration of the Chronomaster Open retains the same with an additional transparent disc subdial. For Zenith, the partially open dial has remained a prominent feature in many of its Chronomaster references for the past decade. The Chronomaster Open was an instant hit, lauded for its daring design that is often imitated but never matched. In 2003, Zenith introduced the Chronomaster Open with the aim of making the high frequency balance wheel of its El Primero calibre as prominently visible as possible. Review: Zenith’s 2022 El Primero Chronomaster Open The Case and Dial The new model comes on a stainless steel bracelet and a 1/10th of a second movement.
Zenith el primero open heart power reserve update#
Zenith releases the latest update to its ‘Open Heart’ collection with the new Chronomaster Open.
0 kommentar(er)
