Zenith El Primero: History, References, Prices | Ultimate Watch NYC

The attic is real. Charles Vermot, ordered by Zenith's American owners to scrap the mechanical tooling in the mid 1970s, spent months secretly dismantling, labeling, and crating the El Primero production equipment, presses, cams, and drawings, and hid it all in the attic of the factory at Le Locle, adding written instructions for whoever might one day restart the line. Nine years later that attic was opened, Ebel had already bought the backlog of unassembled 3019 PHC movements in 1981 for its 1982 Sport Classic chronograph, and Rolex signed on in 1986. Without one stubborn engineer there is no Zenith Daytona and quite possibly no Zenith. Other lore collectors trade on: the 1970 Boeing 707 incident where an A384 survived a fall from altitude and kept running; the dial-variant taxonomy (Mark I through III A386 details like pusher style and subdial printing) that can swing four figures at auction; and the fact that Ebel-signed El Primero movements from the early 1980s are the sleeper way to own the caliber cheaply. Our favorite counter test at 19 West 47th Street: put an A386 next to a Chronomaster Original 38mm and watch a customer realize Zenith has been honest enough to leave a 57-year-old design alone. When you are ready to join or leave the El Primero club, come see us and we will make it simple.