LVMH

Zenith El Primero: a retrospective

EUROPA STAR ARCHIVES

By Serge Maillard

July 2019

We are lucky enough (or old enough!) to have had the chance to witness in real time the birth of the El Primero chronograph at Zenith in 1969. For the first time, we are opening up the Europa Star archives covering that year and even further back, as the brand celebrates the timepiece’s 50th anniversary.

Zenith El Primero: a retrospective

EUROPA STAR ARCHIVES

By Serge Maillard

July 2019

Zenith El Primero: a retrospective

We are lucky enough (or old enough!) to have had the chance to witness in real time the birth of the El Primero chronograph at Zenith in 1969. For the first time, we are opening up the Europa Star archives covering that year and even further back, as the brand celebrates the timepiece’s 50th anniversary.

W

ho launched the first automatic chronograph? Among watch historians, the jury’s still out, with several brands claiming the title. Two incontrovertible facts remain, however: it was developed in the “hot” year of 1969, and the El Primero by Zenith was the calibre that stuck in the minds and hearts of aficionados.

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