Prices for watches from current collections, such as the Chronomaster Open with a partially skeletonized dial, start closer to 7,000 USD. For this price, you can find well-maintained models from the 1990s and early 2000s. Zenith chronographs outfitted with an El Primero caliber are available starting at 2,500 USD on Chrono24. Here, the balance and escapement are part of a gyroscopic regulating module that continuously realigns itself to counteract the effects of gravity.ĭefy Double Tourbillon / 40.9000.9020/78.R582Īcademy Christophe Colomb Equation of Time / 18.2220.8808/01.C631ĭefy Fusee Tourbillon / 10.9000.4805/78.R916Ĭhronomaster Tourbillon / 65.2050.4035/91.C714 Zenith's watchmaking brilliance extends to movements with so-called Gravity Control. The double tourbillon version relies on a tourbillon each for the time display and chronograph function, while the El Primero Fusee with a tourbillon uses a fusee and chain mechanism to modulate the force of the mainspring. Other highlights include El Primero movements with a double tourbillon or fusee. The latter boasts an incredible frequency of 50 Hz, which allows timing to 1/100th of a second. It is fitted with two oscillation/escapement systems – one for the time display, which runs at 5 Hz, and another for the chronograph. The El Primero 21, introduced in 2017 and found in some watches in the Defy line, increases the movement's already legendary precision by a factor of ten.

Today, the El Primero powers various watches in the, Defy, and Pilot series. In comparison, the Valjoux 7750 from ETA only has a power reserve of around 44 hours. Despite its frequency, the caliber has a power reserve of 50 hours when fully wound. Thanks to an unusually high balance frequency of 36,000 vph (5 Hz), the movement can measure 1/10th of a second – a feat that remains a rarity in mechanical chronographs to this day.

The El Primero earned the brand with the star logo its place in horological history and has since become Zenith's showpiece. The movement was released in 1969 and is considered the first automatic chronograph movement ever produced. The Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Zenith is inseparable from their famous chronograph caliber, the El Primero, which means 'the first' in Spanish.

El primero chronomaster