Zenith El Primero Chronomaster, another watch I will love to own. Equipped with the great El Primero movement, a triple calendar (month, day, date) and a moonphase is also packed into this watch. The El Primero calibre [四一零], 31 Jewels and 354 parts, is the heart and soul of the Chronomaster. It sings to the tune of 36,000 beats per hour, or 10 ticks per seconds, providing for a really a smooth glide. First produced in 1969, the El Primero is is highly regarded for its quality by many as the best mechanical chronograph movement, and has been used by a number of other manufacturers. Rolex, for instance, used El Primero movements in their Daytona chronographs for several years.The Zenith is a classically constructed movement where the chrono-functions are integrated and steered by a column-wheel, which again follows the steps of classic watch-making," said the knowledgeable Hans Zbinden. The calibre 410 is thick compared to the 1994 Zenith Elite (6.5 mm vs. 3.3 mm), but thinner than the Valjoux 7750 (7.9 mm), or the Lemania 5100 (8.25 mm), two movements that drive most modern chronographs.
Zenith is a Swiss watch manufacturer started in 1865 by Georges Favre-Jacot at the age of 22, in Le Locle in the canton of Neuchâtel. Zenith has a long reputation for the quality and precision of their watches, with 1,565 1st-place precision awards to date. The majority of Swiss watchmakers today use stock movements from suppliers such as ETA. Zenith is one of the few Swiss watch brands that make their own mechanical movements - the Elite (standard movement) and the El Primero (chronograph).
