El Primero
"The First Automatic Chronograph"
Ref. ZENITH-EL-PRIMERO-A386
On January 10, 1969, Zenith announced El Primero — 'The First' — the world's first fully integrated automatic chronograph movement. Beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour, it could measure to 1/10th of a second. When Zenith's parent company ordered the tooling destroyed in 1975, watchmaker Charles Vermot secretly hid the machines in an attic. He saved the movement that would later power the Rolex Daytona.
Specifications
About Zenith
The El Primero Pioneer
Zenith's El Primero, launched in 1969, was the world's first automatic chronograph movement — and it beat at 36,000 vibrations per hour, enabling 1/10th of a second measurement precision that competitors wouldn't match for decades. During the quartz crisis, a Zenith watchmaker famously hid the El Primero tooling behind a wall, preserving the caliber for posterity. When mechanical watches revived, Zenith had the only high-frequency automatic chronograph ready to go. Rolex licensed the El Primero for the Daytona from 1988 to 2000. Today Zenith pushes the Defy line into contemporary territory while the Chronomaster preserves the El Primero legacy. An essential brand for chronograph enthusiasts.
El Primero: world's first automatic chronograph movement (1969). 36,000 vph high-frequency beating. El Primero tooling saved during quartz crisis by Charles Vermot.
Vintage El Primero A386 references are strong performers at auction. Modern Chronomaster and Defy offer excellent movement-per-dollar value in the luxury chronograph space.
Related Watches
Track this watch's value over time and get price alerts when the market moves.