By Jovan Krstevski
Anybody here who is a big fan of The Rolling Stones, err you’re not? Get out of here, kidding aside the Zenith El Primero is certainly a sexy watch to watch out for this coming Only Watch 2015 at Geneva. We’ve heard so much about it and we seriously anticipate the remarkable watches to be auctioned. Of course, basing from our experiences from the said event, we know just how crazy the watches could be. Now, there is something that I particularly love about the Zenith El Primero, the uniquely applied lightweight word. Lightweight, who doesn’t love lightweight stuff? If you’re driving a lightweight car, then you get to save extra fuel or if you’re traveling with a lightweight baggage, then you get to be more relaxed. Now before you get too excited about this new feature, bear in mind that lightweight here is applied to the aesthetics of the watch, now that’s something legendary. Well, it is and I won’t be alone to say that the Zenith El Primero is indeed a thing of legend.
The world’s first automatic chronographs appeared first in 1969. As far as I remember, Tudor was accompanied by the Heuer Calibre 11 and the Seiko 6139. That was many decades ago, but the technology still applies today albeit with more refinements and the extraordinary mix of design and function. The high beat movement of the El Primero is not new but as I’ve mentioned, for the Only Watch 2015 event, they came up with the reintroduced lightweight design, basically it’s referring to the barebones dial. Nonetheless, for the technically inclined, the El Primero’s greatest strength is its extreme precision thanks to its unusually high 36000 beats per hour movement capable of driving its foudroyante second hand in a full revolution within 10 seconds only. In comparison, most chronographs in the market takes 60 seconds for a complete revolution. Now that’s what I call a feat.
The El Primero’s 45mm case is made of black DLC titanium and features a mix of brushed and polished surfaces. Everything with it is in complete harmony, talk about the subtle pushers and the well-balanced crown. I almost didn’t notice the beautiful lugs when examining the smooth bezel, so yeah this one’s carefully designed for the collectors. At first glance, the dial seems dirty but then this watch is a complicated watch and you don’t have to look at the case back to have a glimpse of the movement. The date using a red color is displayed at the 6 o’clock whilst the three sub dials are centrally aligned taking up the 9, 3, and 6 o’clock real estate, and they have multiple colors too, from light grey, anthracite to dark blue. As for the open-worked date wheel, it’s surely a welcoming site for the technically inclined observers.
If you’re an avid fan of the Rolling Stones, then you’ll love the strap embossed with the Union Jack or the UK flag and the band’s tong logo which can also be found on the oscillating weight. Now for the strange hands of the watch, it’s made that way to depict the fretboard of the Fender Telecaster guitar which is made famous by Keith Richards. And if that’s not enough, you also get the Zenith El Primero Striking 10th Lightweight Tribute to the Rolling Stones for Only Watch 2015 comes in a presentation box bearing the Rolling Stones logo in conjunction with that of Zenith. For more info, please visit zenith-watches.com
JOVAN KRSTEVSKI – FOUNDER, PROPRIETOR & EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Watch collector, aficionado and an Event profile in the Swedish nightlife. He launched Watchgeek back in 2011, which is now known as WristReview and is one of the most widely read watch blogs on the Web. He quotes ’WristReview is a site to help people find, explore, discover and enjoy wristwatches.’ His passion jump started in his early teens when he was given his first mid-range wristwatch which was an Omega Seamaster. Since then he has always been in love with wristwatches! Besides WristReview, he also writes for a number of publications. Read his articles here.
