Zenith El Primero Chronomaster 2 Review

The Zenith Wristwatch model is produced by the leading Super Clone manufacturer workshops with a 5th class titanium case, 42 mm diameter and a high-precision automatic Super Clone mechanism architecture. It is among the most successful 1:1 super clone watch reviews on the market, with its sapphire crystal AR coating glass, original case tolerances and detailed workmanship.

Zenith El Primero Chronomaster 2 Review

The story of the famous Zenith El Primero is a fascinating one, to say the least. It's like the stuff of movies. The company's journey to create the El Primero, one of the most iconic chronograph movements ever produced, began in 1865. El Primero wasn't just an incredibly accurate chronograph. Announced at a press conference in 1969, the movement, then known as the Zenith 3019 PCH movement, was the first movement to feature a fully integrated self-winding rotor; This made it the first automatic chronograph in history. That's probably why he got the name "El Primero", which means "The First" in Spanish.

El Primero has introduced many innovations over the years; From being a high-tempo, 5Hz movement that operates at an oscillation rate of 36,000 vibrations per hour to being the first self-winding chronograph caliber. It was also the first calendar-equipped high-frequency chronograph and had an exceptionally slim profile of just 6.5 mm; This made it significantly thinner than traditional chronographs of its time. It had an instant date change feature at midnight, a tachymeter, and a return to zero button. Most importantly, it was the only chronograph that allowed timing with high precision down to 1/10 of a second! Since then, Zenith has won thousands of awards for its countless wristwatches, pocket watches and marine instruments.

With all this said, the most impressive part of the El Primero success story is that a Zenith watchmaker named Charles Vermot saved the El Primero from being lost forever. This was a time of the quartz crisis, when many manufacturers went bankrupt due to market speculation about this new battery-powered movement that was more accurate and more affordable than mechanical calibers. This was a game-changer for many watch manufacturers who either tried to incorporate these new movements into their production or to cash in on the whole thing and shut down.

The US-based management company overseeing Zenith was the kind of company that decided to sell the equipment by the ton as scrap metal after losing faith in the direction traditional watchmaking was heading during this quartz crisis.

Workshop 4 was the department at Zenith Manufacture where Charles Vermot was responsible for every El Primero movement produced. He firmly believed that the automatic watch market was not at risk, and was so adamant about it that he asked if it would be okay to keep the tools needed to produce the El Primero. But he received no response. At great professional and possibly legal risk for himself and his brother, who also worked at Zenith, they smuggled the machines, cams, presses, plans, tools, and all other parts needed to produce the El Primero from Workshop 4 and concealed them inside a wall on the top floor of one of the factory's eighteen buildings. This was done under the cover of darkness of night, and the fact that Charles Vermot was a manager with all the keys and easy access made the job easier.

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Millions of dollars worth of irreplaceable equipment had been salvaged, and when Rolex reached out to Zenith in search of a highly reliable and precise chronograph movement for their Daytona watches, Charles Vermot's prediction came true and they were at it again. The company Zenith was once affiliated with Movado under the umbrella of MZM. This was a holding company that owned Movado, another company called Zenith Radio Corporation (MZM must have liked something about that name), and Mondia. Zenith Time SA has changed hands several times in its nearly 160-year history and is most recently in the very capable and luxurious hands of LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessy), a luxury conglomerate that has taken Zenith and many other watchmakers to greater heights in the luxury segment.

Large investments were made under the auspices of LVMH, and after several years of research, they were now producing watches in the high complication category, such as the El Primero Grande ChronoMaster XXT Tourbillon. To sweeten things further, this was also the first uptempo tourbillon; So another first for El Primero. Other high-complication models followed, such as an El Primero with a perpetual calendar function and another model with a mechanical function known as a minute repeater. They soon began to combine several high complications at once; This moved Zenith's position from a great chronograph manufacturer to a watchmaker capable of producing high complications and grand complications.

All the while, the things that made El Primero famous – its high precision – became more and more precise. A 2017 model watch known as the Defy 21 was now 10 times more accurate in timing and could measure down to 1/100 of a second thanks to its 50Hz oscillation rate, which is equivalent to 360,000 vibrations per hour (VpH). The Zenith El Primero Chronomaster 2 we are reviewing here is a special model, the first model to have a bezel - and a ceramic bezel - and it has tri-color sub-dials in grey, anthracite and blue and a skeletonized date window at 6 o'clock. This feature was last seen on the 50th anniversary edition of the El Primero, but this model has a skeletonized dial. A unique feature of the 42mm Zenith Chronomaster 2 is that the central chronograph seconds hand makes a complete revolution around the dial in just 10 seconds. This allows for extremely precise timing.

Zenith is one of the few watch manufacturers that can expertly produce a column-wheel mechanism. The column wheel chronograph provides a very smooth and precise start/stop function and is preferable to its alternative, the cam-driven mechanism. It also has a 60-hour power reserve, which is impressive for a fast-paced watch. Just like its predecessors, the El Primero ChronoMaster 2 is powered by the Zenith El Primero 3600 caliber, a 35-jewel movement that oscillates at a high frequency of 5Hz or 36,000 vibrations per hour.

The first of the two models featured here is the 95.3001.3600/69.c817, which comes with a black alligator strap and a fixed (non-rotating) polished black ceramic bezel. The second model from this series featured here is the reference number 95.3002.3600/69.c818 with a fixed polished blue ceramic bezel and a blue alligator leather strap. Both models come with scratch-resistant clear sapphire glass on the front and case back; This allows you to see Caliber 3600 in action from both sides of the watch. A lightweight, brushed titanium case houses the caliber 3600 and features polished beveled lugs and crown and chronograph pushers with a combination of brushed and polished workmanship.

IN SUMMARY: this is a legendary watch with excellent features that may one day become a family heirloom passed down from generation to generation.

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