In addition to the functions found on the cal. The rotor engravings can be seen in the stock photo.Īn additional El Primero caliber is also available (cal. There are a few blued screws visible through the sapphire back, and the rotor has a pattern of radiating lines (I have been told this is called colimaconnage). Zenith definitely seems to stress function over decoration. The movement in this watch is not particularly well decorated. The image at right is from the Zenith Web-site. The El Primero winds bi-directionally, and has a power reserve in excess of 52 hours. Chronograph functions in this movement are coordinated by column wheel. The ubiquitous Valjoux 7750 runs at 28,800 alternations per hour, which I believe is more than sufficient precision for a chronograph. Although this technically permits resolution down to 1/10th of a second, I have my doubts that human reaction time makes this truly useful. According to Zenith, the El Primero is the only chronograph movement currently in production that runs at 36,000 alternations per hour.
The movementĬontains 280 components, of which 225 are different. This is a 31 jewel movement which is 30mm in diameter, and 6.5 mm thick. The Class 4 contains the well known El Primero cal. Please note that this watch has now been renamed the Class El Primero in the 1999 Zenith literature. For those who are interested, click here for the Zenith company Web-Site.
At the bottom of the page, there are links to MANY pictures I have taken of this watch. Full Calendar with moonphase on an automatic column wheel chronograph.This is a review of the Zenith Class 4 chronograph. The dial remains rather legible despite the amount of information it needs to convey. The 410 full calendar provides indications for day, date, month, and moonphase. Dufour went on to be CEO of Rolex in 2014. And was gently returned to its now current high perch on the chronograph world when Jean-Frédéric Dufour took helm of Zenith in 2009. The El Primero chronograph went from competently engineered, a bit nerdy movement to rock star status during the years when Thierry Nataf was CEO of Zenith (2001 to 2009).
It has deservedly gained a classic status since the days of the quartz revolution, having not only survived that onslaught, but thrived. The El Primero automatic chronograph, a hero of its time since its introduction in 1969 as the first automatic column wheel chronograph, has stood the test of time. The Zenith calendar is built on top of their famous high beat El Primero column wheel chronograph. And the classical chronograph dials laid out nicely. Minor indicators like the day and month are in small apertures. Dial layout of the Zenith El Primero 410.
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