Zenith did, of course, modernize a handful of elements on the A384 Revival that subtly distinguish it from the 1969 original. The most major of these elements include the 37-mm diameter, faceted, stainless steel case, the black-and-white lacquered dial with its surrounding tachymeter scale, and the mushroom-style chronograph pushers at 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock. To produce the most historically accurate timepiece possible, the watchmakers behind the Zenith El Primero A384 used a “reverse engineering” approach, digitizing each component of the 1969 original - yes, this reference, with the black-and-white “panda” subdial design, preceded even the A386 model re-created for the 50th Anniversary box set, with its more familiar blue-silver-gray subdials - to reproduce all elements as precisely as possible.

Last night in New York, Zenith unveiled the final, and perhaps most eagerly anticipated, model in its semicentennial celebration - a historically accurate version of the original Zenith El Primero A384, the first wristwatch reference to contain the groundbreaking high-frequency chronograph movement.

Throughout 2019, we have seen Zenith commemorate the 50th anniversary of its legendary El Primero caliber in various ways - the release of a box set of three vintage-inspired pieces representing three different eras the launch of the Defy Inventor, considered the next generation of the El Primero’s chronographic excellence even a new double tourbillon version in the Defy El Primero family.

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