And while its history is not without drama, having come very close to being lost during the quartz crisis were it not for the bravery and ingenuity of Charles Vermot, the sheer quality and forward-thinking nature of the El Primero marked it as a winner from the early days. While the competition for that accolade was stiff (with a collaborative effort from Dubois-Dupraz, Breitling, and Hamilton - via its purchase of Buren - and Heuer, and a separate attempt by Seiko also hitting the market in 1969, releasing automatic chronographs around the same time), only the El Primero endures today. While the movement has undergone a few changes, tweaks, and refinements, its basic architecture remains true to the original, groundbreaking caliber that has laid claim (however unconfirmed) to being the very first automatic chronograph movement. It beggars belief that the El Primero is now half a century old.
Those releases were well received from a stylistic perspective, but neither one can hold a candle to the mechanical significance of the movement powering the A384 - the legendary El Primero Caliber. Recently, the Swatch Group reminded us of Blancpain’s past with the release of the Air Command and the Fifty Fathoms Barakuda. Seeing the tectonic players like Richemont, LVMH, and the Swatch Group jostle for position is fascinating from a big-picture perspective, but it becomes even more interesting when the character of the brands that make up these behemothic conglomerates come to the fore. It is an interesting way for major group brands to tap into and remind consumers of their independent heritage. Bringing old models up to date is an ever more popular route for brands to pursue. The Zenith El Primero A384 watch is the latest revival to hit the market in 2019.
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