Zenith El Primero

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Brand Zenith

Zenith is without a doubt one of the most prestigious Swiss brands. It has been on the market since 1865 and currently belongs to the LVMH Group (TAG Heuer, Hublot, Bvlgari and others). Almost 100% of all Zenith calibers can boast of an in-house attribute, i.e. home or one's own. Among the most famous and most legendary the El Primero belongs. An interesting story is attached to this remarkable caliber.

In 1969, when the unpleasant aftertaste of the impending quartz crisis was felt in the air, the tip of the Swiss watchmaking finished in an imaginary battle to create the best automatic caliber with a chronograph.

On the one hand, Heuer, Buren-Hamilton, Breitling and Dubois-Depraz, and Zenith of Le Locle, on the other. As the effort of the first of the mentioned companies turned out, you probably know - the fabulous caliber 11. But what Zenith Co. introduced caused a shock to competition: the legendary El Primero caliber, clocked at 5 Hertz with an incredible frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour! However, the management of Zenith has decided to destroy all plans and tools for the production of El Primera by transforming production into quartz machines.

Fortunately, watchmaker Charles Vermot kept his mind and hid all the plans and tools needed to produce high-frequency caliber. As a result, in 1984, when the quartz crisis was retreating and the demand for mechanical watches began to rise again, Zenith could return to the El Primero caliber.

Almost 30 years later, the brand took another challenge. In 2012, Austrian Felix Baumgartner became the first person to surpass the sound limit of free fall by jumping from the stratosphere above Mexican desert from 38969.4 meters above sea level. On his wrist he wore the Zenith Stratos Flyback Striking 10 with the most famous El Primero inside.

This is really just the tip of the iceberg, which underlines the quality of this Swiss manufactory, which has been proving for more than 150 years that it is rightly the most vibrant star in the horizon.

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