A 42 mm El Primero 36,000 VPH and a 38 mm Zenith El Primero 36,000 VPH Original 1969. 42 mm El Primero 36,000 VPH next to a 38 mm Zenith El Primero 36,000 VPH Original 1969įor this review, we compare not one, but two brand new Zenith El Primero Chronographs. As far as which chronograph was available commercially first, that is a different story as the Caliber 11 did, in fact, go on sale before the El Primero. And they are true to their name “El Primero” which means “The First,” in that regard. So as far as which chronograph was announced first, it was Zenith.
However, what we can determine is that Zenith produced one of the first two integrated automatic chronographs ever (as the Caliber 11 is a module-based chronograph), and Zenith publicly announced their self-winding chronograph before anyone else. Zenith El Primero Chronograph 38 mm wristshot To this day, it is disputed as to which of these aforementioned brands launched first. In 1969, three automatic chronographs were introduced: the Zenith El Primero, the Seiko 6139, and the Caliber 11 (produced in partnership with Heuer, Hamilton/Buren, Dubois-Depraz, and Breitling). In fact, it is actually even more confusing, as there are numerous companies who claim to have invented the first (self-winding) chronograph. Needless to say, the history of the chronograph is not a clear-cut subject, and the history of the first automatic chronograph is no less confusing. As you may have already read, the longstanding claim that Nicolas Rieussec invented the chronograph has recently been disproven after facts came to light that actually proves Louis Moinet’s invention 5 years earlier (1816) was truly the first chronograph.
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