This is Part 2 of a 2-part post. For the first, see https://www.watchuseek.com/f27/prel...early-el-primeros-general-remarks-431440.html
SPECIFIC MODELS
I will review the individual models according to case style. All of the Zenith El P cases are distinctive, and I think either appeal or repel at first glance. There are four case types that account for the bulk of these watches. The most distinctive, and the most immediately identified with the early El Primeros is the angled tonneau.
Angled Tonneau Case:
This case is very comfortable on the wrist, and the interplay of brushed and polished planes is pleasing to the eye. Its design antecedents seem to me to be a type of late 1930s military watch case, as in the Czech Air Force Longines, and certain Eternas, etc. All cases are vulnerable to overpolishing, but this model is especially so, and even moderate polishing stands to blunt the numerous angles and alter the fragile proportions and relationships of the facets of this watch.
Unpolished watches are marked by crisp angles
Compare with
overpolishing too close to the dial has altered this normally straight line
compare with unpolished
When sold with bracelet, these watches were sold with a ladder-type of folded steel bracelet by Gay Freres, stamped with the ibex and the date on the inside of the clasp. It's pretty hard to find a bracelet in reasonable shape today.
A 384. (2600 pieces, 1969-1971) Restrained and sober, this is the original. Ideally, the dial features crisp black subdials on a cream background.
The A 384 dial is the most prone to light damage, the black fading to chocolate brown, or even lighter to a cocoa powder color. While some may think this is attractive (cf. "tropical" dials in Speedmasters and the Rolexes sportwatches), I think it's damage, pure and simple. These occasionally get mistaken/passed off as a separate brown-on-white model, but no such model exists.
This model also shows the effects of a rather aggressive polish, with the edges of the top facet of the case riding up on the dial to make the dial look weirdly large. Compare with the watch above.
(attribution unknown)
Beware dial substitutions among similar models. The G 381 has a similar dial, distinguished only by gilt hashmarks and numbers on the subdials and on the decimal ring, and gold-toned hour batons. The G 581 (shown mislabled as a 381 in Rossler on page 243; compare with correct G 381 on page 248 upper left) has white script, but gold hour batons, and deeper sunk subdials.
A 385. (2400 pieces, 1969-1971) I didn't think I'd like this one, but it is a surprise favorite of mine (who am I kidding? They are all my favorite). The dial has graded shading, fading from deep olive at the tachymeter to pale khaki at the center. Subdials are white, and extremely prone to smudging, I imagine from oil creeping up the center post. I don't know how easy these clean, but I'm about to send one off for a service, and I will let the forum now.
Of note, these dials look very different depending on photography technique, with the same watch presenting a very different appearance with different lighting. This is a pair of pics of the exact same watch, confirmed by case number, to illustrate the point:
(Heirloom Gallery, Singapore)
rcredit unknown)
A 3817. (1000 pieces, 1971) A tri-color dial in an angled tonneau case, distinguished from the A 386 dial by
1. seconds subdial hand, hashes and numbers in French racing blue
2. variable-length seconds and fractions of a second hashmarks around the circumference
3. shorter hour batons.
4. no bezel and integral tachymeter.
This is the only model with different colored subdial hands. My example has been sadly over-polished, but I couldn't pass up such an impeccable dial. Beware that example with the dial from the New Vintage 1969 (just sold for $3K, if eBay is to be believed).
A 3818. (1000 pieces, 1971) Blue Primero. Less than half as many produced as the A 386, this is a sensational watch. The blue shimmers in the light, aided by the engraved subdial patterns. The gray and navy subdial borders are subtle and elegant. The painted hour batons and hands have faded to a lovely hue.
You'd think that no one would be ambitious enough to try to redial this, but someone has! Can you spot the differences?
Round Case
The least unusual, and also my personal favorite, is the round case of the A 386, reissued in enlarged form in this year's new El Primeros. It is unusually flat, and because the lugs stick straight out like rabbit ears, it rides surprisingly large on the wrist, as Dave (Gombrich) has observed elsewhere.
A 386. (2500 pieces, 1969-1971) This is the watch everyone thinks of when taking about the early El Primero, and the one Zenith has chosen to riff on for the Striking 10th. And you can't fault their thinking: the blue-brown-champagne subdial thing is so identified with El P, that there is no clearer way to send the message "We are returning to our historical core." What can one say - it's a beautiful watch. Particulars: Hands are white, and a unique pattern. Beware of dial substitutions using the modern dial from the New Vintage 1969. Grab one. You won't regret it.
Occasionally one sees some damage on the blue dial. Blue dial damage
I have no idea why this happens, nor why this is restricted to the blue subdial. Any ideas?
Slab Case
The slab is simple and unadorned, with hooded lugs, and to my eye more specific for the early 1970's and at the same time less distinctive than the other models already addressed. It has also aged the least well, IMO. Nevertheless, its simplicity has a certain appeal.
A 787. (1500 pieces, 1971-1972) This is the most elemental El Primero: no bezel, no color other than the chrono second hand. Casebacks for this type of case are flat brushed steel with the case number as the only marking.
A 788. (1400 pieces, 1971-1972) Another Blue Primero, this time a uniform metallic hue without gradations or subtlety, much more sporty and direct than the A 3818.
Of note, this comes with a bezel - many examples seem to have lost theirs along the way, probably just not replaced after service. It upsets the balance of the watch surprisingly little, and thus can fool the eye into thinking that the bezel-less model is original and intact.
(sources unknown)
And that's all I know. I look forward to your comments, changes, corrections.
Cheers,
LouS
SPECIFIC MODELS
I will review the individual models according to case style. All of the Zenith El P cases are distinctive, and I think either appeal or repel at first glance. There are four case types that account for the bulk of these watches. The most distinctive, and the most immediately identified with the early El Primeros is the angled tonneau.
Angled Tonneau Case:
This case is very comfortable on the wrist, and the interplay of brushed and polished planes is pleasing to the eye. Its design antecedents seem to me to be a type of late 1930s military watch case, as in the Czech Air Force Longines, and certain Eternas, etc. All cases are vulnerable to overpolishing, but this model is especially so, and even moderate polishing stands to blunt the numerous angles and alter the fragile proportions and relationships of the facets of this watch.
Unpolished watches are marked by crisp angles
Compare with
overpolishing too close to the dial has altered this normally straight line
compare with unpolished
When sold with bracelet, these watches were sold with a ladder-type of folded steel bracelet by Gay Freres, stamped with the ibex and the date on the inside of the clasp. It's pretty hard to find a bracelet in reasonable shape today.
A 384. (2600 pieces, 1969-1971) Restrained and sober, this is the original. Ideally, the dial features crisp black subdials on a cream background.
The A 384 dial is the most prone to light damage, the black fading to chocolate brown, or even lighter to a cocoa powder color. While some may think this is attractive (cf. "tropical" dials in Speedmasters and the Rolexes sportwatches), I think it's damage, pure and simple. These occasionally get mistaken/passed off as a separate brown-on-white model, but no such model exists.
This model also shows the effects of a rather aggressive polish, with the edges of the top facet of the case riding up on the dial to make the dial look weirdly large. Compare with the watch above.
Beware dial substitutions among similar models. The G 381 has a similar dial, distinguished only by gilt hashmarks and numbers on the subdials and on the decimal ring, and gold-toned hour batons. The G 581 (shown mislabled as a 381 in Rossler on page 243; compare with correct G 381 on page 248 upper left) has white script, but gold hour batons, and deeper sunk subdials.
A 385. (2400 pieces, 1969-1971) I didn't think I'd like this one, but it is a surprise favorite of mine (who am I kidding? They are all my favorite). The dial has graded shading, fading from deep olive at the tachymeter to pale khaki at the center. Subdials are white, and extremely prone to smudging, I imagine from oil creeping up the center post. I don't know how easy these clean, but I'm about to send one off for a service, and I will let the forum now.
Of note, these dials look very different depending on photography technique, with the same watch presenting a very different appearance with different lighting. This is a pair of pics of the exact same watch, confirmed by case number, to illustrate the point:
A 3817. (1000 pieces, 1971) A tri-color dial in an angled tonneau case, distinguished from the A 386 dial by
1. seconds subdial hand, hashes and numbers in French racing blue
2. variable-length seconds and fractions of a second hashmarks around the circumference
3. shorter hour batons.
4. no bezel and integral tachymeter.
This is the only model with different colored subdial hands. My example has been sadly over-polished, but I couldn't pass up such an impeccable dial. Beware that example with the dial from the New Vintage 1969 (just sold for $3K, if eBay is to be believed).
A 3818. (1000 pieces, 1971) Blue Primero. Less than half as many produced as the A 386, this is a sensational watch. The blue shimmers in the light, aided by the engraved subdial patterns. The gray and navy subdial borders are subtle and elegant. The painted hour batons and hands have faded to a lovely hue.
You'd think that no one would be ambitious enough to try to redial this, but someone has! Can you spot the differences?
Round Case
The least unusual, and also my personal favorite, is the round case of the A 386, reissued in enlarged form in this year's new El Primeros. It is unusually flat, and because the lugs stick straight out like rabbit ears, it rides surprisingly large on the wrist, as Dave (Gombrich) has observed elsewhere.
A 386. (2500 pieces, 1969-1971) This is the watch everyone thinks of when taking about the early El Primero, and the one Zenith has chosen to riff on for the Striking 10th. And you can't fault their thinking: the blue-brown-champagne subdial thing is so identified with El P, that there is no clearer way to send the message "We are returning to our historical core." What can one say - it's a beautiful watch. Particulars: Hands are white, and a unique pattern. Beware of dial substitutions using the modern dial from the New Vintage 1969. Grab one. You won't regret it.
Occasionally one sees some damage on the blue dial. Blue dial damage
I have no idea why this happens, nor why this is restricted to the blue subdial. Any ideas?
Slab Case
The slab is simple and unadorned, with hooded lugs, and to my eye more specific for the early 1970's and at the same time less distinctive than the other models already addressed. It has also aged the least well, IMO. Nevertheless, its simplicity has a certain appeal.
A 787. (1500 pieces, 1971-1972) This is the most elemental El Primero: no bezel, no color other than the chrono second hand. Casebacks for this type of case are flat brushed steel with the case number as the only marking.
A 788. (1400 pieces, 1971-1972) Another Blue Primero, this time a uniform metallic hue without gradations or subtlety, much more sporty and direct than the A 3818.
Of note, this comes with a bezel - many examples seem to have lost theirs along the way, probably just not replaced after service. It upsets the balance of the watch surprisingly little, and thus can fool the eye into thinking that the bezel-less model is original and intact.
And that's all I know. I look forward to your comments, changes, corrections.
Cheers,
LouS