It’s the sort of dark-periphery dial that although hasn’t ever become completely extinct, has actually only been all the rage for the last number of years since H. As you see above, the A385 came on a “ dégradé” or “smoked” or “vignette” or “ ombré” dial was present on the 1969 original - something that, I have to say, I myself wasn’t expecting to see. How Close Is The “Revival A385” To The 1960s Original?įor better and worse, it’s very close. From my perspective, as legitimate an El Primero this is, I can only urge you to consider the number of novel and cool iterations the El Primero has revealed over the last few decades and compare those with this before pulling the trigger on a vintage revival. So, back to the original question: Is the “Revival A385” the El Primero to get? That is for you to decide. The Zenith El Primero Revival A385 does have some period-specific design elements - like the round dial and crystal combined with a tonneau case with angular lugs - but all in all, it still very much appears as its own thing. There are a number of other problems with it, but again, those belong to another article. Relaunching a vintage diver or field or pilot watch or whatever that looks like every other diver or field or pilot watch of an era, just with a different name on the front, seems like an utterly useless (and lazy) exercise to me and that largely explains why I don’t care much for the vintage re-release craze of the last few years. A difference that is very scarcely identified but also is of ownership-experience-defining importance. Because many of them are “simply good” products of yesteryear while the A385, I think, looks and feels like it was at the bleeding edge.Īnd that highlights the world of a difference that exists between today’s wide range of vintage re-release watches. On the wrist, the Revival A385 does have a certain cutting-edge coolness to it that the millionth run-of-the-mill vintage re-release diver watch or field watch or pilot watch we see debut these days simply don’t have. In other words, many of us would rather own a death trap ’60s Ford GT40 than a safe and reliable ’21 Ford Mustang, even if the latter is superior in more than a few objective matters. Simultaneously, it also happens to be one of the most technically and visually advanced timepieces of the entire Swiss watch industry of that time - and owning one of the ultimate products from any period of any industry has a spine-tingling coolness to it that “simply good” modern products cannot replicate, even if they are technically superior in all sorts of ways to their ancestors. Take a glance at this and you will see a cutting-edge timepiece of the 1960s, exactly as the Zenith manufacture of that time best intended it. First is that so-called time capsule feature. Nevertheless, the Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Revival A385 offers a host of considerable feats that most of its other modern counterparts don’t. You can get an El Primero in all sorts of flavors these days. A Stratos Striking 10ths is, for example, an absolutely superb modern rendition of this chronograph with a novel spin on utilizing its celebrated 5Hertz/one-tenth-a-second operating frequency. More to the point, the El Primero has been packaged in all sorts of fascinating and entertaining ways since its 1969 debut - thus, unlike with a host of other brands big on vintage-revivals these days, you do have tons of amazing options to enjoy the El Primero beyond resorting to a vintage re-release. That said, the last 50 years saw a truly remarkable - and still deeply under-appreciated - evolution of this caliber both in terms of technical complexity and “packaging.” Over this time, El Primero calibers were enhanced to genuinely impressive new dimensions, with perpetual calendar, alarm, tourbillon, minute repeater and Striking 10th complications added to a movement whose “base” rendition had already pushed the engineering envelope, big-time. Is The “Revival A385” The El Primero To Get?Īs I said, this Revival A385 is as legitimate an El Primero as they get, so far as pedigree is concerned. Hey Zenith… That GH 20801 has to make a comeback.
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