As the crown jewel in last year’s 50th anniversary tribute to its famous El Primero chronograph caliber, Zenith launched a highly period-accurate reissue of the Ref. A384 model from 1969. This year, Zenith unveils another vintage-look El Primero homage piece, this one built around a never-before-seen prototype dial discovered in a secret attic of the company’s historical manufacture in Le Locle, Switzerland.

Zenith Chronomaster Revival Manufacture Edition (Ref. 03.Z386.400/60.C843)

The story behind the Chronomaster Revival Manufacture Edition, which launched exclusively on Zenith’s recently established e-commerce platform, begins with the discovery of a small, unlabeled box in the now-legendary hidden attic where foresighted Zenith employee Charles Vermot stashed all the company’s El Primero documents and materials to preserve them through the 1970s Quartz Crisis. Inside the box was a handful of tricolor dials similar to the one used on the now-familiar Ref. A386 El Primero watch. However, unlike that model’s blue-gray-silver combo, these prototype dials, which were apparently never used on a commercial model, featured subdials in three shades of blue.
These prototype dials were discovered in Charles Vermot’s secret attic.

The watch’s 38-mm stainless steel case, with pump-style chronograph pushers, replicates the original case of the Ref. A386 from 1969; Zenith says that this watch will be the last one available with ...