

The Original and quite possibly the best. There are strap options, too, and, of course, given its role in the watch, the El Primero gets its moment in the sun through a gaping sapphire case back. Cool as that was and is, it’s an acquired taste, so the new collection has a more mainstream three-link bracelet design. By Rhonda Riche Editor-At-Large The Zenith El Primero Reference A386 is one of the most recognizable and desirable watches ever created. The 1960s model had a laddered design created by specialist Gay Frères, as seen on some of Zenith’s Chronomaster Revival models recently. A Closer Look At The New Zenith Chronomaster Original For fans of the El Primero Reference A386, these three standard production successors deliver everything you need. One area of difference is the bracelet design. Despite the level of detail, and that its squeezed into a relatively small dial by modern chronograph standards, the read-out is fabulously well balanced and, dare I say it, far clearer than on the Chronomaster Sport. The inner of these still shows 100 segments, now used to break down the ten seconds it takes for the red hand to complete a full tour of the dial the outer, once a tachymeter, now shows the tenths of a second. New to the design is how the two scales around the outside edge of the dial are used.
