Celebrating the 50th year of the Zenith’s El Primero caliber, the watchmakers are ringing all the bells and whistles with the El Primero Revival A384 Edge of Space watch. Collaborating with MR PORTER and Bamford Watch Department, which is the second collaboration between the three companies – the timepiece that has been worked upon is the Zenith El Primero Revival A384 model.
This is the same watch that we saw here, a couple of months ago, and it was a reverse-engineered interpretation of the original. A quick refresh – the Zenith El Primero Revival A384 hosts a 37mm faceted matte-finished steel case and houses the El Primero 400 chronograph movement.
Edge of Space Limited Edition
The El Primero Revival A384 Edge of Space Limited Edition watch is entirely developed and produced in-house at Zenith’s Manufacture. The design of the watch has been worked upon by George Bamford of Bamford Watch Department, the MR PORTER team and Zenith. Last year the trio had worked on the Solar Blue, and it was an instant success and for this new collab, nothing less is anticipated.
More than that, I have scanned through some reviews for the El Primero Revival A384 on forums, and the watch owners seem to be very satisfied with this base watch.
Completely inspired by the Zenith El Primero Revival A384 model, the new edition includes the tachymeter, which references back to a 1984/86 El Primero. The case measures the same 37 mm x 12.6 mm as seen on the original but is crafted from titanium instead of stainless steel.
The matte grey finish of the case comes from the micro bead-blasting work done on it. To counter the grey finish, the dial sports a dark blue look with black counters and white markings. When it comes to the sub dials, they have been inspired by the calibre 146-HP from 1970.
Under the Hood and More
The Edge of Space is fitted with a navy blue Cordura-effect rubber strap that comes with minimal white stitching and in some ways complements the white dial markings. Limited to 50 watches, the open case-back is engraved and individually numbered one to 50.
I agree with Julien Tornare, the CEO of Zenith, who thinks that the titanium case and a black-blue dial combination, gives this classic design a fresh new look.
Under the hood of the El Primero Revival A384 ‘Edge of Space’ is a precise 13 1/4”’ automatic chronograph movement and offers a 50-hour power reserve. The 1969 original titanium 37mm case sits very well on the wrist and the anti-reflective domed sapphire glass crystal, works well with the case.
The water-resistance is 50 meters and the finishes include straight graining, Geneva stripes and blued screws. This collab timepiece is available for $8600, which is a thousand dollar more than the El Primero Revival A384 watch.
