Zenith hosted an international launch of the El primero tour billion skeleton & the El primero skeleton in tense black
Two great performers make their stage entrance and reveal their legendary mechanism through a fascinating chiaroscuro open worked design. A wide black ceramic case, an open worked dial and an ultra-technical vibe…spiced up by a sprinkling of crimson.
They radiate an imposing and distinguished presence 45 mm of black ceramic frame a skeleton dial, in an impressive architectural display show casing the intricacies of El Primero mechanisms. These are complicated models with a fiery temperament: the first combines a tour billon with a high-frequency chronograph, while the second deploys the spirited energy of a classic“El Primero” chronograph.
A new arrival at Zenith, ceramic no sooner enters the collection than it relinquishes the starring role to the legendary ‘engines’ inside: the El Primero Calibre 4035 automatic chronograph tour billon movement; and El Primero Calibre 400B, heir to the world’s most precise series-made chronograph developed by Zenith in 1969. Both are revealed through a deep black open worked dial enlivened by red accents. Their swift-paced 5 Hzcadence drives the ruthenium-blackened, facetted and luminescent hands sweeping over matching hour-markers. Open worked counters and a minutering screw-secured to the movement enhance this three-dimensional display.
Fashioned from black ceramic, their 45 mm-diameter case framing a skeleton dial conveys the image of perfectly mastered complexity. The El Primero Skeleton Tour billon model associates the tour billon with a high-frequency chronograph in resolutely futuristic mode. The tour billon carriage performing one rotation per minute is offset at 11 o’clock, while the open worked chronograph counters form a figure eight. Also beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour enabling a tenth-of-a-second display, the El Primero Skeleton chronograph movement powers central hours and minutes, small seconds, chronograph and date functions. Both models have an over 50-hour power reserve.
The strong character of the El Primero Tour billon Skeleton and El Primero Skeleton is accentuated by a black rubber strap – perforated for the tour billion version and carbon fibre-coated for the chronograph – fitted with a titanium and black PVD-treated triple folding clasp.
