While Zenith came out with other open models in the early and mid 2000s that featured various shaped windows, only the Chronomaster Open allowed a complete view of the balance and escapement wheel. While most of the aesthetic lines from this time period have been culled from the current collection, the skeletal opening used on what was then called the “Chronomaster Open” watch is almost identical to that of the current El Primero Chronomaster Power Reserve. The Power Reserve Indicator and lumed tri-spoke second hand of the new Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Power Reserve Charles Vermot The Chronomaster Power Reserve Charles Vermot retails for $9,800 and is limited to 1975 units: 1975 is also the year that Mr.
To his delight, the parts and tools were discovered by new ownership and were instrumental in the continuation of Zenith’s mechanical chronographs. Vermot had hoped, the manufacture of automatic chronographs once again became a priority at Zenith. Instead of carrying out this task, he secretly hid away the presses, technical plans, and equipment used in the creation of El Primero. The watch’s namesake, Charles Vermot, was a foreman at Zenith’s factory, and was charged with the task of disassembling Zenith’s El Primero production assembly and selling it off for parts. In the mid 70s, Zenith was sold to American owners who decided to discontinue the manufacture of mechanical chronographs altogether. While Zenith had come out with the first El Primero in 1969 and designed a series of attractive chronographs in the early 1970s, the company struggled financially. The first era that the watch evokes is that of the mechanical watch industry’s struggles during the mid 70s. The skeletal opening on the Chronomaster Power Reserve Charles Vermot Limited Edition is very similar to the shape of the models from the early 2000s, though the watch features modern elements like a silicon pallet fork and escapement wheel.
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