Pre-Owned Zenith by Analog Shift El Primero Rainbow Flyback Chronograph

Why We Love It

The Zenith El Primero automatic chronograph movement is a worthy contender for the pantheon of the most important mechanical calibres ever manufactured.

With a high beat rate, quickset date mechanism, and full-body winding rotor, these movements are robust, reliable, and accurate - and have  powered everything from the iconic A386 chronograph to the Rolex Daytona and a bevy of lesser known models from brands such as Movado and Waldan. 

In 1996, Zenith one-upped themselves by adding a Flyback feature to their Rainbow line of chronographs (allegedly to be considered for a French Air Force contract that never came to pass), and the watch you see here was born. 

Pressing the reset button after the chronograph is activated results in an instantaneous reset - or 'flyback' - action, allowing for the types precise timing useful to fighter pilots or while waiting at the checkout counter of your local deli.

Unlike the more colorful variant from which the Rainbow collection name was born, this particular example is very much a stark black and white military style, with a crisp, legible dial with printed Tritium Arabic indices, black date wheel at 4:30, and a large luminous handset. A bi-directionally rotating 60-minute timing bezel surrounds its sapphire crystal, featuring oversized ridges for easy grip, and it comes fitted to a multi-link stainless bracelet with signed deployant clasp.

This timepiece dates to the late 1990s and remains in strong condition throughout. It is also accompanied by its inner and outer box set, books, blank warranty card, hangtag, as well as extra links and a spare bezel insert. 

With rugged good looks, an interesting history, and a world-class movement, this piece offers a whole lot for under $5K.

Don't sleep on it! 

The El Primero Story

In 1969, as the Soviets and the Americans raced to put a man on the moon, watch brands raced to develop the first automatic chronograph movement. The fiercest competition was among the Swiss, with two camps vying against each other for supremacy: Hamilton, in concert with Heuer, Breitling, Dubois-Depraz, and new Hamilton acquisition, Buren, who would use Buren's Intra-Matic to develop the "Chrono-Matic" (or Caliber 11) under the mysterious title of Project 99. Then there were Zenith and Movado, who'd already made a name for themselves as producers of fine chronographs. 

Zenith’s journey to develop the El Primero began in 1962, for a target date of 1965, the company’s centennial. Although Zenith would overshoot the date by four years, the movement that they produced would break the mold as far as chronograph movements were concerned—both literally and figuratively.

It would be the first automatic chronograph movement. Furthermore, it would be the first chronograph movement where the construction would fully integrate the chronograph complication, rather than containing it in a module. Instead, the El Primero would contain a column wheel and a rotor mounted on ball bearings. Moreover, of the three automatic chronograph movements that were released in 1969, only the El Primero was high-beat, meaning that it beat at a rate of 36,000 bph. This offered significant added accuracy, down to one tenths of a second.