No Reserve
9
Zenith
Ref. C.01
Chronomaster El Primero C.01 for Collective
An extremely rare and highly attractive limited edition stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with guarantee card and presentation box, number 7 of 50, sold to benefit the Horological Society of New York’s ongoing education initiatives
- Estimate
- $4,000 - 8,000•
$16,380
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Zenith
- Year
- 2019
- Reference No
- C.01
- Case No
- 531’072; No. 7 of 50
- Model Name
- Chronomaster El Primero C.01 for Collective
- Material
- Stainless steel
- Calibre
- Automatic, cal. 4061, 31 jewels
- Bracelet/Strap
- Cordura® (synthetic fiber-based fabric)
- Clasp/Buckle
- Stainless steel Zenith deployant clasp
- Dimensions
- 38mm Diameter
- Signed
- Case, dial, movement, and clasp signed.
- Accessories
- Accompanied by Zenith guarantee card, instruction manual, leather wallet, hang tag, polishing cloth, presentation box, and outer packaging.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
2019 marked the 50th anniversary of Zenith’s landmark El Primero movement, widely agreed to be the first fully integrated, automatic chronograph caliber in production. To herald this occasion, Zenith collaborated with a number of partners across the watch industry and produced limited editions that celebrated the El Primero in various unique ways.
The Chronomaster El Primero C.01 was the first foray into limited edition collaborations for Collective, a San Francisco Bay Area-based collector group founded by two longtime friends and watch collectors working in the tech industry. They sought to design an El Primero that took the architecture of the original but reinterpreted as a tech product designed in Silicon Valley. Modern, restrained, and surprisingly legible, the watch features several unique touches such as a rhodium-plated chronograph hand, satin-finished chronograph pushers, and a subtle matte white dial with contrasting light grey subsidiary dials.
Most importantly for many collectors, the watch features no date and measures 38mm in diameter. Sparingly used and accompanied with its original accessories, the present C.01 has been donated by Collective and all net proceeds from the auction of this timepiece will be donated to support HSNY’s ongoing educational initiatives.
The Chronomaster El Primero C.01 was the first foray into limited edition collaborations for Collective, a San Francisco Bay Area-based collector group founded by two longtime friends and watch collectors working in the tech industry. They sought to design an El Primero that took the architecture of the original but reinterpreted as a tech product designed in Silicon Valley. Modern, restrained, and surprisingly legible, the watch features several unique touches such as a rhodium-plated chronograph hand, satin-finished chronograph pushers, and a subtle matte white dial with contrasting light grey subsidiary dials.
Most importantly for many collectors, the watch features no date and measures 38mm in diameter. Sparingly used and accompanied with its original accessories, the present C.01 has been donated by Collective and all net proceeds from the auction of this timepiece will be donated to support HSNY’s ongoing educational initiatives.
Zenith
Swiss | 1865Since Zenith's beginnings, founder George Favre-Jacot sought to manufacture precision timepieces, realizing quality control was best maintained when production was housed under one roof. Zenith remains one of the few Swiss manufacturers to produce their own in-house movements to this day.
Today, the brand is best known for the "El Primero," the firm's most successful automatic chronograph movement. In an interesting twist of fate, the company that owned Zenith during the 1970s decided to move on to quartz movements and therefore sought to destroy the parts and tools necessary to make mechanical movements. One watchmaker realized this folly and hid the tools and parts before they were destroyed. In 1984, he returned them to Zenith so they could once again make the El Primero movement.
Browse MakerToday, the brand is best known for the "El Primero," the firm's most successful automatic chronograph movement. In an interesting twist of fate, the company that owned Zenith during the 1970s decided to move on to quartz movements and therefore sought to destroy the parts and tools necessary to make mechanical movements. One watchmaker realized this folly and hid the tools and parts before they were destroyed. In 1984, he returned them to Zenith so they could once again make the El Primero movement.