Zenith Revival watches

Zenith Revival is the collection of close reissues of Zenith's early El Primero chronographs; recent models such as the A3817 and the Liberty carry the Chronomaster Revival name. Its core arrived with the El Primero's 50th anniversary in 2019, when Zenith scanned and digitised an original 1969 A384 to reproduce its dimensions, finishing and details. The only modern concessions are sapphire crystals front and back and a display caseback.

The 1969 El Primero launched in three references, the A384, A385 and A386, and Zenith has reissued all three. The A384 has the blocky cushion-shaped steel case and a matte white panda dial with black registers and a tachymetre scale. The A386 has a round case and overlapping tricolour counters. The A3817 of 1971 put the A386's tricolour dial into the steel case of the earliest steel references. The reissues run on the automatic El Primero 400, a modernised version of the original 3019 PHC with a column wheel, beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour with a 50-hour power reserve. Water resistance is 50 m, and Zenith also remade the Gay Freres ladder bracelet.

The A384 and the watches built on its case are 37 mm and 12.6 mm thick: the A384 panda, the brown-dial A385 (03.A384.400/385.C855), the silver tricolour A3817 and the black-dial titanium Shadow (97.T384.4061/21.C822). The A3818 Cover Girl is also 37 mm, in blue on a titanium Airweight case or as a unique pink piece. The A386 reissues are 38 mm, like the 1969 original, in steel, yellow, rose and white gold, and platinum.

Many Revivals are small limited and partner editions: Lupin the Third runs of 50, 200 and 250, the titanium Edge of Space, Phillips pieces including a unique platinum A386 with a lapis lazuli dial, and editions for Hodinkee, SJX and Fine Watch Club. The blue-dial Liberty (03.US384.400/57.C823) is limited to 150 and sold only in the USA and Canada. The Revival name also appears on the Defy A3642 Revival, a 37 mm steel watch limited to 250.