download zenith chronomaster revival shadow

As the legend goes, in 1970, not long after Zenith debuted the groundbreaking El Primero calibre, the manufacture had produced a prototype of a manual-winding chronograph, housed in a blackened steel case – a rarity for the time. Its existence has eluded collectors and Zenith collaborators alike for decades. Thanks to Charles Vermot’s quick thinking back in 1975, Zenith was able to pick up on its mechanical watchmaking prowess without having skipped a beat.A timepiece shrouded in mystery.

Fast forward to 1978, Zenith was now under new management again, who decided that Zenith should reclaim its craft. Not only that, he even listed each component and each tool carefully in a ring-binder file that he kept in a forgotten attic of the Manufacture. He then took it upon himself to stow away the more essential equipment including, the presses (150 of them, weighing more than a ton), the technical plans, the cams and the cutting tools. His request was, however, met with a firm no. He was convinced that mechanical watchmaking would return before long and asked the management at the time to not do away with all of the production equipment. Among them was Charles Vermot, a specialist in chronograph movement construction who had followed the development of El Primero ever since the first sketches and spent his entire career within the Manufacture. To the people at the Manufacture who had given their heart and soul to their labor, this was horrible news.

In 1975, an American brand that owned the Zenith watch company mandated that the watchmaker should focus on making quartz watches only.

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