The Zenith El Primero Striking 10th Complete Review Up :-)

[hanz079]

Guys, not an actual review yet...

But a Preview to a review 

This is the 1st part of my comprehensive look at the Zenith Tri Colour Watches.
What makes them so special?
Why the allure?
Why my ultimate choice to go with the Striking 10th?
Why did it took me 3 years to finally settle for the Striking 10th?

Yes it is a purchase that was 3 years in the making.

For the start, we have to go back to 1969.
On the year Zenith released the world's "First Integrated Automatic Chronograph High Beat Movement"
On such a glorious and historical occasion, one of the 1st watches that housed the legendary movement is the Zenith ref: A386.

Note: Photos borrowed from the net.
Taken by Lous, Hodinkee and WUS



Most if not all Zenith aficionados consider this the grail Zenith.
Sized at a demure 38mm... it is still wearable today.
Slightly overlapping subdials but does not hinder the chronograph reading.
This watch started Zenith's iconic 3 colour subdial...
In champagne for running seconds, blue for elapsed minutes and grey for elapsed hours.
It takes some guts to mix all those colours in there without looking like a toy... and Zenith succeeded in doing that.
It has since been in my mind that ZENITH = TRI COLOUR = ZENITH
It is THE Zenith look.
Unique only to Zenith watches and no other.



3 years ago in 2010, Zenith announced a reissue closest to the A386, the 38mm El Primero 36,000vph Original 1969.
This announcement followed after the Striking 10th piece was announced and shown at Basel 2010.
Size is exactly like the vintage piece, but the subdials have been made bigger and the overlapping made worse.
This has started to interfere with the chronograph reading.
So, in 2010/2011 alone, you have 2 Zenith watches with the iconic Tri Colour Dial to choose from.
One at 38mm and one at 42mm with a foudroyante complication.
I held back... waiting to see if there is a 40mm version in the near future.



Another vintage watch that was released with the tri colour subdial is the reference A3817.
This watch features an angled tonneau case and sized at 38mm.
Not everyones cup of tea I suppose.
Kindly note that the blue running seconds hand have been replaced in this photo.



Actually, a year before in 2009, during the El Primero's 40th anniversary, Zenith paid tribute to the A3817 by releasing the El Primero 1969 New Vintage.
Retaining the angled tonneau case and upsized 2mm to 40mm... It was a really nice piece that caught my attention.
It was also on my wishlist for the longest time.
Maybe because I did not see and feel the watch in real life, that's the one reason stopping me from buying.
Because buying blind is not a choice for a piece at these prices... when I commit, I would have to make sure I really REALLY like the watch.



In the year 2011, a new piece with the Tri colour dial was announced.
Called the Stratos Striking 10th. It added a flyback complication along with the foudroyante and is cased in a sporty chunk of 45.5mm case...
Love the sporty nature of the watch.
But at 45.5mm... it's just too big...
I remembered at a WUS interview with Jean Frederic Dufour... my question was asked.
"Will there be a smaller Stratos in the near future?"
His answer "No, it's a sports watch, why would it need to be smaller?"
So... there goes...
The wait continues.



Year 2012, Zenith announced yet another piece with the Tri Colour dial... Erm ok... 2/3 of the Tri Colour dial.
The Chronomaster Open 1969.
This watch is again cased at 42mm... Sigh... It's either too big... or too small... or is it?

This is also the year where there was a GTG Happening in Kuching and I flown over just to meet up with some folks there.
Loo @ Enkidu brought along his 42mm El Primero 36k vph in white dial.
This is the 42mm sized one.
(I think Enkidu brought it along for the sole purpose of letting me try it out since I was complaining on the case size quite alot... I could be wrong though...  )

After strapping it on... I thought hey... it's not that bad... It's actually OK.
42mm is not big by today's standards to be honest.
But because I was wearing 40mm watches for way too long... anything bigger than 40mm just felt... wrong...



This year... Zenith quietly released a Tri Colour dial watch under the 36,000vph collection WITHOUT the foudroyante complication.
Then I thought... 42mm... Tri Colour Dial... Price should be lower than the Striking 10th...

Just for a comparison after making some calls and help from some friends.
The Zenith Striking 10th Retails at 36.8k
The Zenith 36,000vph Tri colour at 28.5k

Almost a 10k difference there.

So I made my decision.
That's the one one my crosshair.
The Zenith 36,000vph Tri Colour.
A picture of this watch is used as my HP's wallpaper to remind myself of what I want.
Have to keep myself focused.



Recently, Zenith released a couple of teasers of a new Tri Colour watch...
I held my breath... Could it be? 40mm? At long last?
Nope... Dream on... it's the El Primero Lightweight at 45mm case size...
Ok... I said... I shall concentrate my focus on the 36,000vph Tri Colour.

But you all knew which one I got in the end right?

So some of you might be asking... Why the Striking 10th after all the focus?

Well, a friend spotted a brand new piece at a great price.
For a little more of what I would be paying to get the 36,000vph Tri Colour... The Striking 10th can be had.
So... for me... it was a no brainer...



Well, that's all for this time.
This pic is my teaser for the upcoming review.

Hope you guys enjoyed it.
Stay tuned for the review in a weeks time. 

[hanz079]

Yes... this watch is a long time coming...
3 years in the making to be exact...
When this watch was announced back in 2010, I was ecstatic because it signify the rebirth of Zenith as a brand.
Helmed by Mr.Jean Frederic Dufour, Zenith slowly regained back it's groove so to speak.

After a full 3 years, instead of looking forward, I looked backwards and the Striking 10th sort of became more desirable.

And sure enough... I took the plunge.



1st off, I prefer my watch to be a little sporty.
Sporty dress or dressy sports, take your pick.
Which is why I immediately mounted a tougher looking strap on it.
Will talk about the OEM strap a little later on.
This is it... The Zenith El Primero Striking 10th.
Limited to 1969 pieces.
Ref: 03.2041.4052/69.c496



I am absolutely loving the iconic tri colour dial.
A combination of champagne, blue and grey subdials does wonders in today monochromatic watch designs.
Nothing like a little colour to spice things up without looking cheesy.
And of course, being iconic, this look is forever associated with Zenith and Zenith only.
I know some people are annoyed by the overlapping subdials.
Believe me, for this model... it doesn't matter.
Will explain why in awhile.



The outer rim of the subdials are finished by circular brushing while the inner circle is finished by engine turned.
Printing on the numbers and markers are crisp and clear.



The dial is silver sunburst.
Sometimes not so evident in pictures and also depending on lighting.
The El Primero font is no longer the elegant cursive font but just a regular blocky alphabets.
Love the applied Star and also the "1/10 of a second" in red.



Look at the 3 subdials.
Ain't them just awesome?
The minute totalizer subdial (grey) is overlapping both the running seconds subdial (champagne) and seconds totalizer subdial (blue)
The red central sweeping chronograph seconds hands makes one round in 10 seconds... this is a foudroyante complication.
Due to the fact that the El Primero movement is beating at 36,000 beats per hour (10 beats per second) it can accurately measure timing to a tenth of a second.
The outer rehaut of the dial is thus printed with the necessary markings to measure accuracy to the tenth of a second.



So, with one revolution of the central chronograph hands, the hands on the blue subdial will point at 10.
On the 2nd revolution, the hands on the blue subdial will point to the marker in between 10 and 30.
Following so far?

For the above picture, I have deliberately stopped the chronograph when the hands at the blue subdial have reach a position that is actually impossible to gauge the elapsed seconds.... but it is actually not needed, as the red central sweeping hands have already stopped at 3.5 seconds, and the only thing you have to measure is if the hands on the blue subdial have stopped BEYOND or BEFORE the halfway point between the 30 and 50 seconds marker, in this case, it is beyond the halfway point (above 40 seconds), which can only mean that the total elapsed seconds at 43.5 seconds (3.5 second reading from the red central seconds hand)
Easy... I hope you guys get what I mean... :-)
Since the minute totalizer is the dominant subdial with no overlapping, it's measurement is not hindered one bit.
Cool right?



Watch case measures 42mm.
The side profile of the case and the cut off lugs is historically accurate like the Zenith A386 of old... only upsized.
The sloping lugs does make the watch easier to wear than the size suggests.
Thickness is at 12.75mm as per Zenith spec sheet.
Sapphire crystal is raised and domed.



With the right strap, the shape just hugs the wrists snuggly.
The thin caseback helps in this regard.



Angled lugs or chamfered lugs, all the rage now.
Nicely done.



Crown is sized just enough for ease of use.
It's a non screwed down and signed with a five pointed star.
I would have liked it if it's just slightly bigger and a screwdown crown to increase the water resistance rating higher than the 100m.
Chronograph pushers are piston shaped and again, I would have liked it if it's slightly bigger.
That's just my preference though.



Movement powering this watch is the El Primero Caliber 4052.
Rotor is partly skeletonized and finishings like perlage on the bridges and geneva stripes on the rotor does make it look nicer.



Most people will tell you that the beauty of the El Primero movement is not in it's finishings, but the architecture.
And I can't agree more.
Wish that the column wheel on the right is blued to show some contrasts.
Due to the extra friction needed for the operation of the foudroyante, a double wheel is made with silicon.
That little blue (or is it purple) is certainly welcomed... and being relevant and practical in it's application is a plus.



The strap that came with the watch is this black alligator strap.
It originally came with a pin buckle and I switch it to this Zenith deployant that I have.





The strap is well made and my only gripe with it is that it is on the thin side.
About 3mm thick tappering even thinner going to the buckle and tail.
With that kind of thickness, the watch sort of felt like "head heavy"
I would wear the watch on this strap if I am attending a dinner and needing something more "dressier" but at the moment, I am wearing the watch on a daily basis so this strap just doesn't cut out for it.

I do appreciate that the back of the strap is rubber lined though.
It should last longer.
Lug measurement are also at a very odd 21mm, which means that ready made straps are not that widely available.



Because this is a long lusted piece, I have been wearing this for the past week... only this... all my other watches have taken a back seat and went into cold storage.
Personally, I think this is a great piece to have.
I initial dislike of the 42mm case size looks to be unfounded.
It fits really well on my 6.75inch wrist.
Even with the little gripes that I have with it, this overall package is still a win in my book.

[Yikkie]

Wow! Fantastic write-up! Can't wait to read the actual review! 

[ndtaan]

There's so much thought and feeling into buying this watch.
It's always refreshing to be able to get inside a person mind when he or she is buying something that has emotional feeling attached to it and nothing portrait it more that buying a watch for a watch enthusiasts.

Thanks for sharing,really appreciate it.  

[iamyourfazaaa]

Wahlau eh... Suspense betul.

[hanz079]

Wahlau eh... Suspense betul.

Sorry loh... Thinking if I go one shot... would be too long...
Have to start from the beginning... hahaha

[watchmanu]

Bro Hanz,

Take your time to give us a complete review of this nice watch.

Thanks again for the preview.

[sidestreaker]

 A bit potong stim... but yeah, take your time. That watch deserves a well written review

[nasa]

Waiting for the full review on bated breath...Drumroll Pleaseee....(drama mesti ada bro..hehehehe )...& Please, please tease us with more pictures!! 

[hanz079]

Waiting for the full review on bated breath...Drumroll Pleaseee....(drama mesti ada bro..hehehehe )...& Please, please tease us with more pictures!! 

Wookay... someone told me he liked the star counterweight on the seconds hand...



 

[watchmanu]

Hanz, don't forget the lume shot. 

[dpkong]

The overlapping dials... Why, oh why, did Zenith insist on not fixing it. I too, admire the Striking 10th. Why couldn't they stick with the A386 dial layout?

[hanz079]

The overlapping dials... Why, oh why, did Zenith insist on not fixing it. I too, admire the Striking 10th. Why couldn't they stick with the A386 dial layout?

No worries Donald... trust me... The overlapping subdial are not hindering the reading of the chronograph for the Striking 10th models.
The same can't be said for the normal movement on running seconds, elapsed minutes and elapsed hour.
Will explain more when I complete my review.

[RaymondT]

Very beautiful piece you got there Hanz , congrats 

[Yikkie]

The overlapping dials... Why, oh why, did Zenith insist on not fixing it. I too, admire the Striking 10th. Why couldn't they stick with the A386 dial layout?

Hanz should be able to explain it better but here is my explanation as to why the overlapping sub dials on the striking 10th is a non issue posted on another thread:
I have no issues with the overlapping subdials on the striking 10th as the 3 o'clock counter is for seconds and the second (chrono) hand will indicate the division of time to 1/10 th of a second. Since the second hand will complete a full rotation every 10s with the second marker divided into 5seconds indexes...there really is no issue in reading the chronograph function. The same probably can't be said about the non-striking 10th models.

[Devilzzz44]

Great writing there...waiting for the actual review... Cheers!

[ck77]

Fantastic review hanz 
But somehow I still bothered by the overlapping sub dial despite your detailed explanation.
The polished hands also make the poor legibility for time and chrono reading (maybe my monitor issue).
These make me appreciate on the legendary A386 more   

[hanz079]

Fantastic review hanz 
But somehow I still bothered by the overlapping sub dial despite your detailed explanation.
The polished hands also make the poor legibility for time and chrono reading (maybe my monitor issue).
These make me appreciate on the legendary A386 more   

Yeah... maybe I should take another picture outdoor under the blazing sun...
My photog noob skills still need alot of help... lol
But take my word for it that the chrono hands are visible... just not so in my pic due to lighting...

[TheHobbit]

Great review Hanz. Now I understand the watch better. Thanks.

[sidestreaker]

Congratulations and great review!

Little features that I love are the domed crystal, the silicon double wheel and the brush vs polished angle on the lugs.

Wear it in good health!

[iamyourfazaaa]

Awesome review! Now I want one.... 

[toolkit21]

Amazing looking movement window. Its like front or back you can look at it for so long. Like a hot curvaceous lady.

Just curious, you bought it at RM28500? Now I understand why the long wait to get this. Excellent piece

[Gigi]

Fuuuuu, nice review there 

[dpkong]

Lume shot please?

[el118]

I have seen the watch before but suddenly after reading your review it look more beautiful and awesome than i could remember.