ZENITH El Primero TV Watch ref.01-0200-415 cal.3019PHC / 1970s Blue Dial

A retro 1970s Zenith El Primero TV watch, striking for its vivid blue dial and flat mineral crystal, has arrived.

The two-layer, rounded TV case is exactly the kind of thing only a vintage watch offers.

Its distinctive exterior gives off a substantial presence, and an integrated bracelet with a well-judged weight makes it comfortable to wear.

Dial and hands are both in good condition, and the bracelet has almost no stretch.

The 3019PHC El Primero movement is fitted, and the chronograph seconds hand moves deftly at an astonishing 36,000 beats per hour.

Zenith was a Swiss maker, yet it actively took up American production methods and used interchangeable parts so that its watches could be repaired — an innovative maker for its time.

Ten years after its founding it had grown into a large maker with more than 1,000 employees, and quickly became one of the major Swiss watch brands.

Zenith means high-performance chronographs.

The El Primero, its in-house movement fitted to many chronographs, is so complete that only slight refinements have been made since its birth in 1969.

It still reigns as the world's finest automatic chronograph movement.

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