Hands-On – Zenith Defy El Primero 21 – From a 10th to a 100th of a Second (Video, Specs & Price)
Back in 1969, Zenith introduced a movement that will later become an icon, as being both one of the first automatic chronograph movements, and being the 20th century’s king of precision, as beating at 5Hz and being precise to the 10th of a second. Its name: the El Primero. At Baselworld, the Le Locle-based manufacture has given this fast-beating engine a 21st century appeal: 50Hz frequency, precision to the 100th of a second, modernized look, open-worked movement. Here is the Zenith Defy El Primero 21… and it’s fast, very fast.
Heritage is here to stay. What started as a trend intended to appeal to the hard core of collectors has slipped into the mainstream, and somewhere along the way it became a key pillar in major brands’ release strategies. In 2007 it was very much novelty, now it’s the new normal. Case in point is Patek Philippe’s hero model of 2017 – the 5320G Perpetual Calendar, an undeniably handsome take on a very Patek complication. The 5320G is not a remake of a particular vintage reference (though it does bear a striking resemblance to the ref. 3448); rather it’s a melange of mid-century design codes, neatly combined in a 40mm white gold, retro-modernist package. Most of the attention heaped upon the 5320G has focused on the dial, and it’s easy to see why. The layout is balanced, with day and month apertures at the top, and a moonphase display and pointer date at the bottom. The functions at six are flanked by relatively discreet portholes displaying day/night and leap year indicators respectively. Aside from that the dial is a very warm ivory or cream colour, paired with applied black gold Arabic numerals and syringe-style hands. Both hands and numerals are…