Collection: Zenith Chronomaster

The Zenith Chronomaster collection is built around the legendary El Primero movement, introduced in 1969 as the world's first automatic chronograph capable of measuring elapsed time to 1/10th of a second, thanks to its high-frequency 36,000 vibrations-per-hour (5Hz) escapement. That same El Primero DNA powers every Chronomaster model today, making the collection a benchmark for precision chronograph watchmaking and a longtime favorite among serious collectors.

The modern Chronomaster lineup spans several distinct expressions of that heritage. The Chronomaster Sport, built around the tri-color subdial layout and pump-style pushers first seen on the historic 1969 A386, houses the latest El Primero 3600 caliber with a 60-hour power reserve and a distinctive ceramic bezel engraved with a 1/10th-of-a-second scale; the Chronomaster Sport Meteorite version takes this further with a genuine meteorite dial, each one hand-finished to reveal its natural Widmanstätten pattern. The Chronomaster Revival line looks backward more directly, faithfully reissuing historic references like the A385 with vintage-inspired dials and proportions. The Chronomaster Open adds a partial skeleton dial and visible escapement window for a more contemporary, technical look. Zenith has also pushed the collection toward high jewelry territory with pieces like the Chronomaster Sport Rainbow, featuring a rainbow gemstone-set bezel and baguette sapphire indices.

King Jewelers is an authorized Zenith retailer, carrying a range of Chronomaster models including the Chronomaster Sport, Chronomaster Sport Meteorite, Chronomaster Revival El Primero A385, and Chronomaster Open. Every Zenith watch purchase includes free shipping, and our team can help you explore the Chronomaster lineup in person at our Green Hills showroom in Nashville or online at kingjewelers.com.

1969: A Race to Be First
Zenith's Chronomaster collection is built entirely around one movement: the El Primero, launched in January 1969 after more than five years of development, in a genuine race with Seiko and a Heuer-Breitling-Hamilton consortium to create the world's first automatic chronograph. Named "El Primero," Spanish for "the first," the movement earned its name by beating at a then-unprecedented 36,000 vibrations per hour (5Hz), giving it the ability to measure elapsed time to 1/10th of a second, a level of precision no automatic chronograph had achieved before. The A386, released the same year in a classic round steel case with the collection's signature tri-color chronograph subdials, became the movement's flagship reference and remains among the most sought-after vintage chronographs today, with only around 2,500 original examples produced.

The Quartz Crisis and Charles Vermot's Secret Rescue
The El Primero nearly didn't survive the 1970s. When Zenith was sold to the American Zenith Radio Corporation in 1971, new management bet the company's future entirely on quartz technology, and by 1975 ordered all tooling, presses, and machinery for mechanical movement production, including the El Primero, sold off for scrap. Workshop manager Charles Vermot disagreed with the decision and secretly hid roughly 150 presses and the small tools and cams needed to produce the movement behind a false wall in the manufacture's attic in Le Locle, telling no one, not even his own family.

Vermot's gamble paid off nearly a decade later. In 1984, Rolex approached Zenith looking for a thin automatic chronograph movement to modernize the Daytona, and Vermot revealed his hidden cache, allowing Zenith to resume El Primero production and enter a 10-year supply contract with Rolex. Every automatic Rolex Daytona from 1988 until Rolex developed its own in-house caliber in 2000 ran on a modified El Primero movement, an ironic twist given that the modern Chronomaster Sport now competes directly with the Daytona in today's market.

Key Milestones

1969 — El Primero debuts as the world's first automatic chronograph, with the A386 as its flagship reference

1975 — Zenith orders El Primero tooling scrapped amid the quartz crisis

1976 — Charles Vermot secretly hides the tooling in the manufacture's attic

1984 — Rolex contracts Zenith to supply El Primero movements for the Daytona; production resumes

1988-2000 — Modified El Primero powers the automatic Rolex Daytona

2017 — Chronomaster El Primero reissues in aluminum cases pay tribute to the original A386

2021 — Chronomaster Sport launches with the new El Primero 3600 caliber and A386-inspired tri-color subdials

2021 — Chronomaster Revival line launches, faithfully reissuing historic references like the A385

2025 — Chronomaster Sport Meteorite and Chronomaster Sport Rainbow expand the collection into new materials and high jewelry territory

What Defines a Chronomaster Today
Every modern Chronomaster runs on a descendant of the original El Primero movement, most now the El Primero 3600 caliber, which retains the 5Hz high-frequency architecture, a 60-hour power reserve, silicon escape wheel, and 1/10th-of-a-second chronograph precision. The Chronomaster Sport carries the tri-color subdial layout and pump-pusher design directly from the 1969 A386, while the Chronomaster Revival line reissues specific historic references like the A385 with period-correct proportions.

At King Jewelers
King Jewelers is an authorized Zenith retailer, carrying a range of Chronomaster models including the Chronomaster Sport, Chronomaster Sport Meteorite, Chronomaster Revival El Primero A385, and Chronomaster Open. Every Zenith watch purchase includes free shipping, and our team can help you explore the Chronomaster lineup in person at our Green Hills showroom in Nashville or online at kingjewelers.com.

The Zenith Chronomaster spans everything from the modern Chronomaster Sport to historically faithful Revival reissues and skeletonized Open models, all built around the legendary El Primero movement. King Jewelers carries a range of Chronomaster references, giving collectors multiple entry points into this iconic chronograph family.

Chronomaster Sport — El Primero 3600 caliber, 5Hz/60hr power reserve, tri-color subdials inspired by the 1969 A386.

Chronomaster Sport Meteorite — Genuine meteorite dial with natural Widmanstätten pattern, no two dials alike.

Chronomaster Revival El Primero A385 — 37mm steel, gradient brown dial, faithful reissue of a specific 1969 heritage reference.

Chronomaster Open — Partial skeleton dial with visible escapement window, a more technical, contemporary aesthetic.

Chronomaster Sport Rainbow — 18K white gold, rainbow gemstone bezel, baguette sapphire indices; Zenith's move into high-jewelry chronographs.