Last year, Zenith unveiled the vintage El Primero collection during the Basel show. Which was, by far, my favorite of their new collections. They had some other nice timepieces as well, but in general, the majority of their designs were not well received. Too many of their designs were so off from the original Zenith look, that the company had begun to lose its following over the past five years. Fast forward to 2010, under the new direction of Jean-Frédéric Dufour, who previously worked for Chopard, Ulysse Nardin and the Swatch Group. As part of his turnaround strategy, he has begun to reduce the number of references, and bring the company back to basics. To start, the company will be introducing an exciting new El Primero Chronograph model, very much like Vintage 1969 El Primero Chronograph they introduced last year, except this one has a more contemporary case design and look. It also features a very cool new jumping seconds function (foudroyante).

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This year Zenith is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of their famous El Primero movement. The movement was the first of its kind, offering a 36,000 vph frequency and an automatic integrated column-wheel chronograph with date. Zenith actually sold the movement to Rolex to power the Daytona, before Rolex had in-house movement manufacturing capabilities. "Unrivaled to date, El Primero is the only chronograph movement capable of measuring short periods of time with 1/10th of a second accuracy." The movement is able to accept add-ons: triple calendar, moon phase and flyback. It is also available in tourbillon, open, power reserve and Grand date versions.

The watch I got to see at Baselworld, was the steel version of the new El Primero Vintage 1969 Chronograph (pictured above). The new vintage El Primero chronograph is also available in rose gold or black titanium.

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This gallery features photographs taken during a meeting with Zenith Marketing Director, Tamara Grove. Of the pieces I viewed, I liked the Classic El Primero based chronograph the most.

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[ via Zenith ]

The Academy Tourbillon El Primero Concept is a fascinating replenishment of the Academy collection by Zenith. This timepiece utilizes transparent sapphire for the dial to give a revealing perspective on the finely decorated mechanism, and impart a uniquely contemporary aesthetic identity.

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[ via Zenith ]

Considered as the most successful expression of watchmaking art, the Minute Repeater was created for clocks and pocket watches over 300 years ago when candles were in use in order to allow time to be read at night. Nowadays, only very few watchmakers are capable of manufacturing such a marvel in a wrist watch. ZENITH not only did it, but ZENITH was capable of combining the Minute Repeater mechanism with the mythical EI Primero Chronograph. This Hyper Complication, a world record in the watchmaking industry is equipped with the new 4043 caliber, comprising a total of 461 components and 45 rubies.

In order to combine these two complications, ZENITH has engineered and patented a system enabling the chiming mechanism to encircle the chronograph's axes. For this reason the striking mechanism rack is made in one extremely complicated piece with teeth having concentric levers for the hours and minutes.

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[ via Zenith ]

The newest model in the popular Defy Extreme lineup, the Grande Date Stealth, uses the Zenith El Primero 4039 SX automatic chronograph movement. The watch case is 46.5 mm wide and is made of titanium, with your choice of either grey or black titanium. The dial has a mulitlayered see-through design, with a very cool carbon fiber layer and red accented subdials. Both watches have titanium braclets with lateral Kevlar inserts.

Retail is $31,000 and only 250 editions are available worldwide.

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Here is a shot from Baselworld 2008 Opening Day. Many of the watchmakers spend over $1 million Swiss Francs for a booth at Baselworld. This may sound high, but when you actually see how many people are here, it becomes obvious that it is worth every Franc. The Maurice Lacroix booth pictured on the bottom may have cost well over seven figures-- but it has 3 levels with VIP areas and even offices to meet with press, retailers and potential buyers.

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[ Zenith ]

The Zenith El Primero Zero-G Multi-Dimensional Tourbillon will be debuting at Baselworld 2008 in April.

Coordination is provided by an invention patented by ZENITH: a second gear train is the reference point for the swinging of the escapement axles and a differential gear with inverter compensates all the relative movements of the framework.

The Zero-G Tourbillon, whose cage alone comprises 166 of the 294 parts that make up the device, 10 conical geared wheels with spiral teeth and 6 ball-bearings, was developed from the El Primero automatic caliber that beats at the record speed of 36,000 vibrations an hour.

Bringing the Tourbillon Zero G and the Defy Xtreme range together produces an unforeseen design, a perfect alchemy of engine and bodywork. A figure 8 on its side, symbolizing infinity or a lucky number, is drawn around the hours and minutes display at 11 o'clock and around the opening of the phenomenal Tourbillon at 5 o'clock. A multi-layered dial of Hesalite glass, carbon fiber and aluminum beneath two sapphire glasses, a blackened titanium case that is waterproof at 1000 meters, a black shot-peened titanium case, a protected crown, helium valve and titanium bracelet with Kevlar inserts and high-temperature resistance are the features that make this an extreme sports timepiece.

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