The Top 5 Chronographs: The Zenith El Primero A385
Where would we be without the El Primero? One of the first ever self-winding chronograph calibers (arguably the first, hence the name) it not only served inside some iconic watches made by its original inventor, Zenith, it also provided the spark which completely transformed the fortunes of Rolex’s misfiring Daytona and turned it into the legendary symbol of worship it is today.
However, like anything else worth having, the creation of the El Primero did not come easy. Conceptualized by Zenith’s management in 1962 and expected to be in production by the company’s centenary year of 1965 it would, in fact, take until 1969 for the movement to be finalized. And by that time it faced major competition not only from competing traditional brands but also from an entirely new enemy, one powered by batteries and crystals.
Yet, it has endured in one form or another into the present day and Zenith’s contemporary roster is awash with more than 160 models powered by the latest generation of El Primeros, in styles ranging from the very cutting edge to modern reworkings of the three initial pieces which introduced the high beat masterpiece to the world.
And key among that trifecta was the wonderful A385.
A Little History
With all the other innovations running rampant in the horology industry in the middle part of the 20th century, it seems strange that no one had managed to crack the automatic chronograph problem by the start of the 1960s.
Self-winding calibers had been in existence from as far back as 1780 when Abraham-Louis Perrelet patented his pocket watch movement, with John Harwood giving us the rotor-driven mechanism we recognize today in 1922. And, of course, Rolex’s Perpetual breakthrough in 1931 brought the concept to market.
Similarly, chronographs were by no means new either. They stemmed from as early as 1816, with the first wristwatch featuring the complication appearing a little under a century later with Longines’ 13.33z.
That gives us an idea of just how daunting a challenge combining the two must have been, but Zenith not only resolved to make the breakthrough first, they set themselves some truly ambitious requirements.
From the outset, they were determined that their movement would be an integrated, column-wheel controlled unit similar to the leading hand wound examples already in existence. Additionally, it would have a power reserve of at least 50-hours, feature bidirectional winding and be as slim as possible, ideally only marginally thicker than conventional chrono calibers. And their engineers only had three years to pull it off.
As we know, that all turned out to be just a little too much and Zenith missed their self-appointed deadline. Why that happened was down to a number of factors.
Firstly, the complexity of the task was greater than anyone seemed to realize. On top of that, the specifications were altered over time with, for instance, R&D chief Raoul Pellaton deciding against a more traditional frequency in favor of a frenetic 36,000vph to offer greater accuracy and stability.
Mostly though, it was the era. Not long into the project, it became clear that reports of a workable quartz technology nearing fruition from various quarters were more than just stories, creating uncertainty over the wisdom of pouring funds into developing a new mechanical movement.
However, other rumors came to the fore in 1967 of greater competition even closer to home. The Chronomatic Group, a Swiss consortium comprised of Breitling, Hamilton-Büren, Dubois-Dépraz and Heuer-Leonidas announced they too were working on an automatic chronograph, as were Seiko in Japan. What had suddenly developed into a three-horse race was enough to spur Zenith on and the manufacture doubled down on their efforts.
They were able to solve the higher frequency problem in 1966 with the adoption of the Clinergic 21 fromFabriques d’Assortiments Réunis, later to become Nivarox, an advanced form of escapement which used 21 teeth over the standard 15. That in itself brought a new setback of the increased rate of oscillation spraying Zenith’s usual lubrication oil onto the balance wheel, so they developed a special dry lubricant which resolved the issue.
The A385
The whole upshot of Zenith’s seven years of hard work was that, on January 10th 1969, they were able to reveal to the world the first ever automatic chronograph caliber, the 3019 PHC.
The name was chosen to highlight the movement’s many remarkable features. The 30 represented its 30mm diameter, the 9 was the designation for chronographs while the PHC stood for Perpetual, Hour-Counting and Calendar; as in, self-winding, with 30-minute and 12-hour totalizers, and a date function. Moreover, the technicians had succeeded in fulfilling Pellaton’s demands and the 3019 did indeed beat at 36,000vph, meaning it could time down to 1/10th of a second, had a 50-hour reserve and stood at just 6.5mm thick.
In comparison, the Chronomatic Group’s Calibre 11 had only a 19,800vph frequency, was 7.7mm thick and used a micro rotor for winding, while Seiko’s Calibre 6139 beat at 21,600vph and powered a lone 30-minute counter.
Whichever way you sliced it, Zenith’s soon-to-be-rechristened El Primero, the first automatic chronograph with a column wheel and vertical clutch, had won.
What they needed now was a watch to fit it in. Fortunately, we got three, all released in 1969—the A384, A385 and A386.
Despite the reference numbers, the production serial numbers suggest that the A386 actually came first and it is the most conventionally shaped of the trio. The round 38mm case had a thin bezel to free up more space on the dial, and the overlapping tricompax chrono subdials are finished in Zenith’s signature blue, light grey and anthracite.
The A384 came next, with an avantgarde 37mm angular tonneau case featuring a conservative silver dial with black counters and tachy scale.
Last came the most distinctive, the A385. Identical to the A384 in every other respect, it was topped off with a different dial which, Zenith claimed, was another world’s first. The ‘cappuccino’ dial had a smoked, gradient effect finish, with a cream-colored center darkening to a brown and then black at the borders, along with contrasting silvery subdials.
The A385 was produced until 1971 and, due to the looming Quartz Crisis, only in small numbers. It is believed around 2,400 were manufactured, making it an especially rare piece on the preowned market. Today, they are being made rarer still by collectors swapping the dials out for other, more valuable references, such as the A384’s Panda arrangement or the later A3818’s beautiful blue face or even the A3817’s tricolor counter setup similar to the A386’s.
In fact, any El Primero-equipped watch is relatively scarce compared to many of the industry’s biggest hitters. Since 1969 there have only been around 600,000 of the movements made, that’s even if you include those which drove the second generation Rolex Daytona for 12-years. By comparison, something like ETA 7750, the most widely used automatic caliber currently in service, averages about 1,000,000 a year.
The El Primero celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019 and Zenith embarked on a bit of a nostalgic spree.
They introduced the A386 Chronomaster Revival that year, a faithful reproduction of the original, round-cased watch from ’69, and it was well-received enough for the brand to bring out updated versions of the other two models in 2020 and 2021.
The A385 Chronomaster Revival came last, of course, and that was just one example of Zenith’s commitment to absolute historical accuracy.
The case was recreated exactly from scans of the vintage watch and, with the exception of using modern manufacturing techniques to create more reliable components, and some updated decoration, the all-important Calibre El Primero 400 inside was a virtual carbon copy as well.
It was a fitting tribute to one of the most important chapters in watchmaking, as well as a wonderfully retro and uniquely funky chronographic legend.
Featured Photo: Mixed art by Oriol Mendivil for BKT Archive.

