Beschreibung:

Δ 124 Zenith Follow Ref. 01.0040.418 A fine and attractive stainless steel chronograph wristwatch with day, date, month, moonphases and bracelet Circa 1973 40mm. Width, 44mm Length Case, dial and movement signed
Manufacturer: Zenith Year: Circa 1973 Reference No: 01.0040.418 Case No: NR 50038-11 Model Name: Sub Sea "Espada" Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Automatic, cal. 3019, 31 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Zenith bracelet made by Gay Frères, max length 205mm. Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Zenith deployant buckle Dimensions: 40mm. Width, 44mm Length Signed: Case, dial and movement signed Catalogue Essay It is quite interesting to see that in the very early 1970s, Zenith not only housed its newly created automatic El-Primero chronograph movement in a sports dive watch, but added a triple date and moonphase complication making the preset Sub Sea “Espada” one of, if not the first, complicated dive watches!! The name of the watch, printed boldly on the top part of the dial comes from the Spanish word “Sword”. The El-Primero debuted in 1969 as the brand’s first chronograph featuring an automatic movement. Unfortunately, in 1975 in the midst of the quartz crisis, Zenith decided to not only stop production of this movement but also destroy the machinery necessary to manufacture it. Luckily, in a strike of “corporate disobedience” Charles Vermont, a specialist who developed this caliber, hid the equipment required to make these watches and recorded the instructions to construct the design in a personal notebook. After years of being forgotten about, in 1984 the saved tools were put back to work and the production of the El Primero resumed, the rest as they say…is history. The present model with its undoubtedly 1970s swanky design, hefty case and bracelet, signed Gay Frères, is a true zeitgeist of a period of free thinking, artistic liberty and experimentation. Made in only 500 examples starting 1971 the present Espada seduces with its daring looks, complicated movement and rarity. Read More Maker Bio Zenith Swiss • 1865 Follow Since Zenith's beginnings, founder George Favre-Jacot sought to manufacture precision timepieces, realizing quality control was best maintained when production was housed under one roof. Zenith remains one of the few Swiss manufacturers to produce their own in-house movements to this day. Today, the brand is best known for the "El Primero," the firm's most successful automatic chronograph movement. In an interesting twist of fate, the company that owned Zenith during the 1970s decided to move on to quartz movements and therefore sought to destroy the parts and tools necessary to make mechanical movements. One watchmaker realized this folly and hid the tools and parts before they were destroyed. In 1984, he returned them to Zenith so they could once again make the El Primero movement. View More Works