Thank you all for you generous comments and appreciation of the "competition."

Mark, I hear you about the cases. The angled tonneau cases, which I have always understood as a rif on the old "carree cambree" cases of certain prewar pilot watches, like the Czech air force Longines, are idiosyncratic to be sure - you either love 'em or hate 'em. I'd suggest that they are no more idiosyncratic than that of the Monaco, though, and maybe their "oddness" comes in part from the fact that they are much less in the public eye than those. I can assure you that they have their fans!

Jeff, I'm eager to hear about your investigations. An interesting aspect from the Zenith side is exactly the name "El Primero." As you may know, the cal. 3019 PHC was presented in January 1969 without being called "El Primero." Why and when it picked up the name is an intriguiing question. It is not Esperanto, as Zenith itself has occasionally claimed, but straight-up Spanish, and I've read speculation that it became El Primero at an international launch in Madrid on March 6, just three days after the cal. 11 international launch.
I'll also take this opportunity to express my admiration for what you and all of the regulars on this forum have done for Heuer collecting - a wealth of resources, high standards of authenticity, collegiality and some pretty impressive research! It's a model for enthusiasts of any manufacture.

Stephen, the #3 (ref A 386) is the one that everyone thinks of when they think El Primero. The absolute stunner that is comparatively unknown among collectors is the 5th watch from left (ref A 3818) - it's the watch that sucked me in to El Primeros. Hard to see deets on the group shot, so here's a solo:

: Lou:

: Thanks for posting this interesting message and for sharing your
: amazing collection of the early El Primeros . . . what a
: beautiful sight to behold.

: I generally agree with your quick summary of the "who was
: first?", and thank you for the kind words about my research
: and writing on the subject. I have some new information, and
: will try to post an update, in the near future. It is clear that
: "El Primero" was third to get to market, but they had
: the first press conference and they had the great name . . . and
: the rest is history!!

: Jeff

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