The fact that Zenith Manufature made the highest bid didn't surprise me at all. I heard already several times that Zenith is buying back quite some watches of their own manufacture on the vintage watch market in the last 2 years, paying high prices. Ofcourse this influences the market value...but still the vintage Zenith El Primero watches are undervalued in my eyes.

The "Prototype Zenith" also looks nice to me...I presume it is a very difficult watch to capture in photographs, and the picture taken by Christies probably don't do it justice...but for me it's a very nice, elegant and tastefull chronograph!

We recently saw a Rolex selling for rediculous money...sorry but I have no other words to put it. As Jeff Stein often says...don't confuse value with scarcity (or the other way around).

The Zenith El Primero 3019PHC (and it's derivatives) movement indeed was (and is) a marvel when introduced in 1969. You have all you can wish for: accuracy, running seconds, automatic, date, minutes and hour register, tachymeter scale...and all this housed in a beautifull and elegant case. Gorgeous dial and hands...for me certainly a watch in my personal top 5!

Just like Paul, I only like very few models of the vintage Zenith range...the A386(tri-color), the Subsea and also the A384 (last picture). The Espada's etc...they're not my taste. Too funky colours and cases...but thay all share the great movement.

Here's one of my A386...followed by an almost finished A384-project...

I love the tricolor dial from the A386...it has a kind of three dimensional appearance with the structure on the registers and the height of all the hands...

Thanks,
abel.

: Interesting article from Hodinkee, about Zenith (itself)
: purchasing a rare El Primero prototype, at auction, for 37,500
: CHF --

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: http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/2012/5/18/prototype-zenith-el-primero-bought-by-zenith-for-37500-chf-a.html

: Yes, it's a super rare prototype, but it sure is ugly -- to my eye
: -- compared with the tri-color and even the later moonphase EPs
: (Espada).

: Jeff

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