2019 marked the 50th anniversary of Zenith’s landmark El Primero movement, widely agreed to be the first fully integrated, automatic chronograph caliber in production. To herald this occasion, Zenith collaborated with a number of partners across the watch industry and produced limited editions that celebrated the El Primero in various unique ways.

The Chronomaster El Primero C.01 was the first foray into limited edition collaborations for Collective, a San Francisco Bay Area-based collector group founded by two longtime friends and watch collectors working in the tech industry. They sought to design an El Primero that took the architecture of the original but reinterpreted as a tech product designed in Silicon Valley. Modern, restrained, and surprisingly legible, the watch features several unique touches such as a rhodium-plated chronograph hand, satin-finished chronograph pushers, and a subtle matte white dial with contrasting light grey subsidiary dials.

Most importantly for many collectors, the watch features no date and measures 38mm in diameter. Sparingly used and accompanied with its original accessories, the present C.01 has been donated by Collective and all net proceeds from the auction of this timepiece will be donated to support HSNY’s ongoing educational initiatives.