![]() ![]() The automatic El Primero 4061 chronograph movement powering the El Primero Chronomaster 1969 Tour Auto Edition is equipped with a lever and escape-wheel made of an avant-garde material serving to eliminate any lubrication-related issues: silicon. After several months of research, the balance-wheel and balance-spring were shifted to the periphery and revealed through what would become one of the signatures of the El Primero line: an 11 o’clock dial opening which, in the case of the Tour Auto Edition, is a nod to the impressive view of a racing car mechanism when its hood is up. ![]() The teams of watchmakers and movement developers had to entirely rethink the calibre’s construction. In 2003, Zenith launched an idea: why not make the beating heart of the watch – its regulating organ – clearly visible? This thought sparked the development of a new concept christened Open. The oscillating weight of these movements will be engraved with the inscription “Certified Chronometer”. This independent body measures the performance of non-cased-up movements according to criteria that will be added to the extremely rigorous ones already applied by Zenith. To mark the brand’s 150 th anniversary, and as part of a constant quest for excellence, all the El Primero calibres intended for the Open or tourbillon models will notably be chronometer-certified by the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute). While it has always equipped Zenith timepieces, and not only those of the El Primero line, it has constantly evolved over the years to welcome complications and avant-garde mechanisms that have earned it a number of awards. Given the high frequency of the balance-wheel oscillations, the escapement oils tend to be centrifuged to the point of disturbing the smooth running of the mechanism, which is why the movement is given a dry lubrication. The second major characteristic of the original movement is its lubrication. Composed of a ratchet-wheel with several triangular-shaped teeth called columns, the column wheel is machined from a block of steel whose hardness makes it particularly resistant to repeated handling. Its design is based on a column wheel, the ultimate component of the extremely high-quality chronographs invented in the 19 th century: it interprets the pressure exercised on the push-piece to handle the chronograph start, stop and reset functions. An exceptional movement in every way, El Primero features two other technical characteristics that were particularly impressive at the time. ![]()
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