Listen to interviews with Ralf Speth, CEO Jaguar & Land Rover, Jean-Claude Biver and Aldo Magada, CEO Zenith and discover the chronograph…
Often copied, rarely equalled. Zenith and Land Rover are natural front-runners. Since 1969, which witnessed milestone launches by both companies, their destinies have been entwined. That was the year the Swiss Manufacture presented the legendary El Primero chronograph movement and the British carmaker Land Rover unleashed the first luxury four-wheel drive, the iconic Range Rover.
Founded by Rover and owned by Tata Motors since 2008, Land Rover is a British car manufacturer specialising in sports utility and all-terrain vehicles. Initially known for its 4×4 expertise, this pioneer has been making robustly built cars capable of performing in the harshest environments since 1948. In 1969, the British brand changed the course of history by producing an all-terrain vehicle of an entirely new genre: the luxurious and intrepid Range Rover. Equipped with a permanent four-wheel drive system, coil springs and a 3.5 L V8 petrol engine, the world’s first luxury 4×4 boasted incomparable on- and off-road performance. In addition, its pragmatic design earned immediate and widespread acclaim.
No one else but the three CEOs could explain you in a better way why the partnership in between Range Rover & Zenith is so special …
Ralf Speth, CEO Jaguar & Land Rover
Jean-Claude Biver, CEO LVMH watch division
Aldo Magada, CEO Zenith
In tribute to the first luxury SUV, its brushed grey dial bears the inscription “Zenith Range Rover”. The hands and hour-markers are rhodiumed and luminescent. The El Primero Range Rover chronograph features a streamlined, subtly curved and inimitable design. Its high-frequency mechanism is clothed in the aluminium ‘bodywork’ – a nod to the Range Rover chassis – of its 42 mm-diameter matt black ceramised case. Water-resistant to 100 metres and topped by a cambered sapphire crystal, it is equipped with a ratcheted crown and black round pushers. The sapphire caseback bearing the “El Primero Range Rover / Special Edition” engraving reveals an oscillating weight personalised with the Zenith and Range Rover logos.
ZENITH EL PRIMERO – RANGE ROVER – 42 MM
- Tribute to our Partnership with Land Rover / Range Rover
- Automatic El Primero column-wheel chronograph with date indication at 6 o’clock
- Ceramised aluminium case: 42 mm diameter
- Brushed grey dial
- Special oscillating weight adorned with ZENITH & RANGE ROVER logos
MOVEMENT
Movement El Primero 400B, Automatic
Calibre 13¼“` (Diameter: 30 mm)
Thickness: 6.60 mm
Components: 326
Jewels: 31
Frequency: 36,000 A/h (= 5 Hz)
Power-reserve: min. 50 hours
Finishes: special oscillating weight with “circular satin-brushed” motif
FUNCTIONS
Hours and minutes in the centre
Small seconds at 9 o’clock
Chronograph:
– Central chronograph hand
– 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock
Date indication at 6 o’clock
Tachymeter scale on the dial
CASE, DIAL & HANDS
Material: Ceramised aluminium
Diameter: 42 mm
Opening diameter: 37.10 mm
Thickness: 12.75 mm
Crystal: Domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides
Case-back: Transparent sapphire crystal
Water-resistance: 10 ATM
Dial: Brushed grey
Hour-markers: Rhodium-plated, faceted and coated with SuperLuminova SLN C1
Hands: Rhodium-plated, faceted and coated with SuperLuminova SLN C1
STRAPS & BUCKLES
- Black rubber coated with ivory-toned perforated calfskin => 27.00.2118.797 (R797)
- Option : Black rubber coated with blue perforated calfskin => 27.00.2118.796 (R796)
Black DLC-treated titanium triple folding clasp
Reference: 24.2040.400/27.R797
Price: 7.900 Euro including 19 VAT
I informed JCB this morning and everything is on the way that the dials will be correctly manufactured… JCB just forwarded me the emails and answers from those now in charge to fix the issue.
You guys all know me and therefore you are aware how often I have criticised this with other brands and their chronographs. Even PPC did the same mistake until this year and I did not stop telling them before. Also the graduation on the new Daytona is wrong, but at Rolex no one wants to listen …
It is simply a no-go for a manufacturer of a precision instrument … The graduation on the dial bus be correct!
The way how JCB fixes the problems is the real good one… even on Saturdays …
Guys stay vigilant and do always let me know if something is incorrect or should be done differently…
Mostly I would know whom to contact to fix the problem … 🙂
I agree with Andreas that Zenith designers have made a faux pas by marking 4 segments instead of 5 in the minute tracks, as the El Primero movement operates at 5 Hz frequency.
But then, hardly anybody cares that there are 4 segments instead of 5 in the minute tracks, as almost nobody uses the chronograph, except to show off.
I have been a fan of Zenith for umpteen years because Zenith have always created fantastic watches at affordable prices.
I will suggest Mr Biver start up “Swiss Franc note printing manufacture” number forth called “Swiss brand dating agency”.
The dial design reminds me of the Porsche Design Chronotimer Deep Blue which I like. But here you get the famous (although slightly outdated) El Primero caliber for an attractive price.
I don’t have any emotional relation to Range Rover. But fortunately their logo is restrained enough to not distract.
The only thing that I really don’t understand and that causes me grief is the subdivision of tick marks in the minute track. It is well known that the El Primero runs at a frequency of 5 Hz. And so should the Zenith designers. Accordingly the minute track must separate one second into 5 segments within one second and not 4. Other Zenith chronograph designs respect this. So they know how to do it correctly.
Andreas, so true, so true and I did not see it!!!!! Shame on me!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH for telling us!!!! I will contact JCB this morning and let him know….
Alexander