Within the deepest depths of watchmakers archives are often the timepieces of legend, those special models that could, should and almost have been made. And this is especially true of Zenith. In 1970, not long after it had debuted its groundbreaking El Primero, the manufacture had produced a prototype of a manual-winding chronograph in a blackened steel case. An unusual look for the time, only a handful were made yet the watch never made it to the commercial market.

The story takes a further turn when, in 1975, Charles Vermot – one of the original watchmakers who worked on the El Primero – disagreed with the management’s decision at the time to cease its production. He gathered all the technical plans and tools necessary to create each component, hiding them away safely in a walled-off attic in the Zenith factory. When it was discovered, among the countless artefacts found was the original prototype of this black chronograph.

With the Chronomaster Revival ‘Shadow’, instead of faithfully reproducing what should have been, Zenith has instead used it as a basis to create a thoroughly modern timepiece true to the spirit of the original. The case is 37mm (the same size as the first watch to be fitted with the El Primero, the A384), but instead of stainless steel with a black coating, the watchmaker has instead chosen microblasted titanium. Not only is it robust and lightweight, but it also lends it a contemporary matte finish, enhanced with intriguing dark-grey nuances.

This innovative approach continues to the movement, which has been upgraded from the planned manual winding calibre to the powerful, automatic El Primero. The sleek aesthetic of the watch is finished off with a matte-black dial with complementary grey counters, while the hands and markers are filled with white Super LumiNova that glow a bright green in the dark.

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