In essence, it appears like the A385 has successfully passed the flux capacitor back from 5 decades ago. The watch wears nicely on the wrist (with the caveats on the bracelet, that is), has a lot of what collectors call ‘vintage vibe’ to it and comes at an attractive price of CHF 8400 (on bracelet, CHF 7900 on leather strap). Overall, Zenith is quite successful to present a true-to-the-original modern-day version of one of its classics. With this movement, the A385 is one of the most credible and convincing re-editions available, at all: 400, is still very much alive, so nothing needed be changed. Zenith is in the convenient position that the vintage movement, the El Primero automatic chronograph Cal. What sets most re-editions strikingly apart from their ancestors is most often the movements, in worst cases requiring a different subdial layout, for example. Clearly, from a comfort and practicality point of view, this could (and should) have been brought up to modern standards. Zenith also re-created, with considerable effort, the original Gay Frères bracelet, a move that is controversial, to say the least, as the design is attractive and original, but also comes with the flimsiness of old times. Precisely, Zenith used the exact same case dimensions of the original, same dial layout, same hands, same crystal shape (although this is sapphire, now), but also tried their best to emulate production standards of times gone by: if you look at the eggshell texture and dial printings or the chronograph hands, for example, you clearly notice a degree of exactitude and/or finesse which resembles such times, but would not exactly be acceptable on a modern watch: Zenith avoided this entirely through careful specification of the design elements on the one, and reliance of what they have anyhow on the other side. The new Chronomaster Revival A385 teaches us one thing: the magic sauce with re-editions is to get the impression holistically right, even on a meta-level: it is not sufficient to just time-machine an old design into present time, as this can cause an odd melange of vintage design that clearly shouts, ‘modern production technology’. A385 B, image © Hodinkee Shop (right) Zenith advertisement for the A384/385 with the original bracelet, image © FHH) ((left & centre) photo of an original Ref. According to expert Manfred Rössler the A385 series was produced between 1969-72 in 3650 pieces: A385 ‘inverse panda’ (light subdials on darker colour)) with its brown fumée dial and white subdials as well as a tachymeter scale. A385 B, (a twin to the A384, they differ only in respect to the colour scheme: A384 ‘panda’ (dark subdials on lighter colour) vs. The watch is carefully modelled after the original Ref. With this new addition Zenith continues the successful line of watches that look like directly taken from one of their 50-year-old catalogues, with a great deal of care applied to the details: Zenith is one of the first watch manufacturer to kick of 2021 with a presentation of novelties, although with a sharp look back, and on top a dial variant, essentially – welcome to the Zenith Chronomaster Revival A385. Zenith: Hands-On with the new Zenith Chronomaster Revival A385įor its first novelty in 2021, the Chronomaster Revival A385, Manufacture Zenith looks once more back into its history
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