Zenith El Primero Stratos Flyback Striking 10th Limited Edition; Flyback In Black

The Zenith El Primero Stratos Flyback Striking 10th Limited Edition is packed with more toys than half the yachts in Monaco. Its 45.5 mm Alchron alloy case, high-beat El Primero chronograph, flying-second chronograph display, flyback chrono action, and ceramic bezel are ready for whatever adventure – or Casual Friday – your routine has in store.

Zenith’s El Primero Stratos line is the modern-day successor to the legendary El Primero Rainbow pilot’s watches of the 1990s. Originally commissioned by the French armed forces, the Zenith Rainbow and its El Primero caliber 405 flyback chronograph was a legend in its own time. An evolved descendant of the legendary El Primero – caliber 4057 – takes flight in this reborn Zenith sports chronograph.

The Stratos’ 45.5mm case is crafted from Zenith’s Alchron alloy and PVD-treated to create a menacing black monolith. Alchron is an advanced alloy of aluminum and titanium. The final article is nearly as light as carbon fiber… but far stronger. For added durability, Zenith fits a ceramic bezel insert that is virtually scratch proof. Short of diamond tools, no substance can reliably mar ceramic.

A dial fit for a sports watch defines the visage of the El Primero Stratos. High-grade workmanship is evident in the precision with which the hand-laid applied hour indices align. Abundant Super LumiNova ensures effortless low and no-light visibility. In every respect, the military aviators who flew with the legendary Zenith “Rainbow” would be impressed by the functionality and finish of its successor.

But while the 1990’s Rainbow was designed for the cockpit, the El Primero Stratos Flyback Striking 10th is ready for almost anything. Consider its chronograph; the unique “Striking 10th” complication accelerates the chrono seconds hand so that it completes a full circuit of the dial in only 10 seconds. Think “foudroyante” on steroids, and you begin to get the idea.

More than a spectacular sight, Zenith’s newest innovation spaces out the individual beats of the 10-per-second El Primero. What had been illegible increments within the space of a single one-second increment now become readable jumps across the Stratos’ circumferential rehaut scale of 0-10 seconds. Add the unbeatable surprise-and-delight factor of a flyback restart, and this Zenith El Primero becomes the ultimate crowd pleaser.

Zenith’s Alchron case houses a living legend, the El Primero caliber 4057 flyback/striking 10th chronograph.

This 36,000 VpH chromo holds the distinction of ranking among the last fully-mechanical Swiss watch movements to have been recruited into armed service on an official military production contract. Keep in mind that we’re not talking about some Panerai 3646 from the forties, a Rolex 5538 from the fifties, an Omega Seamaster 165.024 from the sixties, or even an IWC Ocean 2000 from the 1980s; the Zenith El Primero flew into the mid 2000s in French air operations over Afghanistan.

The combat-veteran El Primero retains all of the qualities that have made the high-beat movement a favorite of collectors and watchmakers alike. Since 1969, the El Primer has stood as a standard by which all chronographs are measured. In 1988, Rolex selected it as the power plant for its Cosmograph Daytona. With a crisp column wheel chronograph function selector, resolution to one-tenth of a second (most chronos offer only one-eighth), and a superior 52-hour power reserve, the El Primero enters its fifth decade as a fixture in horology’s pantheon.

See this Zenith El Primero Stratos Striking 10th limited edition of 500 in high-resolution images on www.watchuwant.com.