Zenith, Cuban Trinidad Celebrate 50th Anniversaries With Limited Watches
As Zenith marks the golden anniversary of its legendary El Primero chronograph movement this year, it also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Trinidad cigar. The two companies have previously collaborated on Cohiba-themed limited editions and are now expanding the partnership to the Trinidad brand.
Presented at last month’s 21st Habanos Festival in Havana, the new 45 mm Pilot Type 20 Chronograph Trinidad Edition comes in three variations: rose, yellow, and white gold, each limited to 50 pieces. The rich brown dials with contrasting sub-dials display large beige luminescent Arabic numerals, a distinctive tobacco leaf pattern, as well as Zenith and Trinidad logos. You’ll also recognize Trinidad’s signature logo on the textured, Havana brown calfskin leather straps lined with rubber bearing the same motif. In addition, the case back is engraved with the Trinidad 50th Anniversary logo.
Under the dial beats the famous El Primero chronograph movement, a descendant of the world’s most accurate series-made chronograph calibre that debuted in 1969. El Primero was the world's first integrated automatic chronograph with a high-frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour (5Hz), enabling it to measure elapsed intervals to the nearest 1/10 of a second.
To mark its flagship movement’s half century, Zenith unveiled a special anniversary boxed set of three chronographs that trace its evolution over the decades from a faithful reproduction of the original to a Chronomaster El Primero with optimized movement to the futuristic Defy El Primero 21, which measures intervals to 1/100th of a second. One space has been left open for an even more precise 1/1000th of a second El Primero still to come.
Limited to 50, the $50,000 sets include a visit to the factory in Le Locle, Switzerland, for El Primero’s most ardent fans.
If you’re interested in wearing the Zenith Trinidad retro pilot watch, you’ll have to leave the country, since sales are prohibited in the U.S. Pricing in Swiss francs is still to be determined.
