The 1911 Chronograph from Ebel uses one of the finest chronograph movements – Zenith’s El Primero. Model reference 8134901.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
Incredibly, Zenith decided that their top of the range movement, called el Primero, was out of touch with what people wanted in the 1980’s. Who wanted a large, automatic chronograph when slim, small and quartz were the fashion? Rather than just scrap the tooling, which nearly happened, they allowed a select few companies to use El Primero movements. One of these was Rolex, and the Zenith powered Daytona that first appeared in 1988 fetch five figures easily now. Another company with foresight was Ebel, who unlike Rolex kept the beat rate at 36,600 and retained the calendar when they launched their 1911 model in Basel 1983. These watches were in production for a long time, but similar watches with papers all seem to be from the early 1990’s. By 1996 Ebel had switched to their modular movement. We do have a 1992 brochure featuring this exact model, with a list price then of £4,435.
CONDITION
Three automatic chronographs were launched almost at the same time in 1969, and all try to claim that they were the first. Seiko launched the 6139, Heuer and others launched the microrotor Calibre 11, and Zenith launched the most sophisticated of the three with the El Primero. It was the only one to have the high beat movement, which on a chronograph is very practical – it beats ten times a second, so you can time to 1/10th accuracy. Zenith saw sense eventually and reintroduced the movement their ranges, where it is again the mainstay.
Despite packing all this fine horology, the case is quite slim for a chronograph at under 11mm, making it quite comfortable to wear for long periods of time. The case is also stamped 750 for 18k gold on the inside of the case back. The white dial is crisp and almost perfect – one small stain at 9 on the edge of the dial is barely visible without a loupe, but it is there. The quick set date is working perfectly too – the El Primero movement has hand set at the first click of the crown, and date adjustment at the second click which is the opposite to most watch movements. The Ebel shark leather strap is brand new and was not cheap, but should last many years. There is a small dent in the case back, and a very slight chip to the edge of the Tachymetre rehaut near 12, but otherwise the watch is very good.
This watch will be supplied with the original Ebel presentation box and our Certificate of Authenticity.
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SIZE
Width with crown 41.2 mm
Width without crown 37.7 mm
Between lugs 20 mm
Lug to lug length 42.5 mm
Case Thickness 10.9 mm
All sizes are approximate.
Included with this watch is a 3 month guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses. If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries. Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us. Payment can be made by most credit or debit cards, bank transfer or PayPal.
From 1st September 2021 we will be planting a tree for every watch we sell, working with the International Tree Foundation (Est 1922) to make this business positive on carbon. By buying anything pre owned you are effectively reusing what already exists, but this takes it further and makes us feel good.
