Long running Japanese manga and anime series Lupin The Third was so inspired by the El Primero shortly after its launch in 1969 that it included the watch in the seminal series on two separate occasions. The manga series first appeared in Weekly Manga Action on August 10, 1967. In the first episode of the anime series Daisuke Jigen, Lupin’s best friend, is portrayed wearing a watch based on the A384 with a black, grey and gilt dial that was never actually manufactured. And in the final episode of the first series, Jigen is again portrayed wearing another Zenith chronograph, but with a different “panda” dial that also never existed. Nearly 50 years after the initial airing of the series Zenith turned fantasy into reality, producing the Chronomaster Revival Lupin The Third in 2019 – using its signature A384 case and recreating the distinctive black dial depicted in the first episode. In 2020 Zenith released the second ‘panda’ dial version. Now, for the final watch in the trilogy, Zenith is combining the dials to create the Chronomaster Revival Lupin The Third – Final Edition.
Limited to 250 pieces, the new watch features the first edition’s semi-glossy black dial with deep grey counters and golden applied markers and hands on one side, and the second edition’s creamy-white dial with contrasting black counters in a “panda” configuration with beige SuperLumiNova on the other. The 37-mm titanium barrel-shaped case is a reproduction of the 1969 A384 case. It’s paired with a titanium ladder bracelet originally designed by the Gay Frères company. The El Primero automatic high-frequency integrated chronograph calibre inside the case is visible through the exhibition case back and engraved with a drawing of Daisuke Jigen.
Chronomaster Revival Lupin The Third Final Edition ($10,000.00), available at Zenith boutiques and zenith-watches.com
