A couple months ago, Hodinkee revealed it had partnered with Zenith on a small, 25-piece run of vintage-inspired El Primeros. A couple hours later they were all sold out. If you missed your chance to order one, fear not: it seems that Hodinkee release was a precursor to Zenith’s new line of vintage-inspired chronographs.
For starters, the new Heritage 164 follows the industry trend of downsizing; at just 38mm, it’s a similar size to most chronographs from the 1960s. The dial layout is also incredibly spartan — there’s only a two sub-dial layout and there’s no date window. Inside, the watch runs Zenith’s high-beat El Primero caliber 4069, ticking away at 36,000 bph with a 50-hour power reserve. Two colors are available: blue and brown sunray dials, with matching perforated leather straps. Pricing as of yet has not been announced, but considering the very limited and COSC-certified Hodinkee El Primero came in at $7,900, we suspect this will go for considerably less than that.
Further Reading
Why the El Primero Is an Icon
The Enduring Mid-Century Chronograph
How a Chronograph Works
