Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Lupin the Third” – Second Edition
Inspired by a cameo appearance of the El Primero A384 in the Japanese manga Lupin the Third, Zenith proves that fiction is no stranger to truth.
Last year Zenith launched an unprecedented version of its Chronomaster A384 inspired by the Japanese manga and anime series Lupin the Third. It was unprecedented because this black and grey model only existed in the ‘fictionalised’ realm of gentleman-thief Lupin’s universe. Although brands like Seiko are at home producing watches dedicated to characters from Japanese manga, the Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Lupin the Third” marked Zenith’s first foray into this imaginary dimension – and it was a resounding success. For 2020, Zenith follows up with a second Revival Lupin the Third model based on a second cameo appearance of Zenith’s A384 in the first TV series dedicated to Lupin the Third and his gang. Limited to 200 pieces, the watch was initially available exclusively at the Zenith Ginza Boutique in Tokyo but will be winging its way over to international retailers very soon.
Gentleman thief
Lupin III is one of the most popular characters in Japanese manga folklore. Created by Monkey Punch (Kazuhiko Katō), Lupin III was first serialised in Weekly Manga Action magazine in August 1967. A huge success and one of Japan’s longest-living franchises, Lupin III has evolved from print to a TV series, from films to video games and from live-action films to television specials and even a musical!
As the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the fictional gentleman thief, detective and master of disguise created by French writer Maurice Leblanc in 1905, Lupin III inherits his grandfather’s penchant for robbery and dapper style. His modus operandi is to send a calling card to potential victims and alert them to his intentions. Daisuke Jigen is his sidekick and an expert marksman (always dressed in dark suits with strong mafia overtones). Other characters in Lupin III are Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a master swordsman and Lupin’s love interest (and occasional competitor for the loot), the voluptuous femme fatale Fujiko Mine. Fast on their heels is Inspector Koichi Zenigata of Interpol.
The success of the print version of Lupin III spawned a TV series in 1971. In the very first episode, we see marksman Daisuke Jigen behind the wheel of a red sports car. Dressed in a tight blue and white jumpsuit and matching helmet, he’s wearing goggles and – wait a minute – what’s that on his wrist? A close-up reveals that the watch is a cartoon take of perhaps the most famous chronograph of the day. With its hexagonal cushion-shaped case, pump-style pushers, tachymetre scale, tri-compax layout and steel ladder bracelet, it is clearly meant to be Zenith’s 1969 El Primero reference A384. Fair enough, the colour scheme is not accurate, but even the date window is featured in its 4h30 position, and the brand name appears as ENIT (minus the Z and H, no doubt for copyright reasons) along with the cursive font used for El Primero (hard to decipher what it actually says). This first cameo of the A384 inspired the first Lupin the Third watch with its black dial, grey counters and tachymetre scale.
El Primero
The styling of Lupin III is totally in tune with the groovy 1970s: flared trousers, shaggy hairstyles and accessories to match. Featuring an El Primero A384 watch would have made perfect sense to Monkey Punch. After all, the El Primero was a rock star on the watchmaking scene having claimed first place in the race to create an automatic chronograph movement (with a hyper-precise 5Hz frequency to boot). Initially launched as a movement in January 1969, the integrated El Primero high-frequency column-wheel chronograph calibre was eventually housed in three variants: the classic round A386 model with tri-colour counters, the A385 cushion-shaped model with a gradient brown dial, and the reference A384 with the same bold hexagonal cushion-shaped case as the A385 but with a panda dial (white background, black counters).
Fans of the original A384 and A386 references were in for a treat last year when Zenith launched faithful Revival re-editions to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Fans of Lupin III and the El Primero A384 also got to celebrate with the first Revival Lupin the Third model. Well, it turns out that the El Primero didn’t make just one cameo appearance in the first episode of the 1971 TV series, but two. The second time the A384 appears on Daisuke Jigen’s wrist (what’s with the hairy knuckles?), you can almost make out the brand name and the colour scheme is closer to the original 1969 A384 panda dial with a white centre and black chronograph counters.
Lupin the Third – The Second Chapter
Just like the El Primero A384 Revival watch of 2019, reproduced with exacting detail thanks to a process of ‘reverse engineering ’, this second Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Lupin the Third” model is a faithful recreation of the 1969 model with a colour palette inspired by Daisuke Jigen’s watch. To retain the original 37mm diameter and 12.60mm height of the case, Zenith decided to use the same base movement of the original in all its A384 Revival models, including this titanium model.
Even the finishings on the case are faithful to the original. The prominent hexagonal bezel is brushed, and the facets are polished, two details that emphasise the somewhat Brutalist architecture of the case. Even the original ladder bracelet made by Gay Frères has been recreated with its open central links, just like the rungs of a ladder.
One thing that has been updated is the incorporation of sapphire crystal glass – front and back – instead of the more period-correct acrylic glass and sealed caseback used in 1969, a feature nobody will quibble with.
Based on the watch worn by Daisuke Jigen, the dial is white and the counters are black. However, since the tachymetre scale is white it assumes a more prominent presence on the dial. The three counters – small seconds at 9, 30-minute counter at 3 and 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock – are black and snailed with graphic white tracks, hands and numerals. The indices, which are rhodium-plated, faceted and applied to the dial, are coated with a thick central strip of beige Super-LumiNova matching the beige inserts on the black hour and minute hands and the rectangular section of the central seconds hand. In keeping with the original, the date window is positioned between 4 and 5 o’clock but in this model features a black background, identical to the one on Daisuke Jigen’s watch.
El Primero 400 Automatic
As mentioned, the caseback is not sealed and is engraved with the silhouette of Daisuke Jigen touching the brim of his felt hat in salutation. The movement is an updated version of the famous 1969 El Primero calibre, an automatic column-wheel chronograph with a high frequency of 36,000vph/5Hz and 50-hour power reserve. With improved reliability and chronometric precision thanks to tighter tolerances in the manufacturing process, the movement is still very close to the original in its architecture.
PRICE & AVAILABILITY
The new Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Lupin the Third” – Second Edition is a limited edition of 200 pieces and retails for CHF 9,400. More information at zenith-watches.
2 responses
this would be a nice woman’s watch
The Z and H are actually visible in the first drawing, dark grey, as if originally there, then masked.