I found an original A384 in a watch junk lot on craigslist. It was thrashed and on a bent old Speidel bracelet.

The watches and were in a bucket and strewn all over the yard (the lady let her kids play with them).

It looks original to me, with the only obviously replaced part I can see as the crown. It doesnt run, and will need a new crystal.

I want to restore it, but am curious what you'd recommend the best bet would be to pursue that. My local watchmaker is good (hes an official Rolex certified watchmaker) but doesn't have Zenith tools or much Zenith experience so he recommended shipping it to Zurich for service.

Does that seem like the way to go or should I look into another watchmaker? I'm assuming an overhaul is going to be pricey, so I wonder if I should try to source a crown first and ship it with the watch.

I'd love some advice from anyone who's worked with vintage El Primeros before.

 

Hopefully your Rolex certified watchmaker doesn’t work on any older Daytonas

I say source a new crown (crazy expensive on eBay) or a service crown (that many have nowadays) and send it for service. I would NOT send to Zenith. There are dozens of good shops that could handle this for you. Not sure where you’re physically located but there may be some in driving distance

 

Touche!

I'm near St. Louis. I dont mind mailing, if necessary so shop recommendations would be welcome.

What's crazy expensive? A few hundred dollars? Is there a way to ensure a crown is real? I know it needs a 6.4mm x 4mm crown.

I'd rather pay for with a real one at this point, if I'm going to pay for restoration.

 

Not sure what they would take via best offer but...

 

Best thing is to sell it to me!

Just joking (maybe?) but it looks like a wonderful example. A service crown is more than ok and waaaaay cheaper than truly expensive original crowns.
Please find a good local watchmaker, if you ship it to Switzerland they HAVE to replace original tritium from hands and dial, and that is a real pity, from an economic and collectors point of view.

 

This is great to know, thanks. I didn't realize about the tritium. The patina is absolutely lovely so I'd hate for them to do that.

 

Goodness gracious. I thought maybe 300-500. Looks like a service crown is in order.

 

what a joke and $50 shipping.

 

Wow what a find! One of the most underrated watches! If you want the money (which is quite a lot) just sell it as is, but if you would like to wear it, change the crown and glass. I am in Sweden so dont know any watchmakers where you live, but surely you can find a good one.

Goes without saying but dont replace/refurbish anything that is original (like dial etc). The dial looks great!

Big Congrats!

 

thanks! I'd definitely keep it as is. The patina is amazing, and the dial is actually in pretty good shape under the glass.

 

Looks great as is to me.

 

this is a geat watch that needs little. If you need a crown I have them, expensive but nothing like above

 

Beautiful and a great find. As others have said, keep as original as possible. Might offend the purists but since it seems like you got a deal, don't break the bank on a crown unless it'll keep you up at night.

 

My friend, I wouldnt consider this watch beat up. Like at all.

Like others have said, movement service and you're good to go.

 

have you bought it?