Hi folks, I'd like to share with you a story about my Zenith A386 that I bought a few weeks ago. I was told that in the 90s, the watch was left at a watchmaker for a service. The watchmaker couldn't really remember but most likely he swapped the chrono hand and one pusher. As his job was done nobody came to collect the watch, so he put it in one of his drawer and waited for 20 odd years. After all these years with no one showing up, he eventually decided to sell the watch to one of his regular customers. And lucky me, I got it from this very person. Obviously the watchmaker was not a vintage specialist as the tachy insert isn't aligned properly and there is a lot of dust on the dial. On the other hand I'm more than happy that the watch is apart from the chrono hand and one pusher in absolutely unmolested condition. The bevels on the case are sharp and the original finish is still visible. So all in all for me a very nice example of a rare and sought after watch. As a bonus it also came with the original bracelet. In the meanwhile I was able to source an original chrono hand from a very good friend of mine. It is also booked in for a service with the most skilled vintage watchmaker I know. Unfortunately it will take some time until I get it back in full glory but I think the result will boggle mind. I'd really appreciate your comments and advise in relation to originality etc. Thanks for looking!
Great find. It sounds as if the watchmaker wasn't an anything specialist. Misaligning the tachy scale and recasing a dirty dial are poor practice in any kind of watchmaking. I'm sure the new watchmaker will put everything right, and he will presumably know not to touch the case. It will indeed be a great watch (again!).
Congrats on an amazing find. A search here on the forum will give you many research options. This watch is covered here quite a bit. Enjoy!!
How could a watchmaker service a watch and not have the name, phone number, etc. of the person who dropped it off?
Thanks for your kind words. Well I suppose that he just didn't note the details, when the watch came in as he probably never had it before that people don't collect their watch.
Yes, this forum is my main resource when it comes to everything El Primero for the last couple of years. As far as I could see everything seems to be very much in line with what is published here. Serial is 861D9xx by the way...