Passions Watch Exchange

About This Watch

Vintage. No box or papers & a Passions box will be given.

This is a highly collectible vintage chronograph by Zenith and a pedigree watch for the serious vintage collector. Made in solid 18KYG case, this G381 is the first solid gold chronograph to house the then new automatic El Primero movement that sports a high-beat 36000vph which offers a high accuracy & has a quick-change date. This was essentially the luxury version of the very popular G386 chronograph in Steel. Introduced in 1969 with small production batches made till 1972, it is reputed that less than 700 were produced and not all would've survived the last 50yrs.

Our watch here is a very well preserved example and appears to have not been polished. The bevel edge on the lugs are clearly visible and factory brush lines can still be seen. The dial is in near mint condition & hands have oxidisation as they should while the tritium has aged to an even creamy tone. The only flaws are some tool marks caused on the soft gold screw-lock back cover as people often didn't have the right tool to open this watch over the years but it is not really a big flaw. All functions checked, winds smoothly, timing is good, quick-set date changes and chronograph zeros with precision. A watch not to be missed.

One example was sold by Phillips for a whopping S$46,000 which makes this a serious bargain now. A modern day re-production of this watch is available on Hodinkee now for US$19200.00 before import duties.