Zenith

Zenith Coffee House Tales (viii): Zenith got Sticky Fingers with the Rolling Stones

 

After a short break of the Coffee House series I am going to resume - with a cheeky version of the El Primero, the El Primero Chronomaster 1969 Tribute To The Rolling Stones :

Limited to 250 pieces worldwide (and being glad that I got the name written correctly before they are all sold out ;-)), this watch is technically and in its overall design cues identical to the non-limited (and much easier to spell) version, with the exception of a tiny, tiny detail:

Got it?

"For The Rolling Stones, British designer John Pasche designed the "Tongue and Lip Design" logo in 1971, which was originally reproduced on the Sticky Fingers album. In August 2008, the design was voted the greatest band logo of all time in an online poll.[3] In what was perhaps one of the first cases of rock brand marketing, Jagger reportedly approached the Royal College of Art in 1969 looking to commission images for the band. Pasche designed the logo and ended up working for the Stones from 1970 to 1974. “Face to face with him, the first thing you were aware of was the size of his lips and his mouth,” Pasche said." [Wikipedia]

Its applied using the same colour than the central chronograph seconds counter (or vice-versa), and thus blends surprisingly well into the watch face:

A star hoovering over another one:

A very close-up shot reveals the lively execution of the logo:

Even if you don't like 'tributised' watches (like me), this one does it with style. The dial itself is busy enough such that the additional element does not disturb too much.

As I said, everything else is identical to the serial production watch - well, almost! There is another distinctive attribute, but you have to look closer...



... and make sure you use proper lightning: the "Tongue and Lip" logo is repeated on the back:

Another star: the folding clasp - looks like a simple tang buckle and is quite comfortable to wear.

Speaking about which, the following shots demonstrate how well this 42mm timepiece blends with my medium-sized wrist:

At greater (and thus normal view-) distance the watch gains even more appeal, and the Rolling Stone logo appears as a welcome addition:

Bottom line:

Tribute watches are always a tricky business - often too loud & busy, often the connection is not easy to see, often there is fatigue or even disgust after some time. Zenith tried to blend a classic (rock star; the Rolling Stones) with another star (the El Primero calibre). Whether they succeeded remains for each individual to judge.

My personal take is -such a watch is not for me and not for you. The target audience is quite different, and I guess it may sell well. And perhaps there are a few watch aficionados who had they musical high-time at the same time as their watch enthusiast initiation - here is your watch!

But for the large groups of remainders like us, I think the watch does not hurt, will created a but of revenue for the manufacture, and otherwise will not be much talked about.

One aspect is that this one might be a one-off, created during the in-between-time of an outgoing Mr Dufour and a not-yet-having-assumed-office Mr Magada. Who knows? Time will tell!

Thanks for reading,

Magnus

Our venue:

No, this is not a Viennese coffee house of any sorts. We met at a beautiful day outside at Vienna's most famous Prater, the oldest amusement park in the world. Note the distinctive Ferris wheel in the back! And yes, the car has a meaning and I will come back to that later!