Three wishes, two icons, one watch

Kinder Surprise!
That’s three wishes altogether!? You know that’s not possible.

> I would love to have an exciting movement to look at …
> and a column wheel chronograph  to play around with …
> and as a sweet topping: I really want an annual calendar by Ludwig Oechslin. 

Two in one go!
> An El Primero belongs in every collection. A great movement with a column-wheel chronograph and the much more beautiful (albeit no longer modern) horizontal clutch, and a hi beat movement. It hardly gets more iconic.
> The MIH watch with the innovative annual calendar is almost as iconic.

Unfortunately, I can’t afford both together.
But lo and behold!
There’s a watch with both for the price of one.
Bargain alert!

History lesson

1969
Not only will the moon landing change the whole of human history, but the first automatic chronograph graphs will also appear, one of which will be called “El Primero” – the first. Although it was not, it will remain the only one to be successfully built to this day.

2005
The first YouTube video is uploaded and Ludwig Oechslin, then director/curator of the MIH in La Chaux-de-Fonds, develops the sensational annual calendar, which will be used in a watch by Oechslin, Gafner and Gerber (together with Embassy and Kurt König) – the MIH-watch. The proceeds will support research and restoration work at the MIH. 

2011
The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant triggers worldwide discussions about the safety of nuclear power and Ludwig Oechslin is still at the helm of the MIH. Zenith adapts the Oechslin/MIH annual calendar in an El Primero, the “Captain Winsor”, which will be nominated several times for the CPHG.  

So, let’s take a sober look at what we have here: 

An El Primero from Zenith, i.e. a chronograph with a hi beat manufacture caliber that can measure tenths of a second.
Wrapped in a beautiful 42mm case with alternating polished and saturated surfaces and classic rectangular pushers.
A multi-part dial with a (very likely embossed) guilloche in the center, applied hour markers and a beautiful chapter ring. The hands are also very elegant and precisely balanced in length.
While the small second is located at 9 o’clock, as always on the El Primero, this version deviates from the usual with it’s sub dials: as there is only room for one due to the annual calendar, this has been converted (at 6 o’clock) into a 60-minute counter – which I find as practical as intuitive.
I find it interesting that this register is controlled by a cogwheel, i.e. it is «sweeping». In fact, I find this nicer than a «jumping» stop minute that stays on the «old» minute until the last moment. After all, the «normal» minute hand doesn’t jump either.
(Actually my Navitimer Airborne with a Dubois Dépraz module does it the same way, and I like it here, either).
And somehow it seems logical (even if this was certainly not the intention), as Ludwig Oechslin also does not work with levers, but only with gears, amongst others for reasons of reliability. 

The day of the week and month can be found at 3 o’clock, the date at 6 o’clock.
This is realised with only a few additional components and three concentric discs under the dial. As already mentioned many times, this is an annual calendar, which only needs to be corrected in February; the other month lengths are “programmed in”.
And with – after all, it is a Ludwig Oechslin design – nine (9) additional components!
In contrast to its «role model/predecessor», the MIH watch, the day, month and date are not in line here, which is a bit of a shame.
Or not: the date – the most important of the indications – is comparatively very large and even I can read it without the reading glasses (which I need for the 60-minute counter after all)!

If you look at the articles on this watch from the time of its release, you will make an interesting observation: even back then, the community agreed that this was a price/performance champion!

Pros:
– Rare combination of practical complications

– Beautiful column wheel chronograph  with a beautiful (albeit currently less popular) horizontal clutch

– Oechslin annual calendar

Cons:

– Somewhat old-fashioned design

– Annual calendar not in one line, although it would have been easily possible

– No Gerber and no Gafner inside

Quality
90

Style
75

Value
95

Wearability
80